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As the Chicago Bulls watch the NBA Playoffs continue on from home, they’re watching former players left and right shine in new situations, some admittedly more than others.
Bobby Portis, Chandler Hutchison, Daniel Gafford, Derrick Rose, Jabari Parker, Jimmy Butler, Kris Dunn, Robin Lopez, Shaquille Harrison, and Taj Gibson all made the playoffs in a year where their former team came up short.
And guard Cameron Payne, who Chicago acquired in the trade deadline deal that saw Taj Gibson leave the Windy City.
The 26-year old guard is averaging 11.7 points, 3.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals across the Phoenix Suns’ seven playoff games this postseason against the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.
His play has garnered attention from all around the NBA, but most recently, from longtime NBA point guard Jarrett Jack, who played in the league for 13 seasons from 2005 to 2018.
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Jack: ‘Keep Cooking Cam’
With Chris Paul reinjured in Game Five of the Phoenix Suns playoff series against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, the team turned to Cameron Payne to step up in his absence.
And the sixth man responded, putting up 16 points on seven-of-11 shooting from the field in the Game Five win.
That helped fuel the team to Game Six, where they eliminated the Lakers and advanced to the Semi-Finals.
This has drawn even more attention to Payne’s resurgence. After spending 56 games with the Chicago Bulls, and an increasingly short stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, he went overseas and played in China, albeit briefly.
To the defense of Chicago and Cleveland, he looks the part of a completely different player today, hitting above 40 percent mark from three and displaying the IQ to run an offense behind one of the best of all time in Chris Paul.
Regardless, current and former players have been vocal in reminding the Bulls what could have been.
First, it was Memphis Grizzlies’ point guard Ja Morant:
Then, on Monday, longtime NBA point guard Jarrett Jack chimed in from his Instagram story:
All of this is in reference to the infamous quote supplied by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times back in 2017:
We knew the second practice [after he was acquired] that he couldn’t play at [an NBA] level. The only reason it took two practices was because we thought maybe it was nerves in the first one. Any [Bulls] coach who says differently is lying. . . . We got ‘Garred’ on that one.
Don’t expect that quote to go away any time soon, with the Phoenix Suns looking like a legitimate contender after emphatically putting down the Denver Nuggets in Game One of the second round on Monday night.
Point Guard Still the Position of Need in Chicago
As was the case when the Chicago Bulls sent Cameron Payne packing, the point guard position is a glaring weakness.
First-year head coach Billy Donovan altered between veteran Tomas Satoransky and second-year guard Coby White throughout the 2020-2021 season, with neither expected to man the starting spot coming opening night next year.
Instead, Chicago’s expected to take a swing on any and all talents that become available at the position this summer. They’ve been tied heavily to 23-year old Lonzo Ball, who’s headed for restricted free agency.
Regardless, it doesn’t help the Bulls case under this scrutiny that they still don’t have their house in order.
No one’s saying this version of Cameron Payne would do away with the team’s point guard troubles, but no one’s arguing that he’s a guy they could have used this season, either.
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