NBA: Bucks add Cameron Payne to their backcourt

FILE – Phoenix Suns guard Cameron Payne (15) and Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun (0) play in the second half of Game 2 of an NBA second-round playoff series Monday, May 1, 2023, in Denver. The Milwaukee Bucks have signed former Phoenix Suns guard Cameron Payne. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks have signed former Phoenix Suns guard Cameron Payne.

Payne, 29, played 48 games for the Suns last season and averaged 10.3 points, 4.5 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 20.2 minutes. The 6-foot-1 guard had been a free agent since getting waived by the San Antonio Spurs last month.

The Suns had sent Payne, a second-round pick and cash to the Spurs in exchange for a second-round pick in a move to clear cap space.

Payne had spent the last four seasons with the Suns and was a key reserve on the Phoenix team that lost to the Bucks in the 2021 NBA Finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder selected him out of Murray State with the 14th overall pick in the 2015 draft.

He has career averages of 8.0 points, 3.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 18.2 minutes while playing for Oklahoma City, Chicago, Cleveland and the Suns.