<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-makes-dumb-admission-collapse-rockets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Gary Payton II makes ‘dumb’ admission after collapse vs. Rockets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Warriors-news-Gary-Payton-II-makes-dumb-admission-after-collapse-vs.-Rockets.jpg"></figure><h1>Warriors’ Gary Payton II makes ‘dumb’ admission after collapse vs. Rockets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-12T08:44:48-08:00">December 12th, 8:44am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-12T08:44:48-08:00">December 12th, 8:44am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Golden State <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-fans-golden-state-robbed-nba-cup-rockets">Warriors took a tough loss</a> that was decided in the final seconds against the Houston Rockets, as they’ve been eliminated from the NBA Cup. Down one point with 11 seconds remaining in the game, Stephen Curry missed a three-pointer and Gary Payton II grabbed the offensive rebound while on the ground. He then threw the ball out which caused another squirmish on the floor, but instead of a jump ball, the referees called a foul on the Warriors and Jalen Green went to the free-throw line.</p><p>That put the Rockets up three points, and though the Warriors had a chance to take the game into overtime, they missed the shot.</p><p>After the game, Payton <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/daltonjohnson.bsky.social/post/3ld3kfbatq225" rel="noopener">opened up</a> about grabbing the offensive rebound and throwing it out.</p><p>“Dumb play by me,” Payton said, via Warriors reporter Dalton Johnson.</p><p>Though many would say that was the deciding factor of the game, the Warriors were up 90-84 with a little over three minutes remaining in the game and didn’t score for the rest of the quarter. The Rockets played great defense down the stretch and executed on offense, and it looked like they were hungry for the win.</p><h2>Steve Kerr blasts refs after Warriors lost</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Gary-Payton-II.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After the game, head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-steve-kerr-ruthlessly-blasts-officials-after-controversial-nba-cup-loss-vs-rockets">Steve Kerr made sure to let everyone know</a> how he felt about the call at the end of the game that gave the Rockets free throws instead of it being a jump ball.</p><p>“I’ve never seen a loose ball foul on a jump ball situation 80-feet from the basket with the game on the line… I think I saw it in college one time 30 years ago, never in the NBA,” Kerr said, via Brett Siegel, ClutchPoints NBA insider. “That is… unconscionable. I don’t even understand what just happened.</p><p>“I’m stunned. I’m stunned… I don’t think an elementary school (official) would’ve made that call in that game.”</p><p>There’s no doubt that Kerr will be looking at a fine in the coming days, but many think that it was a strange call from the refs at the end of a tight game. Instead of blaming the refs, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-stephen-curry-blame-glaring-issue-nba-cup-loss-rockets">Stephen Curry took the high road</a> and blamed the loss on himself.</p><p>“The pattern of scoreless droughts down the stretch has to be addressed or else we’ll be a mediocre team,”Curry said after the game, via Anthony Slater on X, formerly Twitter. “I’ll take responsibility for not being able to get us organized and not being able to finish plays. Ball’s in my hands. I got to make shots.”</p><p>The Warriors have had hiccups on offense throughout the season, but the hope is that they don’t become a natural occurrence.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Gary Payton II makes ‘dumb’ admission after collapse vs. Rockets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/gary-payton-ii-surprise-start-jonathan-kuminga-is-proof-warriors-concept');   ga('set', 'title', 'Gary Payton II’s surprise start for Jonathan Kuminga is proof of Warriors’ concept');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Warriors-news-Gary-Payton-IIs-surprise-start-for-Jonathan-Kuminga-is-proof-of-Dubs-concept.jpg"></figure><h1>Gary Payton II’s surprise start for Jonathan Kuminga is proof of Warriors’ concept</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-04T19:22:48-08:00">November 4th, 7:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-05T09:08:15-08:00">November 5th, 9:08am</time><address><a>Jack Winter</a>Jack Winter is a veteran NBA writer and editor based on the West Coast. He currently lives in Oakland, covering the Golden State Warriors.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Golden State Warriors entered Saturday’s action leading the NBA by averaging a whopping 61 bench points per game. Though they fell one point shy of that mind-blowing number while beating the Washington Wizards <a href="https://www.nba.com/game/gsw-vs-was-0022400155/box-score" rel="noopener">125-112</a>, don’t be surprised if the Dubs’ reserves are even more productive going forward given Jonathan Kuminga’s new role.