MINNEAPOLIS -- Adreian Payne has lost three of the most important women in his life, overcome a learning disability that nearly kept him from qualifying to play college basketball, and worked past multiple health issues to become one of the most coveted prospects in the 2014 NBA Draft.
So when Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer called Payne to his Minneapolis hotel room Tuesday morning and told him not to board the team's airport-bound bus, the newest Timberwolves power forward was shocked, but not sideswiped.
"He told me the news," said Payne, traded Tuesday to Minnesota for a lottery-protected future first-round draft pick, "and the transition started."
The Hawks were in town to demolish the Wolves in the second half Monday. Payne talked to Flip Saunders about their mutual friend Tom Izzo, who coached Payne for four years at Michigan State, before the contest and hadn't the slightest idea he was conversing with his next NBA coach.
After some serious phone-working from Wolves general manager Milt Newton, the trade was executed Tuesday -- in conjunction with dealing Mo Williams and Troy Daniels to Charlotte, thus clearing a roster spot for Payne -- before the Hawks left for Boston. Payne spent Tuesday "hanging out in the hotel" pondering a move that sends him from a contender where he barely played to a lottery-bound organization building for the future.
"I've never been through something like that," Payne said.
Fact is, he's been through far worse.
Payne is a 6-foot-10, 240-pound, 23-year-old from Dayton, Ohio. When he was 13, his mother died in his arms after an asthma attack. Before his junior season in East Lansing, the same disease claimed the life of his grandmother -- who became more like a second mom after his biological mother's death.
And, in a well-documented story that made national headlines, Payne -- and, later, Spartan teammates -- befriended an 8-year-old cancer patient from Lansing, Mich., named Lacey Holsworth. She, too, died, in April.
Even before his relationship with "Princess Lacey," as he and the team called her, Payne dealt with a learning disability that had him spending hours with tutors every day to meet the NCAA and Michigan State's qualification requirements. His lungs are too small for a man of his stature (Saunders says that's a hereditary issue that's under control), and a bout of mononucleosis sapped his energy during the second half of his senior season.
So in dealing for a guy he came very close to drafting this past summer, Saunders knows what he's getting.
"He's got a strong character," said Saunders, who consulted Izzo frequently and worked out Payne in preparation for the 2014 draft. Payne was available at 13th overall for Minnesota, but Saunders went with Zach LaVine's upside over a player he deemed "more NBA-ready" in Payne. "He cares about people."
That's Adreian Payne, the man. Adreian Payne, basketball commodity, remains a relative unknown.
Last year at Michigan State, the stretch-four prospect averaged 16.4 points on 50.3 shooting (42.3 from 3-point range) and 7.3 rebounds per game. He finished his collegiate career as one of just nine players in school history with 1,200 or more points and 700-plus rebounds and graduated as the Spartans' all-time leading shot blocker.
But with Al Horford, Paul Millsap and company in the red-hot Hawks' frontcourt rotation, there was little room for the rookie to make an impact after being drafted 15th overall. He's played in just three NBA games, spending most of this season in the NBA Development League.
Bouncing back and forth from Atlanta to Fort Wayne to Austin and back again, Payne averaged 12.9 points on 48.3 percent shooting (13 percent from 3), 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.2 minutes per game in 17 D-League appearances.
Atlanta dealt him to make room for a veteran ahead of next week's trade deadline and the club's aspired-to NBA Finals push. He ended up on the team with the Western Conference's worst record.
"It's fine," Payne said. "It's a business and it doesn't really matter. I want to be a part of something that I can contribute to and be a part of and help build. With me being here, I'm able to get that."
Payne dressed for Wednesday night's loss to Golden State but didn't see the floor. How he'll affect the rotation moving forward depends on his own performance and what becomes of starting four Thaddeus Young, who can opt out after this season and is a top trade candidate between now and the Feb. 19 cutoff date.
As long as Young is still in the picture, Saunders will have to divide minutes between him, Payne and former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett. With a 7-foot-4 wingspan and highly-regarded pick-and-roll defense, Payne could play some center in smaller lineups.
Payne has the All-Star break to gather his belongings from Atlanta and study up on Saunders' playbook. As of Wednesday, he had nothing but a morning shootaround to learn his new teammates and schemes.
"We talked to him and told him that he has to earn his minutes here," Saunders, who reiterated Wednesday he's not actively looking to make any more moves before the deadline, but is willing to entertain offers. "And like all of our guys he'll have some opportunities based on who we play and personnel and stuff like that. We thought moving forward this was a chance to get him here for the last 30 games and be able to evaluate him and be able to work with him now."
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