Beyond the Box Score: Evaluating Cam Payne and Pat Beverley Post-Trade

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey turned heads at the trade deadline by shipping out fan favorite Pat Beverley to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Cam Payne and a 2027 second-round pick. Many fans were skeptical of the trade, citing Beverley’s locker room presence combined with his defensive ability as reasons to keep him on the roster. Now that both players have spent six weeks with their new clubs, let’s take a look at the trade and how Payne and Beverley have performed for their new teams. 

Cam Payne has played a total of 20 games for the Sixers, averaging 10.7 points per game to go along with 3.1 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game.

While his efficiency from the field is down compared to his tenure in Milwaukee, he is scoring at a much higher volume and providing the Sixers with a spark off the bench. With Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, and DeAnthony Melton all missing time due to injury, the Sixers are forced to look at outside options to replace the production lost on the offensive end. Consistency has been hard to come by for Payne, but when he is aggressive, he provides the Sixers with a valuable bench piece on the offensive end.

On the other hand, Pat Beverley has seen his season averages drop during his time with the Bucks, averaging just 5.1 points per game compared to 6.3 in Philadelphia.

He has also been struggling with efficiency as he is shooting just 34% from the field, compared to 42% from Payne. However, there are some areas that Beverley is performing better at including his contributions on the defensive end. Beverley is averaging 0.7 steals per game which is up from 0.5 with the Sixers. He is an important role player on a Milwaukee Bucks team that is looking to find its identity with their third coach in the last 9 months. Beverley is a good fit for this Bucks team as he reunited with coach Doc Rivers who he spent multiple years under in Los Angeles with the Clippers.

Not only did the Sixers get Cam Payne but they also received a future second-round pick in 2027.

They effectively swapped players with expiring contracts and added a future asset that they could use in a trade or on the floor. While Beverley was a great locker-room presence and played hard in his time in Philadelphia, he is also nearing the end of his career at 35 years old. He was unlikely to resign with the Sixers in 2024 so it made sense from a business standpoint to cut ties with him. Cameron Payne is still just 29 years old and has the chance to audition for the roster in the 2024-2025 season.

All in all, this trade has proven to be successful for both sides as the Sixers received a streaky scorer in Payne while the Bucks received a hard-working defensive presence in Beverley. This move won’t move the needle for either team or make them championship contenders, but it was a necessary move and needed a change of scenery for two players looking to cash in on the free-agent market this summer.