</p><p>Despite Stephen Curry returning to the lineup after missing the last three games with a sprained left ankle, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-steve-kerr-shakes-up-lineup-with-gary-payton-ii-jonathan-kuminga-twist">Kuminga once again found himself</a> on the bench for tipoff in the nation’s capital. Gary Payton II replaced Kuminga alongside the Warriors’ four cemented starters of Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis against the Wizards.</p><p>Though he ended up playing just 16 minutes and didn’t even start the second half as Kerr toggled the rotation, Payton’s surprise insertion as a starter was nevertheless proof of concept of what it will take for the Warriors to make good on their stellar start to the regular season.</p><h2><b>Why little things loom so large for Gary Payton II, Warriors</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Warriors-Steve-Kerr-and-Gary-Payton-II-react-during-a-game-against-the-Jazz.jpg"><figcaption>Rob Gray-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The first possession of Monday’s game immediately revealed why it seemed odd—on the surface, at least—for the Warriors to replace Kuminga in their season-long starting five with Payton.</p><p>Kerr has fondly referred to Payton as a “6’2 power forward” for years, alluding to the veteran’s keen ability to finish, defend, screen and rebound like a player who typically stands at least half a foot taller.</p><p>But that unique positional designation also points to the lack of perimeter skills that pretty much every other player across the league of Payton’s size possesses. In Saturday’s game, on one play, Jordan Poole abandoned him in the strong-side corner as Green caught the ball at the elbow, leaving Payton all by himself before the ball gets back to Curry for a splash.</p><p>Kerr repeatedly used the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-steve-kerr-reveals-why-benched-jonathan-kuminga">Dubs’ lack of spacing</a> in lineups featuring Kuminga, Green and Jackson-Davis as justification for the former’s initial benching as Curry nursed his sprained ankle. Kuminga is a more frequent, versatile and reliable long-range shooter than Payton, not to mention a more threatening attacker while eating space in front of him off the bounce.</p><p>If the Wizards were so comfortable completely ignoring Payton on the game’s first possession just one pass away from the primary action, how exactly would his presence make life easier for the starters than Kuminga’s?</p><p>Defense looms large to that equation, obviously, but Payton’s spot in the starting five against Washington came down to more than his years of familiarity checking Poole.</p><p>Payton’s rare passing and screening mind meld with Curry stands second only to Green’s among the Warriors. He’s the type of low-usage, quick-thinking “connector” a hopeful star like Kuminga never had a real chance of becoming, always managing to keep Golden State’s halfcourt offense humming despite his obvious limitations as a shooter.</p><p>Literally no time is wasted before Payton heads backdoor for a layup on one third-quarter trip, his 45 cut even coming before Poole commits to meeting Curry on the other side of Green’s hand-off.</p><p>Kuminga has taken strides moving without the ball this season. A driving factor behind his much-improved play with Curry sidelined was Kuminga making faster, more pointed decisions, beginning to embrace “.5 basketball” like his more veteran teammates have en masse so far.</p><p>Yet as much as he’s expanded his game since entering the league, Kuminga can still only tap so far into the intuitive two-way grunt work that helped Payton find a lasting NBA home in Golden State.</p><p>This consecutive offensive sequence from the second quarter of Saturday’s game seems simple enough, but Payton might be the only player on the roster capable of regularly stringing it together.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>It’s not just floor spacing that makes Kuminga a tough on-court fit next to a pair of nonshooting bigs.</p><p>His <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/on-off/nba/player?Season=2024-25&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;TeamId=1610612744&amp;PlayerId=201939" rel="noopener">usage rate ballooning</a> for the second year running while playing without Curry is justification enough to bring Kuminga off the bench. The stagnant nature of Golden State’s halfcourt offense to open games before Curry went down with his injury served as confirmation bias of that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/predicting-warriors-2024-25-starting-lineup-after-jonathan-kuminga-decision">bygone starting five’s presumed deficiencies</a>.</p><p>When Kuminga and Green share the floor together, the Dubs are clearly at their best playing small up front—an approach the 34-year-old hopes to avoid for extended stretches this season.</p><p>Plugging and playing Payton alongside Curry, Wiggins, Green and Jackson-Davis is no panacea. The full-strength Warriors are bound to change their starting lineup again as 2024-25 continues.</p><p>If you’re wondering why Kerr and the coaching staff believe Golden State functions better with Payton taking the starting spot that used to be Kuminga’s, though, pay extra close attention to the little things.</p><p>Juggernaut days of the dynasty are long gone, even with the Dubs racing out to a dominant 6-1 start ahead of Wednesday’s clash with the defending-champion Boston Celtics. Living up to it by making real noise in the playoffs come spring will take a blend of chemistry, continuity and connectivity that Golden State’s level of top-end talent just can’t come close to matching.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Gary Payton II’s surprise start for Jonathan Kuminga is proof of Warriors’ concept

