Bulls somehow still believe that Cameron Payne can be productive

Coach Fred Hoiberg said the Bulls still see something in Cameron Payne.

It’s obviously for practice eyes only because even in the small sample size offered up, Payne seems more suspect than prospect.

But Payne was one of five players whose options were picked up by the Bulls on Friday. They’ll be paying the oft-injured 23-year-old to run the scout team once he returns from offseason foot surgery with the hope that eventually he’ll provide some depth.

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Or maybe it’s simply general manager Gar Forman hanging on to the hope that Payne can justify the trade-deadline deal that sent Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott to the Thunder for a player Forman tagged “the point guard of the future.’’

Well, he’s definitely not the point guard of the present.

“The thing with Cam, he obviously came in during the middle of the season,’’ Hoiberg said. “He came at a tough time. The biggest thing we saw, especially in the playoff prep when he was playing the role of Isaiah Thomas, he really showed an ability to get downhill, spray the ball out.’’

Maybe he did show something, and all eyes were on him heading into Summer League play. His time was cut short, however, because of his grandmother’s illness. After that, Payne injured his foot and hasn’t been seen without a walking boot since.

“He had a really good camp for the Summer League,’’ Hoiberg said. “I know it didn’t translate to the game that he played. He had a lot going on with his grandmother.

“But Cam does some things that can help this team when he gets healthy, by getting into the paint and making plays. We’ll obviously be excited when he gets back, and we’ll see what he can do in the second half of the season.’’

The best-case scenario for Payne’s return is at some point in 2018, with Hoiberg saying he was still in a walking boot and was scheduled to get a scan in the next week to test his progress.

If that exam comes back clean, he could start the rehab process soon afterward.

Down to No. 3 for now

With Kris Dunn (dislocated left index finger) back Saturday, Kay Felder was demoted to third point guard. Felder, who was claimed off waivers from the Cavaliers just before the season started, was giving the Bulls a nice bump with the second unit, averaging 6.8 points in 14.5 minutes.

“As of right now, Kris is the backup,’’ Hoiberg said. “I talked to Kay about that [Saturday] morning. Obviously, he’s gotta be ready based on how things are going out there.’’

Hoiball fan

Zach LaVine (rehabbing from ACL surgery) is close to taking more contact in practice this upcoming week but admittedly has only been able to study Hoiberg’s offense from afar. He definitely likes what he sees.

“With the team that we have and the system that Coach put in, we’re going to get up a lot of threes,’’ LaVine said. “When we’re on, we’re going to blow some teams out with those threes. . . . I think that’s where I can come in and help, and I can’t wait to start playing.’’

Follow me on Twitter @suntimes_hoops.

Email: jcowley@suntimes.com