What was the problem with Payne?

[Diesel]

This to me seems like us making another miscalculation.  Tomorrow is the trade deadline and we haven't seemed to be courting anybody.  Payne had good potential.  And right here in the midst of a strong run, we needed all hands on deck, especially bigs.  So what was the truth behind that move?

 

[NJHAWK]

My guess is he wasnt happy about his lack of play and asked to be traded.

[NBASupes]

Honestly, he didn't fit. His low BBIQ was too much to overcome. 

[hazer]

My hunch is that he "just wasn't getting it" on a timescale acceptable to management. Not saying he won't be a good player and maybe even a starter in a more basic system. You have to be a certain type of player to work in Bud's system, not every player can adapt. Payne might've, eventually.

[Randy]

I think hazer might be on the right track.  They bent and twisted the d-league rules to get him down to Austin to learn the Spurs system, but seldom played when he came back.  Or maybe, he is just a bust.  For young players fit is probably the most important thing in making it.  Looks like the Hawks just weren't the right fit.

[JETSET]

They weren't confident in his ability to earn a spot on this team now or in the future.  When that happens, it's best to trade the player asap to retain as much value as possible.  Otherwise, you end up with a John Jenkins situation and you get nothing in return for the busted pick.

[LamarHampton]

I don't know if it continued, but for the first part of the season when he was in the D League his fg% was atrocious. Gotta think if he couldn't put up a better % in the DL, it's not going to be any better in the NBA and I'm sure that was a concern too. But more than that, i think it has to do simply with flexibility and devloping Moose and Tavares, who may just have higher ceilings in the eyes of the coaches.

[DrReality]

I don't know if it continued, but for the first part of the season when he was in the D League his fg% was atrocious. Gotta think if he couldn't put up a better % in the DL, it's not going to be any better in the NBA and I'm sure that was a concern too. But more than that, i think it has to do simply with flexibility and devloping Moose and Tavares, who may just have higher ceilings in the eyes of the coaches.

Moose caught on and Payne was behind him. The jury is still out cuz we may still make a move. He wasn't Buds kind of player

[NBASupes]

I don't know if it continued, but for the first part of the season when he was in the D League his fg% was atrocious. Gotta think if he couldn't put up a better % in the DL, it's not going to be any better in the NBA and I'm sure that was a concern too. But more than that, i think it has to do simply with flexibility and devloping Moose and Tavares, who may just have higher ceilings in the eyes of the coaches.

Moose needs 10-15 more pounds and Edy should be on the roster right now. 

[Final_quest]

We can only speculate on if his talent or skill was the main reason he was traded.  I'd like to think this has more to do with us trying to win a championship THIS year.  People need to remember that we are no longer in the building talent for the future stage.  If we can get a reliable veteran who will help us achieve the ultimate goal, trading a rookie for a future 1st round pick is no big deal.

 

I don't think the coaches will ever say that Payne was traded due to his lack of talent.  All you can do is guess if that was the case.   

[Diesel]

I think hazer might be on the right track.  They bent and twisted the d-league rules to get him down to Austin to learn the Spurs system, but seldom played when he came back.  Or maybe, he is just a bust.  For young players fit is probably the most important thing in making it.  Looks like the Hawks just weren't the right fit.

 

If you would have looked at Dennis last year, you would have said the same thing.   Dennis didn't fit well.  Seemed as he didn't get it.  However, we gave him time.   Bigs are the hardest positions to learn.  This dude could have been something.

[Diesel]

We can only speculate on if his talent or skill was the main reason he was traded.  I'd like to think this has more to do with us trying to win a championship THIS year.  People need to remember that we are no longer in the building talent for the future stage.  If we can get a reliable veteran who will help us achieve the ultimate goal, trading a rookie for a future 1st round pick is no big deal.

 

I don't think the coaches will ever say that Payne was traded due to his lack of talent.  All you can do is guess if that was the case.   

 

I can be down with this, but we have 1 more day.

[DeacKillsaDevil]

But we kept Pero.  Yeah!!!!!

[JETSET]

If you would have looked at Dennis last year, you would have said the same thing.   Dennis didn't fit well.  Seemed as he didn't get it.  However, we gave him time.   Bigs are the hardest positions to learn.  This dude could have been something.

Dennis was also a 19 or 20 year old rookie who was playing U.S. ball for the first time in his life.

 

Payne was a 4 year senior from Michigan St.

 

You have to expect them to be more patient with Dennis.

But we kept Pero.  Yeah!!!!!

and the underrating of Pero continues.

[capstone21]

I think we needed some flexibility for a title run ... Payne like Moose and Jenkins is not ready to contribute this year ... he brought back the best return of our expendable guys with a first round pick ... we now have the ability to add someone who can help us this year and we also now have an extra first rounder either as a trade chip or to get us another player down the road.

[Q45T]

I remember people kept sayin' Payne was "NBA-Ready" and "ready to contribute immediately"... well obviously he wasn't.  Honestly I wasn't sure why we picked him in the first place when we already had a logjam at that position.

[benhillboy]

I'm guessing the plantar fasciitis didn't help him much either. Doesn't that injury linger for a good while? Not good for a guy who's supposedly a leaper.

Seemed like a good kid, bad pick, but no starters taken after him like Bebe. I guess 8-9 possible rotational guys, hopefully much more from Tavares.

Edited February 18, 2015 by benhillboy

[macdaddy]

Maybe we should be trying to acquire as many 2nd round picks as possible.  That seems to be our forte.

[AUhawksfan]

I don't think Payne wanted to be traded, Al or somebody mentioned that he was kind of disappointed when it happened.  Who wants to go to Minnesota anyways?  Though they do have a future.

 

I think it was partly to do with Payne's developing and understanding of our system.  He may have just not been a fit and was the odd man out.  Bud has also made it clear he likes our current bigs - including Muscala and Edy.  Maybe this was a move to get a spot for Edy next year and maybe there is also the hope Muscala continues to develop and get more minutes.

[hazer]

If Hawks weren't currently 1st in the East and in the Finals hunt, Payne probably would've been given more time to develope. But unexpectedly, it's GO time. This move offers the most flexibility with the least amount of payne (see what I did there :P), opens up more playing time for Moose (who seems better suited to the system), and clears a spot for Edy next year. 3 birds, 1 stone.