Knicks Year in Review: Cameron Payne

With the Larry O'Brien Trophy awarded and the NBA Draft in the books, the New York Knicks' most successful season in a quarter-century officially ends on a bittersweet note.

Armed with the talents of All-Stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, New York won 51 games and made its first showing in the NBA's final four for the first time since 2000 but a similar fate awaited in the form of a six-game defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. In the aftermath, the Knicks bid farewell to head coach Tom Thibodeau, ending his reign in Manhattan after five seasons.

With the offseason in full swing, Knicks on SI looks back and ahead at the Knicks' roster on a case-by-case basis, in numerical order.

2024-25 Year In Review: Cameron Payne

Name: Cameron Payne
Season: 10th (1st with Knicks)
Key Stats: 6.9 points, 2.8 assists, 9.1 net ratings

How It Started

Prior experiences with current Knicks, both good and painful, put Payne on a path to Manhattan.

Having played for six teams in nine seasons since entering the Association as a first-round pick in 2015, Payne had previously worked with fellow new arrivals and former desert dwellers Mikal Bridges and Landry Fields. Of note, he was a part of the Phoenix Suns' 2021 run to the NBA Finals with Bridges, making him one of the few New Yorkers with experience on the biggest stage in men's hoops.

Ironically enough, it was a not-so-pleasant encounter with the Knicks that secured his metropolitan fate, as he was a late addition to the Philadelphia 76ers' run to the seventh spot on the 2024 Eastern bracket. Payne proved to be a pest in the tightly-contested six-game set, particularly through a 44 percent success rate from three-point range in the series.

That was enough to land a veteran's minimum deal from the Knicks in July and his outside shooting may have been expected to replace at least some of the production lost when Donte DiVincenzo was sacrificed in the Karl-Anthony Towns barter three months later.

How It Went

For the most of the season, Payne was one of the first men off the New York bench and proved to be fairly reliable, posting numbers that were generally consistent with the rest of his career on offense and putting up an improved defensive front.

While his role often fluctuated throughout the year — he and Miles McBride more or less shared the role of top Jalen Brunson spell option — he carried consistent minutes. That came up big at the start of the playoffs, when Payne prematurely saved the postseason with a clutch performance that buoyed the Knicks' early prospects (more on that below).

However, after that daring debut (which saw Payne stand as a plus-23 in just under 15 minutes of action), Payne failed to keep the momentum alive. With the Knicks already low on depth scoring, Payne hit just two more three-pointers after getting three alone in the first game. After going 1-of-8 in six showings against the Boston Celtics and an equally dire 2-of-10 in the conference final against the Pacers, Payne was effectively removed from the Knicks' rotation, replaced by Delon Wright for the rest of the series. Payne did not take the floor again after the Knicks fell behind 2-0 to Indiana.

Finest Hour

Alas for Payne, his postseason debut as a Knick was not a sign of things to come but he can perhaps at least be credited for extending the Tom Thibodeau era by a few weeks.

Facing the Detroit Pistons was perhaps the Knicks' worst-case scenario when it came to a first-round opponent: armed with a sense of healthy reckless abandon after a historic comeback season, the Pistons had nothing to lose and played like it in the opening game of the quarterfinal set with a consistent lead that had Madison Square Garden squirming.

A clutch final frame from Payne, however, helped the Knicks set a victorious tone for the series, as he scored 11 of his 14 points over the last dozen en route to a 123-112 victory. Payne and Jalen Brunson united to score all but four points of a 21-0 run that change the course of the postseason and Payne himself tallied his best scoring output in a playoff game since his forgotten Phoenix swan song, getting 31 on 12-of-16 in an infamous elimination loss to Denver.

They Said It

"You don’t last as long in this league if you can’t make an impact on winning. I think Cam has proven he can do that." - Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff (h/t Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News).

“He’s been great for us every time we’ve needed him either when JB went down or gets hurt. Cam has always stepped in as an integral part of our team and finding ways for us to be successful.” - Karl-Anthony Towns on Payne (h/t Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News).

What's Next?

Like Wright before him, Payne may go down as one of the hidden losers of the Thibodeau firing. He is set to be one of four unrestricted free agents on the New York ledger, alongside Wright, Precious Achiuwa and Landry Shamet.

Payne's prowess as a veteran depth presence might've caught Thibodeau's eye but with expanded sets and in-house fostering potentially back on the horizon, Payne may look, and maybe even have to go elsewhere, especially considering he had effectively fallen out of the New York rotation in Thibodeau's final hours.

Again, like Wright, it wouldn't cause the Knicks much hassle to keep Payne, especially if the new boss values the requisite postseason experience requirements. But Payne is looking for greater on-floor opportunities, it may be best for all sides to move on.

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• Delon Wright