Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s Greek club Panathinaikos has signed former NBA power forward Adreian Payne to a deal, team president Dimitris Giannakopoulos announced on Instagram.
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Payne, 26, started this past season with the NBA’s Orlando Magic on a two-way contract but he was cut by the team two days after Payne’s name was brought up in the Michigan State sexual assault scandal. Payne, along with former teammate Keith Appling, was accused of a sexual assault in 2010 on a recruiting trip before he even played for the Spartans. No charges were filed in the incident.
Appling is currently serving a one-year jail sentence stemming from a gun charge in August of 2016.
The five-year NBA veteran played 107 games in his NBA career for the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Orlando Magic. He was originally drafted by the Hawks with the 15th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. This past season Payne played give games averaging 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds.
Panathinaikos, the reigning Greek League and Greek Cup champions, is currently sitting at 13-8 on the season good for fifth in the EuroLeague. Payne joins fellow former college stars in Florida Gators alum Nick Calathes, Zach Auguste from Notre Dame and Chris Singleton of Florida State along with former New York Knicks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the brother of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. The team also has James Gist, Kenny Gabriel and Konstantinos Mitoglou in the power forward position.
