NBA free agent guard Cameron Payne was arrested early Friday in Scottsdale, Arizona, for allegedly giving police a false report and refusing to give his name. Payne’s arrest was first reported by sports.
According to the Scottsdale Police Department, officers were called to investigate a disturbance at approximately 2:44 a.m. and found two people at the scene, one of them Payne. Police did not provide details on what disturbance they responded to. But Payne was arrested and booked into the Scottsdale city jail. He was released shortly after.
Payne, 29, played four seasons for the Phoenix Suns from 2019-23. He was the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first-round pick (No. 14 overall) in the 2015 NBA Draft out of state Murray. During his nine-year NBA career, Payne played for the Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers.
The Bucks traded Payne to the Sixers with a second-round pick in February for Patrick Beverley. In 31 regular season games with Philadelphia, he averaged 9.3 points and 3.1 assists per game and shot 38% from 3-point range. During the playoffs, Payne appeared in five games, averaging 5.3 points and shooting 44% on three-pointers.
Payne is currently a free agent, although the Sixers supposedly would like to hire him again.