Warriors Champion Gary Payton II Reacts to Re-Signing With Team

Payton II is Glad to Be Back

The signing came just in time for the Warriors' media day and Payton II made an appearance, speaking on the contract publicly for the first time. According to Payton II, it wasn't a certainty that he was going to re-sign, but that there wasn't anywhere else he would have wanted to be.

In a post on X by Sam Gordon of the San Francisco Chronicle, Payton II was quoted as saying that "it would have been hard," to leave the Warriors, “but there’s always different scenarios and stuff."

Doubling down on his commitment to Golden State, in regard to those "different scenarios" Payton II said, "Thank God they didn't come about."

Gordon's post also said that Payton II has been building his body over the summer, possibly adding additional strength and physicality to both Payton II's game and the overall Golden State bench rotation. He also dealt with a fair share of injuries last season, and the effort of building his body could be an investment in his physical longevity as well.

Payton II's Strengths and What His Signing Means

In the 2024-25 season, Payton II averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.8 blocks per game while totaling an average of 15 minutes per game. Payton II predominantly came off the bench for Golden State, but also made his fair share of starts, finding his way into the starting lineup 11 times last season.

The Warriors are gearing up for a big offseason to rebuild their roster, which has so far been slowed down by negotiations with Kuminga. The retention of Payton II, a fan-favorite guard known for his defense, is the first of what the Warriors hope is many steps this offseason in bolstering their roster.

Among the many players the Warriors are looking to add to their squad once Kuminga is settled are De'Anthony Melton and Al Horford, who have both reportedly made verbal commitments to the team, even if there's no ink on paper yet.