Cameron Payne’s foot will force Billy Donovan’s hand.
But even if Payne hadn’t sustained an acute fracture in the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in Tuesday's Blue and White Scrimmage, Donovan said Thursday, the coach would have been examining all the backup options in his backcourt.
Payne, the primary option to back up Russell Westbrook at point guard, is out indefinitely with the injury from Tuesday's game. But it's the second issue with his right foot since the summer.
He had surgery on July 25 to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot, and Donovan said Payne “was still working his way back into getting in shape and getting into a rhythm and getting into a flow," even before Tuesday's injuyr.