Former Orlando Magic Player's Murder Trial Set to Begin

The murder trial of former Orlando Magic forward Adreian Payne is set to begin in central Florida.

Lawrence Dority has been accused of second-degree murder of Payne, who was killed in 2022. He was 31.

Payne played four years at Michigan State from 2010-14 before he was the No. 15 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks.

Payne spent most of his time with the Hawks in the NBA Development League (now the G League) and made just three appearances with Atlanta before being traded in the middle of his rookie season to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Payne was a much better fit for the rebuilding Wolves than the Hawks, who were the best team in the Eastern Conference that season. He made 22 starts for the Wolves in his rookie year before they selected Karl-Anthony Towns in the following draft with the No. 1 pick.

Payne played two more seasons with the Wolves before signing with the Magic on a two-way deal in 2017. Payne appeared in five games for the Magic before he was cut in January 2018. That was the last time Payne played in the NBA.

After being waived by the Magic, Payne played overseas in Greece, China, France, Turkey and Lithuania before leaving the team in February 2022. Three months later, he was shot and killed.

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