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-steve-kerr-shakes-up-lineup-with-gary-payton-ii-jonathan-kuminga-twist');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Steve Kerr shakes up lineup with Gary Payton II, Jonathan Kuminga twist');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/warriors-starters-vs-wizards.jpg"></figure><h1>Warriors’ Steve Kerr shakes up lineup with Gary Payton II, Jonathan Kuminga twist</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-04T15:57:08-08:00">November 4th, 3:57pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-04T16:06:25-08:00">November 4th, 4:06pm</time><address><a>Jack Winter</a>Jack Winter is a veteran NBA writer and editor based on the West Coast. He currently lives in Oakland, covering the Golden State Warriors.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Golden State Warriors still aren’t quite back at full-strength.</p><p>De’Anthony Melton remains sidelined on Monday in the nation’s capital, dealing with nagging low back pain that caused him to miss most of last season with the Philadelphia 76ers and reared its ugly head again in mid-October amid the Warriors’ exhibition slate. Golden State has enough quality depth to take an ultra cautious approach to his playing status. Don’t expect to see Melton back on the floor until the discomfort in his back is minimal to nonexistent.</p><p>No matter when he returns to the lineup, Melton probably won’t re-emerge as a candidate to start for the mostly healthy Warriors, either. Yet less than two weeks into 2024-25, it’s become clear Golden State’s starting five could be subject to continued change going forward.</p><p>With Stephen Curry available on Monday after <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1853571239627145535" rel="noopener">recovering from a sprained left ankle</a>, the Warriors are starting Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis against the Washington Wizards alongside the two-time MVP. Conspicuously absent from that group is Jonathan Kuminga, who started in Payton’s place at his preferred position of small forward over the first three games of the regular season.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Tonight’s starters ⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/CjiQkVpD2s">pic.twitter.com/CjiQkVpD2s</a></p><p>— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors/status/1853585034017697890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2>Is Jonathan Kuminga bound to Warriors’ bench for good?</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Warriors-Jonathan-Kuminga-dribbles-against-Clippers.jpg"><figcaption>D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>There’s no denying that Kuminga has played his best basketball of the young season as a reserve. He’s averaging 18.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, two assists and one steal while coming off the bench, shooting 51.4% overall and 42.9% on 2.3 three-point attempts per game—a blend of production and efficiency that stands in stark contrast to his ugly numbers while starting.</p><p><a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/on-off/nba/player?Season=2024-25&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;TeamId=1610612744&amp;PlayerId=201939" rel="noopener">Kuminga’s usage</a> has ballooned to alpha-dog levels this season when playing without Curry, too, a trend that dates back to 2023-24. As much as he and Green so staunchly believe in his star future at small forward, you don’t need Kerr’s nine championship rings to know that Kuminga’s at his best right now as a four.</p><p>His sample size as a starter and reserve is tiny either way. It’s also hardly surprising both player and team would need some time before fully acclimating to Kuminga starting on the wing.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-steve-kerr-reveals-why-benched-jonathan-kuminga">Kerr alluded</a> to that reality while explaining the decision to bring the 22-year-old off the bench after the Dubs’ convincing win over the New Orleans Pelicans on October 29th, the first game Curry missed and one of two for which Wiggins joined he and Melton in street clothes.</p><p>“Well without Steph and Wiggs, I didn’t want to start Trayce, Draymond and JK. I wanted a little more spacing,” he said. “…All it is is just shuffling the lineup to try and get the right five-man grouping on there. But without Steph and Wiggs, to me it didn’t make sense to start the three bigs without those guards.”