Phoenix Suns 3 Trade Assets to Acquire a 2022 NBA Draft Pick

The Phoenix Suns can trade Cameron Payne for a later round pick

An up and down 2021-22 campaign ended on a downturn for Cameron Payne. Even with him still being on a team-friendly contract, that makes him a tough sell for any team looking pawn off a pick tonight. At best, he only nets Phoenix a late second rounder.

This past year, Payne averaged a solid 10.8 points per game. However, his sporadic play often got him in trouble, as he turned the rock over 1.8 times per contest. He also battled a variety of injuries and never rekindled his red hot shooting from a season ago, hitting from beyond the arc at a 33.6 percent clip.

However, Payne remains just 27 years old, meaning that his best playing days are likely still ahead of him rather than behind. That upside, along with the memories from a year ago when he acted as an effective sparkplug off the bench for Phoenix could command a mid-to-late second rounder, and possibly a back end bench player to balance out the cap.

Such a deal likely only gets done with a middle pack team that stands to benefit both from Payne with one year still on his deal, but also can survive a year with him on the books even if he struggles once again.