Cavs reportedly signing Cameron Payne another 10-day is a good move

The Cleveland Cavaliers have gotten solid play out of Cameron Payne, who reportedly just signed his second 10-day contract, and they should continue to let him prove himself.

This season is about figuring out who can be potential pieces for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the near future. Right now, there’s a ton of uncertainty in terms of who Cleveland will want to keep around in the coming years. I believe Collin Sexton, Cedi Osman and Larry Nance Jr. are keepers, but I’m not 100 percent sure, given some rumors on Osman, and I’m not sure what the Cavs’ approach will be with the rest of the roster yet. For now, though, Cameron Payne is a player that can help and he’s still a young guy that has shown he can be a solid reserve point guard. As a result, the Cavs reportedly gave him a second 10-day contract, which was a smart decision.

If Cleveland keeps him around after that contract concludes, Payne’s contract will be guaranteed for the rest of the season. He initially came to the Cavs as a result of Matthew Dellavedova recovering with a reported foot sprain, and Payne has done pretty well.

In his four games with the Wine and Gold, he’s averaged 8.8 points on an effective field goal percentage of 61.5 percent (which isn’t sustainable, but he’s clearly injected life into Cleveland off the bench).

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Payne has shot 40.0 percent from three-point range, which won’t be the case if he sticks around for a considerable amount of time with the Cavs this season, but given Dellavedova’s ability to catch-and-shoot efficiently from deep, that could allow Payne to improve in that regard, just like it will likely be the case with Collin Sexton.

Payne’s also averaged 2.8 assists in 17.8 minutes per game, and that’s translated to 5.6 assists per 36 minutes, per Basketball Reference.

He’s not going to make Hollywood passes in transition and be a Steve Nash-like maestro in the pick-and-roll, but he’s a serviceable (especially third) point guard that can get teammates the ball with sufficient entry passes and initiates ball movement early-clock.

If Payne is around after his second 10-day deal concludes, he could feasibly have minutes with Nance (who’s currently dealing with a reported MCL sprain) as a lob and transition leakout threat, and secondary playmaker to get Payne the ball for spot-up chances.

Cleveland’s season is now about developing the roster, and players such as Payne fit that mindset. Although he’s not much of a defender (just like a number of players on Cleveland, anyhow), he can have value for the Cleveland Cavaliers as another primary ball-handler for the reserves.

If Payne doesn’t have a decent next five or six games, then they can pull the plug.