</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jonathan-kuminga-surprise-benching-sparks-season-best-performance-warriors-win-pelicans">two-way prowess Kuminga</a> put on display in that first matchup with New Orleans was just as evident for another win over the Pelicans 24 hours later, not to mention the driving force behind the Warriors holding on for an absolutely wild overtime victory against the Houston Rockets on Saturday.</p><p>Kuminga finished with season-highs of 23 points and six rebounds in H-Town, shooting 7-of-12 overall, 2-of-3 from deep and 7-of-10 at the free throw line. It was one of the most patient yet assertive offensive performances of his career, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jonathan-kuminga-brandin-podziemski-rescue-warriors-from-embarrassing-loss-to-rockets">Kuminga routinely identifying</a> his specific advantage then working quickly to exploit it. That overtime scoring binge got the most attention and rightfully so, but his dogged individual defense on Jalen Green helped keep the Rockets’ leading scorer from ever finding a groove, too.</p><p>“He’s been great. This is the third game in a row he’s come off the bench and these were his three best games,” Kerr said of Kuminga after the game. “I think the way he’s responded to a role change is perfect. That’s what we expect. The professionalism, the force that he brought, coming off the bench and playing the way he has is a huge sign of growth. Couldn’t be more proud of JK.”</p><p>Kuminga didn’t hide his initial frustration at being moved back to the bench. While stressing that his mindset won’t change regardless and how team success always looms largest, it was still obvious he was miffed by being pulled from the starting lineup so soon after the deadline for rookie-scale contract extensions came and went without him signing a new deal.</p><p>What a testament to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-draymond-green-sends-jonathan-kuminga-message-benching">Kuminga’s growing maturity</a> that he didn’t let any of that resentment fester onto the floor while Curry was out. The next step is ensuring that remains the case across the 82-game grind, as Kuminga’s former stranglehold on a starting spot seems more tenuous than ever with Payton in the opening five against Washington.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Steve Kerr shakes up lineup with Gary Payton II, Jonathan Kuminga twist

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-brandin-podziemski-identifies-gary-payton-iis-twin-brother-on-roster');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski identifies Gary Payton II’s ‘twin brother’ on roster');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Warriors-news-Brandin-Podziemski-identifies-Gary-Payton-II-twin-brother-on-roster.jpg"></figure><h1>Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski identifies Gary Payton II’s ‘twin brother’ on roster</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-02T21:09:56-07:00">October 2nd, 9:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-02T21:09:56-07:00">October 2nd, 9:09pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Golden State Warriors, in the aftermath of franchise legend Klay Thompson’s departure in free agency, decided to return to their “Strength in Numbers” ethos. They signed multiple key pieces in De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson as they look towards filling the void Thompson left as a collective. Brandin Podziemski, in particular, appears <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-brandin-podziemski-details-new-energy-before-training-camp">headed for a breakout sophomore season</a> considering the huge role he’s about to play for the Dubs.</p><p>But again, Podziemski is not about to do it by his lonesome. He will get plenty of help from the Warriors’ impressive guard depth, and they appear to be getting back to their stifling perimeter defense roots. The Dubs already had one of the best guard defenders in basketball in Gary Payton II, but then they added Melton — a pairing that Podziemski <a href="https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/1841646426092446053" rel="noopener">has been impressed with</a> at the start of training camp.</p><p>“[Melton’s defense has] been good. Feel like he could be twin brothers with Gary. They both kinda look the same. Both love defense,” Podziemski told reporters during training camp, via 95.7 The Game on X (formerly known as Twitter).</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“It’s been good. Feel like he could be twin brothers with Gary.”</p><p>Podz on what he’s seen from Melton defensively <a href="https://t.co/Jy8uinjjCR">pic.twitter.com/Jy8uinjjCR</a></p><p>— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) <a href="https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/1841646426092446053?