Bulls’ Cameron Payne to undergo another foot surgery

When the Bulls acquired Cameron Payne in the February deal that sent Doug McDermott and Taj Gibson to the Oklahoma Thunder last season, the team had hoped the young point guard would be an asset for the future. Well, that future will have to wait a bit.

The Bulls announced on Thursday that Payne, 23, will have to undergo foot surgery next week after breaking his right foot during an offseason workout.

The Bulls said Payne suffered a fracture to the fifth metatarsal on July 18. Payne’s foot was placed in a boot for six weeks, according to the team, but a follow-up CT scan revealed the foot did not heal. Surgery is now recommended.

The Bulls did not say how long Payne will be out, but one report says it could be until late November.

Payne had surgery on the same foot last offseason to deal with a “Jones fracture,” a break in the fifth metatarsal. He re-injured the foot during the pre-season and opted to treat it non-surgically.

Payne was chosen by the Thunder as the 14th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft. He played sparingly as the backup to Russell Westbrook.

For the Bulls, Payne was the key component of the trade that sent McDermott and Gibson to Oklahoma.

At the time of the trade, Bulls vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said: “We think Cam Payne is a guy who can take some of the ball-handling role off Jimmy. He can run a team and do some things that way.”

Paxson also talked about Payne’s injury history, saying: “We got all the things we needed to do medically and we’re pretty confident about it.”

But Payne’s right foot acted up again shortly after coming to the Bulls, and he was later sent to the D-League.

In two seasons, Payne has played in 88 games, averaging 4.9 points, 1.4 assists and 1.2 turnovers per game.

The Bulls had hoped Payne could backup Kris Dunn at point guard this season.

As for the other two players acquired by the Bulls in the Oklahoma trade — Anthony Morrow is an unrestricted free agent and Joffrey Lauvergne has signed with the Spurs.