The Warriors brought Gary Payton II back for a second straight offseason, but the early read on that move is already murky.
Golden State signed the veteran guard to a minimum contract to help fill out the roster, yet after one preseason game, he looked more like an afterthought than a rotation piece. In Sunday’s opener against the L.A. Clippers, Payton didn’t check in until late in the first half, and he was the 13th player Steve Kerr used.
That’s a striking place to be for a player the Warriors clearly wanted back. Even with Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis and Moses Moody out, Payton only logged just under 12 minutes in the 104-101 defeat. He was efficient as usual, finishing with six points, one assist and two steals while going 3-of-5 from the field.
Still, the larger concern is where he fits once the games count. Based on this outing, there’s a real chance Payton spends plenty of nights on the bench.
That wouldn’t be unfamiliar territory either. He had stretches like that early last season before injuries opened the door and he made the most of a bigger role over the final 30 games or so.
The question now is whether that late-season run showed he still has real value on a playoff team, or whether it was mostly the product of extra minutes on a roster that had already settled into its struggles and accepted its Play-In fate.
At the moment, Payton appears to be no better than the fifth guard in the pecking order. He’s behind Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton and Brandon Williams, who impressed off the bench Sunday.
Golden State has long treated Payton as more than a standard guard, leaning into his “little big man” role and using him in frontcourt-heavy looks. But the Warriors may have enough options up front now to move away from those smaller lineups, especially with Kerr needing to prioritize size as the team tries to rebuild its defense under Frank Vogel.
Maybe Kerr simply knows exactly what Payton brings and wants to see more from the less proven pieces around him. Even so, there’s already a sense that the Warriors could look back on this as a missed opportunity if the 2022 champion ends up doing little more than occupying a spot in the locker room this season.
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