Warriors To Re-Sign Gary Payton II

Payton will be signing a one-year, $3.9MM contract with Golden State, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). Those terms suggest it’ll be a veteran’s-minimum arrangement, as the guard’s minimum salary this season is $3,876,529. Golden State will carry a $2,449,421 cap hit on a one-year, minimum-salary deal.

Payton, 33, has spent most of the past six seasons with the Warriors. Following his first two years in Golden State, he signed with Portland as a free agent in 2022 but was traded back to the Warriors at the 2023 trade deadline and has been with the club since then.

Payton’s role has remained relatively consistent in recent years, as he typically averages about 15 minutes per game off the bench for head coach Steve Kerr. In 2025/26, the former Oregon State standout made 73 regular season appearances, averaging 7.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 15.6 minutes per night.

Payton is a career 32.8% three-point shooter on low volume and his 7.5 points per game last season represented a career high, but he’s a savvy cutter and is a versatile point-of-attack defender who has earned Kerr’s trust and become a respected figure in the locker room. Multiple reports since free agency began a month ago stated that Payton and the Warriors had mutual interest in a new deal.

While we’re still waiting on the exact details of De’Anthony Melton‘s newly signed contract, Payton’s deal will move the Warriors to within about $5-6MM of their second-apron hard cap with 13 players on standard contracts. Golden State should have enough room below that hard cap to fill both its 14th and 15th with minimum-salary veterans, though it remains to be seen if that’s the plan or if the club intends to keep the 15th spot open to start the season.

For what it’s worth, reporting last week suggested the Warriors remain in the market for a frontcourt player who can stretch the floor, with Kelly Olynyk and Georges Niang identified as possible free agent options.