Cam Payne will sign a rest-of-the-season contract with Philly after being bought out by Serbian club Partizan Belgrade

The Sixers are officially running it back with one of the few bench pieces fans actually liked. According to Marc Stein, Cam Payne will sign a rest-of-the-season contract with Philadelphia after being bought out by Serbian club Partizan Belgrade.

Cam Payne is back with the Sixers

Cam Payne is signing a rest-of-season deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, per @TheSteinLine.

The veteran guard is reportedly finalizing a buyout with Partizan Belgrade in Serbia to return to the NBA. pic.twitter.com/FFntXet2IE

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 16, 2026

Just like that, the 31-year-old lefty is back in South Philly, and honestly, it makes a lot of sense. Cam Payne was quietly solid during his first stint with the Sixers at the end of the 2023-24 season, giving them 9.3 points and 3.1 assists per game as an energy guard off the bench who never seemed afraid of the moment.

He had that chaotic microwave scorer vibe, the kind of player who can swing a quarter with a couple of quick threes and a reckless drive to the rim. He even showed up in the playoffs, dropping 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting in the Game 3 win over the Knicks, one of the few nights that series didn’t feel like a slow bleed.

Cam Payne – Juice

Cam Payne gave us so much juice off the bench in that Knicks series in 2024. Love the move! @dmorey 😈 pic.twitter.com/s7RsynZKE0

— Bleav In 76ers (@BleavIn76ers) February 16, 2026

More importantly, the locker room loved him. Tyrese Maxey went out of his way to praise Cam Payne’s positivity, calling him “extremely positive” and highlighting how vocal he was on the bench. For a team that constantly talks about vibes and energy, Payne checks that box without trying too hard.

Since leaving Philly, Cam Payne spent time with Partizan Belgrade, where he averaged 12.4 points and 3.9 assists over 10 EuroLeague games. That production isn’t nothing, especially considering the Sixers’ current guard situation.

After trading Jared McCain and dealing with Quentin Grimes missing time due to illness, the depth chart got thin in a hurry. Daryl Morey admitted at the deadline that the team wanted to add but nothing “moved the needle.”

Cam Payne might not be a needle-mover in the grand sense, but he’s a stabilizer, I guess. Still, it just shows you that nothing Morey or the front office does makes a lick of sense. They told Sixers fans that they didn’t move McCain to duck the tax and it was actually because they had a ton of guards on the roster.

Then, we all witnessed Kyle Lowry get some minutes because the Sixers (obviously) didn’t have too many guards. Now, they are bringing back Cam Payne, a guard. Just make it make sense and stop insulting the fans, ya know?

Either way, at 30-24, the Sixers are trying to balance competing now with whatever long-term flexibility Morey is obsessed with.

Cam Payne gives them a known quantity who can handle the ball, push the pace, and not shrink in big moments.

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