Adreian

Payne

Payne made 8-of-16 field goals (0-of-3 from deep) and 4-of-6 free throws, with just one turnover and one personal foul in 31 minutes. He’s had an up-and-down Summer League and his fantasy outlook got even bleaker with the Wolves’ signing of Jordan Hill on Wednesday.

Payne blew up in the fourth quarter and he hasn’t been shy offensively, attempting 13.3 shots through seven Summer League games, but he came in shooting just 40 percent in Vegas. The Wolves beefed up their frontcourt via free agency this offseason, limiting Payne to a bit role even if Kevin Garnett and Nikola Pekovic fall out of the picture.

Payne even hit a 3-pointer tonight, after going a combined 10-of-41 from deep in his first two NBA seasons. The Wolves added Jordan Hill and Cole Aldrich to their frontcourt this offseason, so we’re not expecting Payne to be fantasy-relevant while the roster is at full strength.

Payne had played eight minutes all season prior to his extended appearance tonight, which was the result of multiple injury-based absences for Minnesota. He’s nowhere near the standard-league radar.

It likely wasn’t on purpose, but he gave Marcus Morris one of the worst elbows of the season. Payne was in the rotation tonight with Nemanja Bjelica (ankle) out, but he doesn’t have much value.

Bjelica missed Friday’s loss to the Pistons, and the game-time decision suggests he hasn’t improved much. If he’s out, Brandon Rush and Adreian Payne will split his minutes, but that really doesn’t mean much in fantasy hoops.

It’ll be his third straight game on the sidelines due to the illness, but his playing status is irrelevant in fantasy hoops as he’s a negligible part of the rotation in Minnesota.

Payne has been sidelined for over a month due to a serious illness. Fortunately, it appears he has improved enough to be able to practice with the team. However, Payne is still a long way from getting back into game shape. Even before the illness, he was not a part of the rotation and can be left on the waiver wire in all leagues.

This is the first time that Payne has been able to practice with the team after a severe illness forced him to the sidelines for more than a month, but as Thibodeau said, he’s not close to being ready for any game-time action. Payne was a negligible part of the rotation prior to the injury, so his playing status has no bearing in fantasy hoops.

Tom Thibodeau said that Payne had “a long way to go conditioning wise,” after Payne returned to practice on Tuesday, so it’s surprising to see him being hit with the questionable tag. Maybe Thibs wants Payne to get back on the court to work on his conditioning, but even once he’s fully up to speed, it’s unlikely he’ll be logging enough minutes to matter in most leagues.