Thunder Practice Report: Cameron Payne Injures Foot, Again

With the season set to start on October 26, the Thunder continued its training camp on Thursday morning with the team set to leave for Spain on Friday.

Related: Ronnie Price's Defense Standing Out Early In Camp

Here’s a few takeaways from practice: 

Cameron Payne injures foot, again

It was announced by the Thunder early on Thursday that second-year point guard Cameron Payne suffered an acute fracture to the fifth metatarsal in his foot and didn’t give a timetable for his return.

This is tough news for anyone, but especially for Payne, who had surgery on the same foot earlier in the offseason.

“I feel bad for Cameron or any player that gets hurt and has to sit out, but he’s in great hands here and his spirits seem to be pretty good, hopefully through training camp now we can help him find some ways where he can think of things to get better at and improve by watching tape and watching practice,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “I think anytime somebody gets hurt, doesn’t get a chance to do something they love you always feel bad about that.”

Payne was expected to take on a bigger role on offense this season after an impressive performance during summer league play, but his opens up the door for other players to step up.

“We have camp to look at a lot of different things,” Donovan said. “Whether Ronnie [Price], Victor [Oladipo], Samaj [Christon], whoever it may be back there behind Russell [Westbrook], we’ve got some options and we have camp to look at a lot of those things.”

Sabonis and Roberson impress at Blue-White scrimmage

There are a lot of question marks for the Thunder this season, but one of them revolves around the power forward position. There’s been much speculation about who will start in that spot, but in the Blue and White scrimmage on Tuesday night it was rookie Domantas Sabonis slotting in that spot, and the Gonzaga product made the most of the opportunity by making all four of his field goal attempts.

“Domantas, like I said earlier, is a high IQ player, he’s tough, he’s physical, he has a good understanding of how to play the game,” Donovan said. “There’s different things that he can do that I think can make the game easier for other players out there.

“As long as keeps the attitude he’s got, and continues to work like he’s working I think he’s going to continue to grow and develop.”

Along with Sabonis’s solid performance on Tuesday, longtime Thunder defensive stopper looked to improve his game on the offensive end of the floor.

“The only thing that’s a glaring improvement for Andre is he’s handling the ball much better,” Donovan said. “He’s handling the ball out on the floor, in the break, in the half court, he’s doing those things at a lot higher rate and he’s getting the opportunity to do so. It’s been good to see his growth and development.”

In the past, the Thunder has been a team that pushes the ball on the break with Kevin Durant being a key factor in doing so. But without Durant, it’s encouraging to see Roberson take on more of a ball handler role.

Adams excited for Spain

The Thunder organization decided to mix things up a bit this preseason as the team will depart for Spain on Friday to continue their preparation while helping spread the NBA brand. Despite the luxurious scenery Oklahoma City brings, it’s safe to say the players are excited to leave the 405 for a bit and train in another country.

“It’s not a bad place for preseason, that’ll be fun,” Steven Adams said after Thursday’s practice. “A good opportunity to see a different country, expand the NBA.”

Along with the opportunity to train in a different environment, Adams said he’s excited to check out Spain, and hopes Thunder rookie Alex Abrines will show him around the place he grew up. The only problem is: Adams will have to remember Abrines’s name first.

“It’ll be a good opportunity to meet old mate, Alex, I keep forgetting his last name, it reminds me of sardines, but Abrines, I don’t know why but it reminds me of sardines,” Adams said. “But it’ll be a good opportunity to meet his family, get to understand his culture a bit, that’s what I’m excited about.”