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Something has to be said for the Warriors employing an iron sharpens iron approach. Podziemski said that he is having to expand his game while being covered by stifling defenders in Melton and Payton, which could only be good thing for the Dubs moving forward.</p><p>“So for me, being able to go against that and vice versa, me playing defense against them, has been great. I think the better they are defensively now, the better it makes guys like me and [Stephen Curry] during the regular season,” Podziemski added.</p><p>The best part about the Warriors’ backcourt depth is that there seems to be no skillset overlap among their players. Everyone can make each other better at certain areas, and head coach Steve Kerr will have the luxury to mix and match depending on matchups. The Dubs already seem to be reaping the rewards of training camp.</p><h2><b>Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski lead the Warriors’ stacked backcourt</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Warriors-guard-Brandin-Podziemski_b08c7f.jpg"></figure><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/why-stephen-curry-warriors-believe-relevancy-klay-thompson-loss">Warriors’ title-winning teams</a> have always boasted quality depth, but over the past few seasons, they have been stretched thin, thanks in large part to the considerable financial investment they had in their core pieces. But with Klay Thompson gone, it freed up the opportunity for the Dubs to load up once again. They have as many as 12 players who can be viable rotation players for them next season.</p><p>Steve Kerr has always prioritized skill and system fit over size, which means that the Warriors’ backcourt will once again be looked at as a major source of production for the team. Stephen Curry showed during the 2024 Paris Olympics that he has plenty of gas left in the tank, while Brandin Podziemski, on the back of an impressive rookie season, seems to have all the runway in the world for a breakout campaign.</p><p>But behind Curry and Podziemski, the Warriors have an embarrassment of riches. Podziemski already alluded to the twin brotherhood of De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II; Melton provides more shooting and ballhandling than Payton does, but Payton is a better finisher and cutter. Buddy Hield is also around to provide some top-tier spacing, while Moses Moody could also provide some solid minutes for the team at the two if more size is needed.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski identifies Gary Payton II’s ‘twin brother’ on roster

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-news-gary-payton-lands-college-basketball-coaching-job');   ga('set', 'title', 'Gary Payton lands college basketball coaching job');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/NBA-news-Gary-Payton-lands-college-basketball-coaching-job.jpg"></figure><h1>Gary Payton lands college basketball coaching job</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-07T19:27:57-07:00">September 7th, 7:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-07T19:27:57-07:00">September 7th, 7:27pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Basketball Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton Sr. found his <a href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/41166128/sources-gary-payton-sr-new-basketball-coach-college-alameda">second collegiate basketball coaching job</a> on Saturday. He will be the men’s basketball head coach at the College of Alameda in Alameda, California, according to ESPN. Payton will make his debut after being the head coach at the NAIA school, Lincoln University in Oakland, California for the past three seasons.</p><p>College of Alameda athletic director Ramaundo Vaughn talked about why Payton is the right fit for his program.</p><p>“Gary Payton is the right choice for the College Of Alameda for a number of reasons,” Vaughn said. “Gary has always been a leader and winner. We know that Coach Payton will hold our athletes accountable on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.</p><p>“During the interview process, he spoke about having our student-athletes in the community, giving back. The energy and passion that he brings along with his genuine love for the East Bay is unmatched. The opportunity for our players to learn from one of the all-time NBA greats and an Olympic gold medalist is one that we knew we could not afford to pass up.”</p><h2><b>What can NBA Hall-of-Famer Gary Payton bring to the College of Alameda?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Gary-Payton-takes-over-as-College-of-Alameda-mens-basketball-coach.jpg"><figcaption>© Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Payton has more head coaching experience than one might think. When Ice Cube’s basketball league, the Big 3 formed, Payton became the head coach of the 3 Headed Monsters. He then coached another team, Bivouac for the 2023 season.</p><p>Payton has a resume unlike any other player in his position. The former Seattle Supersonics point guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/25-greatest-point-guards-nba-history-ranked">garnered his nickname “The Glove” for a reason</a>. He ended up as the first-ever point guard to win Defensive Player of the Year in 1996. His defensive tenacity and aggressive style led him to be a menace on the court.