What do the Timberwolves have in Adreian Payne?

Adreian Payne is still a mystery for Timberwolves fans.

After acquiring him last year in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, Payne played in 29 games for the Timberwolves. He was thrust into the starting lineup in 22 of those due to injuries in the front court and averaged a respectable 7.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He didn’t show any stellar play to make fans excited for his future, but he also wasn’t necessarily a huge bust.

The Wolves’ front court became crowded over the off-season as they drafted Karl-Anthony Towns and signed Tayshaun Prince and Nemanja Bjelica. Payne was relegated to the end of the bench when the season started, logging five dreaded “Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision”s in the first ten games. Even when he did get into the games, it often wasn’t for very long, as he played in less than four minutes in three other games to open the season.

Since that opening stretch, however, Payne has appeared in all seven of the Wolves’ games (beginning with Miami and going up to the Clippers game) and has averaged 13.8 minutes. He is being played mostly at the power forward position, but has slid between small forward and center as well.

In this seven game sample, Payne is averaging 4.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.6 assists on 38.7% shooting. Not great numbers by any means, but also not anything that is too bad.

His effectiveness on defense comes and goes, mostly depending on how often he fouls. There was a two-game stretch against the Sixers and Hawks where he committed an astonishing 11 fouls in just 28 minutes, which included fouling out against the Sixers in just over 11 minutes of playing time.

Although Payne is only getting limited playing time, he is averaging a very good 17.8 points and 12.1 rebounds per 100 possessions. However, he is also averaging a whopping 10 fouls per 100 possessions, which may be contributing to why he is not getting more playing time.

There are two bigger obstacles in his path to more playing time, though: the Wolves messy front court (already covered), and the fact that Payne doesn’t have one reliable skill.

He’s average at a lot of things (defense, shooting, passing, etc.) and below-average at some others (dribbling and post offense come to mind). His only basketball skill that is possibly above-average is rebounding, but even that isn’t anything that other teams are afraid of.

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Payne isn’t particularly good at any one thing, but his one trait that will continue to earn him minutes is his motor. It was evident when he was at Michigan State, and he continues to show that part of his game on a nightly basis. He will outwork people for rebounds, get some hard-nosed loose balls, and battle against bigger players on defense.

This shows even though he doesn’t have any well-developed basketball skills. His plus/minus on the season is -6, which shows that he has been close to an average player on a (surprisingly) average team so far.

He is holding his own mostly through hard work in the little aspects of the game and by playing within himself. He mostly just takes what the defense gives him, shooting open jumpers or making quick swing passes. However, he sometimes does force things on offense, which can turn into this:

That has been rare this season though, and to be fair, the shot clock was winding down as Payne gathered the loose ball. For the most part, though, Payne has provided some solid minutes for the Timberwolves. He has shown that he can be effective, flashing some impressive skills in this sequence:

That would be Payne at his best: playing hard on defense, running the floor, and getting easy buckets.

Right now, he is a few months away from turning 25 years-old and doesn’t seem to have a very high ceiling. However, with his work ethic, it isn’t hard to imagine him turning into a decent three-point shooter and a good defender that can switch onto anyone. Add that to his rebounding, and you get a player that could provide some quality rotation minutes for a contending team in a few years.

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It’s hard to not root for someone that works as hard as Payne does. So while I am a little biased, I believe that Payne really will turn into the type of player that can play solid defense and stretch the floor on offense. If he continues to get consistent rotation minutes, the Wolves should know what they have in Payne by the end of the year, and the mystery of Adreian Payne will reach a conclusion.