The Milwaukee Bucks made a plethora of transactions last season in their attempt to get back to the NBA Finals following their first round loss to the Miami Heat last postseason. Of course, the biggest of these moves was the firing of Mike Budenholzer and the trade of Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen for All-Star point guard Damian Lillard. To replace Budenholzer, who had led the Bucks to their first NBA Championship in 50 years, Milwaukee hired head coach Adrian Griffin.
Unfortunately, none of these moves panned out right away. Griffin was fired midway through the season despite the fact that the Bucks were 30-13 at the time. Doc Rivers was brought in to take his place and finished the season 16-19 at the helm (he had Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lillard, and Khris Middleton all healthy together for a whole six games).
Lillard and Giannis did not have a full offseason to work out together, and the lack of flow in their games on the court was evident. A full offseason knowing that they will be on the same team will do wonders for their production next year.
However, there were some other, lesser-known transactions that did not pan out the way the Bucks had hoped.
Cameron Payne Was One of Several Failed Free Agent Signings by the Milwaukee Bucks
Over the course of last offseason, the Bucks made a flurry of veteran free agent signings. They re-signed forward Jae Crowder, who had played minimal minutes under Budenholzer despite being acquired for five second-round NBA Draft picks.
Milwaukee also signed shooting guard Malik Beasley, who had a very good season offensively, but was such a liability on defense that he often found himself taken out of the game on defensive possessions.
The Bucks also signed point guard Cameron Payne, whom they had faced in the 2021 NBA Finals when he was with the Phoenix Suns. At the time, his signing was highly praised by fans and the media because he figured to be a reliable player off of the bench.
Like Beasley, though, Payne was a liability on defense. Despite the fact that he was shooting nearly 40% from three, the Bucks traded him at the deadline for Patrick Beverley.
Former Milwaukee Bucks Point Guard Cameron Payne Was Arrested on Friday
After being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, Payne saw his playing time increase, and as a result, his production. He went from averaged 6.2 points for Milwaukee to 9.3 for Philadelphia. He still shot around 40% from three, as well.
Now a free agent, there are many 76ers fans that want Payne back. However, even if he is re-signed, he may be facing a bit of a suspension after news broke on Friday that he had been arrested in Phoenix.
According to TMZ, Scottsdale Police responded to a call where they came into contact with Payne and another individual. There are no details as to what happened prior to the call, but “Payne was arrested on the scene and booked on one charge of refusal to provide a truthful name and one count of false report to law enforcement.”
So apparently, Payne refused to tell police his real name and made some kind of false statement to the authorities.
He was released from custody a short time later. No other information is known at this point.
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