Gary Payton II, who was waived by the Warriors over the weekend, has been re-signed, the team announced (via Twitter). It’s a non-guaranteed deal, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Golden State had a roster spot open after cutting Payton – along with guards Avery Bradley and Mychal Mulder and big man Jordan Bell – on Friday. The team now has a full roster, with 15 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals.
Payton’s former contract would have paid him a $659K guarantee if he had remained on the roster for opening night. Every bit of salary is significant for the Warriors, who are well into tax territory, so bringing back Payton after he cleared waivers allows them to have him on the team and essentially pay him by the day.
The 28-year-old guard joined Golden State in April on a pair of two-way contracts, then was signed for the remainder of the season. He got into 10 games, averaging 2.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in 4.0 minutes per night. He is valued for his defensive skills and could be useful for the Warriors off the bench in certain situations.
Defense is what they need when Curry is off the floor. With the much improved bench this is the best team in 3 years they have had.
I think Gary Payton II can help the Warriors this year. The team will have plenty of offense and with GP II they add solid if not spectacular defense. Nice addition!
talk about playing for the love of the game and not crooning on lost out money. gp2 is strong minded.
I love Payton’s game. I watched him in Vegas against the Kings and you could tell that his teammates really love the guy. Great intangibles. Seems like the anti-Simmons.
Just think if he adds a reliable three ball to his game. Talk about Three and DDDDDD!!!!!
He is an exceptional cutter and finisher as well. I like GPII and was pretty sure this was the direction they were going when they released everyone.
Can someone explain the rationale here? Cut a dude then sign him again? I know about the sign then release a dude so he can join the affiliate team. Is there more money in it for him? Puzzling
More like less. He was signed at the end of last season to a deal with this year partially guaranteed. They cant structure the second year like a one year non guaranteed deal so he would have made about 700k to start the year.
The new deal pays him day by day until he is cut or the guarantee deadline hits on I think around Jan 17th. So he can be cut next week and will have not made nearly 700k. This lets the team give him a long look to start the year, and if they feel they need something else they can move on. Later in the year if you have an open roster spot you can bring guys through on 10 day deals or sign a bought out player.
I thought the article explained it very clearly. The rationale here is to save money on their gargantuan luxury tax bill which is currently estimated to be around $160M-$170M. Every small amount they reduce from their payroll during the season saves them millions on their tax bill.
Dubs are deep; Lakers are old…
The Lakers have only three returning players from last year’s team. That does not bode well for on-court team chemistry. Most of the players added are older like you say, so that may mitigate that lack of familiarity somewhat. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the Lakers to gel. Tonight’s opener will be a good test for both teams. Can the Dubs continue the momentum of their pre-season success with their new roster additions and will the Lakers new Big Three be able to play winning basketball with all the new players?
Are they deep at center?
Nickling and diming….. unfortunately, that’s what happens when you pay so much luxury tax. Still, congrats to Payton. For now.
It doesn’t get that much easier for them in the 2022-23 season either. Their payroll for next season is already at $171M with only 8 players: Curry, Klay, Wiggins, Dray, Wiseman, Kuminga, Poole, and Moody. Which already sets the tax bill in 2023 at $68M which will rise back into triple digits as they fill out their roster. But apparently money grows on trees there (so they say)?
Congrats G!!!! He worked hard for this!!! Trust me such a great guy too!!
I like Payton, but would have preferred Marquis Chriss, particularly with Wiseman out for the first month or so.
Any relation to Gary Payton (former NBA guard)?
Lol