The Warriors are still waiting on the LeBron James sweepstakes to sort itself out, and that uncertainty is hanging over everything they do this offseason. If Golden State lands the former Los Angeles Lakers star, the ceiling changes. If it doesn’t, the team could be headed for the Play-In tournament for the third time in four years.
Against that backdrop, Heavy’s Sean Deveney floated a reunion that would be familiar but hardly transformative: Gary Payton II.
“What is surprising is that the Warriors have not chosen to do anything besides bring back their own players,” Deveney stated. “They could opt to bring back Gary Payton II soon. But there have been options that they could have added while waiting on James, but chose not to do so.”
Payton has already had two very different NBA stops that connect him to this story. He spent 11 games with the Lakers in 2017-18, and later became a key energy piece for Golden State, where he won a title in 2022. The 6-foot-2 guard has carved out his value with defense, activity on the perimeter, and the occasional made three.
Last season with the Warriors, the Oregon State product averaged 7.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.9 steals while shooting 58.3% from the field and 29.1% from beyond the arc.
Still, even with those numbers, Payton doesn’t look like the kind of addition that would swing Golden State’s outlook in a major way. He’s useful, but not the sort of player who changes the whole equation for Stephen Curry and company. That helps explain why the Warriors haven’t made him a priority.
In Other News...
Warriors Fans Wont Love What Kuminga Could Suddenly Be Worth
Jonathan Kumingas market may be getting a fresh jolt, and it comes at a time when the Warriors are already looking back at the way they handled his exit. According to Khobi Price of the New York Post, the Lakers have interest in a sign-and-trade with the Hawks involving Kuminga, a reminder that his value around the league can still move fast even after Golden State moved on from him. What makes the situation sting a little more for Warriors fans is how little the team got in return when it sent him to Atlanta.
The contrast is hard to miss because Atlanta could be the team cashing in on the kind of draft compensation Golden State did not secure. Kumingas talent has always made him a tricky evaluation, especially when his desire to be a star sometimes clashed with the fit alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. And while the Warriors did wind up with Kristaps Porzingis in the broader deal, his health issues have limited how much that return has actually helped, leaving the bigger question of Kumingas worth hanging over the whole sequence. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Beat Mavericks As One Rookie Suddenly Has Fans Talking
The Warriors Summer League run picked up a little more intrigue with a 101-90 win over the Mavericks, and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg was a big reason why. He filled the box score with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, giving Golden State a versatile presence that stood out in a game where the young roster needed someone to steady things.
Lendeborgs night also added another layer to his early summer resume after he had already appeared in the California Classic before this latest stop in Vegas. Golden State still has three Summer League games left, beginning against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the focus now shifts to whether Lendeborg can keep building on a performance that has already started to get people talking. [Read more 🡒]