Timberwolves Assign Adreian Payne to D-League

In a somewhat surprising move, the Wolves have assigned 2nd year forward Adreian Payne to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA D-League. Payne, who has been skirting around the edges of the rotation all season, has lost playing time recently as the team has recommitted to Nemanja Bjelica and Nikola Pekovic's return to the active roster has added another big to the mix.

That said, this will likely be a short assignment, as most D-league assignments are, and I would expect Payne back with the club in the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, it allows the Wolves to activate another player on a regular basis, likely Tyus Jones. NBA teams are allowed to have 13 players active for any given game. Since Pekovic returned, the pattern has been to keep Jones and either Garnett or Pek (on the nights they don't play) inactive; on the nights both are available it's been Damjan Rudez.

For Payne, it's an opportunity to get some playing time stay in game shape, though his likely stint will be too short for any real "development" to happen.