We owe this former Phoenix Sun an apology

There is no doubt that the 2024-25 Phoenix Suns are a deeper and better team than last season's. In fact you could make the case that this is the best roster the organization has had since they went to the NBA Finals back in 2021.

Depending on your views on Deandre Ayton - and the player who replaced him - and Kevin Durant, you might even think this team would beat the 2021 version of the Suns. We'll save that chatter for 2K, but fans in The Valley have to be happy with what they get to cheer on each night. Point guard Tyus Jones the cherry on top when he was added this offseason.

Yet we still own former player Cameron Payne an apology.

We need to preface this by saying that this team is better with Jones running the show, and if you gave fans a choice, they would pick Jones over Payne. It was also not possible to keep Payne anyway when they sent him to the San Antonio Spurs, as to keep him would have made their tough financial situation even worse.

To watch Payne to start the season with the New York Knicks was... not good. We even said as much, highlighting his struggles in New York to begin the campaign (sorry...) there. It looked much the same as parts of his four seasons in Phoenix. Trying to do too much, and taking on ill-advised shots with his unique lefty style that more often than not failed to go in.

But in November something clicked for Payne, and it has translated into one of the best month's of basketball from the player that we have seen in quite some time. He will always get a pass in The Valley for some solid playoff showings in which he didn't shy away from the challenge, stepping up when so many of his teammates did not.

Somehow Knicks' head coach Tom Thibodeau has managed to coax that version of the 30-year-old out, and it has coincided with his team settling after the Julius Randle for Karl-Anthony Towns deal. Payne played pretty well in the Knicks' recent win over the Suns - the Josh Hart game as we later dubbed it - finishing with 12 points in 26 minutes of play.

That wasn't as fluke, as this month he has managed just shy of 20 minutes of action each night backing up Jalen Brunson, giving his team 9.7 points in the process. Best of all if you're a Knicks fan, he's shot an absurd 47.7 percent from 3-point range, on just a shade under five attempts per game.

Payne was an above average 3-point shooter in Phoenix (38.4 percent), but it was streaky and often was not there when really needed. That seems to have temporarily changed, with the confidence Payne has always had in his game being backed up by his shot falling at the right time. It may also be that he is thriving in a defensive system designed by coach Thibodeau that hides his shortcomings.

Payne is still not nearly the playmaker that Jones is, and he can't take care of the ball like the current Suns' floor general either. Jones is also averaging more points per game (11.1), albeit he's doing it while operating in a lot of space when his team are healthy. This situation looks like it has worked out for everybody then, but we still need to apologize to Payne, he's turned it around after an ugly start.