SALT LAKE CITY — Cam Payne admits he “honestly didn’t know” what his role would be when he signed with the Knicks in the summer, but the 10-year NBA veteran has contributed 8.2 points in 17.1 minutes over 11 appearances off the bench.
Payne also is shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range, behind only Karl-Anthony Towns (50 percent) among the team’s regular rotation members entering Saturday’s game against the Jazz.
“Honestly, I just wanted to come and help,” said Payne, who signed a one-year contract worth $3 million guaranteed. “When I get out there, I want to be aggressive and just utilize my opportunities. Obviously, I have. I’m in there. I didn’t know, though, coming in. I just wanted to be the best player I could be every day.
“I kind of had to start over again, make people like me, show them what I can do. … Kind of go out there playing so everybody knows what I do, what I bring to the table. And I’m starting to turn some heads a little bit. Hopefully I can get some love there in New York.”
Josh Hart is posting career highs in minutes (37.3), points (14.1) rebounds (9.0), assists (5.9) and field-goal percentage (59.6) through 15 games.
“He’s like a Swiss Army knife. There’s so many different things that he does,” Tom Thibodeau said. “He can initiate offense. He moves well without the ball. He plays fast. He can play in transition.
“And he’s worked extremely hard on his shooting. I think he feels good about his shot. He put a lot of time into it, so that’s positive for us. But I think having the ability to initiate is huge for our team. The defense, the toughness, the hustle plays are I think the big thing. He’s just got a knack for coming up with the ball. Those extra-effort plays give your team a lot of energy and we need that.”
Miles McBride (knee) is questionable and Precious Achiuwa (hamstring) remains out for the Knicks.