</p><p>Stories of Payton’s trash talk circulate all around the NBA. Former teammates Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal know what it’s like. People within the Big 3 know how Payton can start chirping. Even Payton’s own <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-gary-payton-ii-on-his-dad-trash-talking-him-as-a-kid">son knows all about his father’s trash talk</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Uncensored all-access footage showing how heated BIG3 games get with Gary Payton talking trash and coaching his team to a victory! <a href="https://t.co/eisOvb0I9w">pic.twitter.com/eisOvb0I9w</a></p><p>— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1818393540965110221?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Still, it’s much more than Payton’s competitiveness that stands out as a coach. His IQ, pace of play and ability to break down a defense were mesmerizing, Even Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2woYY7zzYEE&amp;embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.clutchpoints.com%2F&amp;source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ" rel="noopener">mentioned a story</a> on the All The Smoke podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson about Payton controlling the entire game.</p><p>As Garnett mentioned, Payton trash-talked to get advantages for his team. Although Payton might not be able to talk trash as much as head coach, he can still influence the game. He knows how to manipulate calls, run an offense and play a role effectively, something that the players of the College of Alameda would benefit from tremendously.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Gary Payton lands college basketball coaching job

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-major-contract-decision-free-agency');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Gary Payton II makes $9.1 million contract decision before free agency');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Warriors-news-Gary-Payton-II-makes-9.1-million-contract-decision-before-free-agency.jpg"></figure><h1>Warriors’ Gary Payton II makes $9.1 million contract decision before free agency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-19T09:19:36-07:00">June 19th, 9:19am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-19T09:38:59-07:00">June 19th, 9:38am</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Although there was some talk that he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-open-warriors-return-but-theres-a-catch">could opt out of his contract</a> in order to restructure his current deal, Gary Payton II had decided to <a href="https://x.com/kendra__andrews/status/1803459134630797630" rel="noopener">opt into</a> his $9.1 million player option to remain with the Golden State Warriors for the 2024-25 season, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">🚨 Gary Payton II is opting in to his $9.1 million player option to return to the Warriors next season, per <a href="https://twitter.com/kendra__andrews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kendra__andrews</a>. <a href="https://t.co/R01gbtE5lW">pic.twitter.com/R01gbtE5lW</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints NBA (@ClutchPointsNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsNBA/status/1803460389755068820?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Payton, whom the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-trade-grades-after-sending-away-james-wiseman-bringing-back-gary-payton-ii">Warriors re-acquired</a> during the 2022-23 season after letting him go in free agency, has proven to be an essential part of the Warriors’ success defensively. By opting into his contract with the Warriors, Payton will now be able to agree to terms on a new deal with the organization during the offseason to ensure his long-term status.</p><p>However, Golden State’s payroll continues to rise with this decision by Payton. Already projected to be a second apron tax team, the Warriors will face some difficult decisions pertaining to the rest of their roster. In addition to the Warriors having to decide on keeping or releasing Chris Paul and Kevon Looney, they will also face the scenario of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-could-klay-thompsons-role-impacting-warriors-contract-dispute">Klay Thompson being an unrestricted free agent</a> this offseason.</p><p>Money was set to become a major factor for the Warriors at some point during their championship run, and it seems like everything is beginning to catch up to them ahead of the 2024-25 season. The good news is that Payton, a fan favorite and vocal leader for this team, isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.</p><p>This past season, Payton played in only 44 games for the Warriors due to multiple injuries. The 31-year-old averaged 5.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.9 steals in roughly 15.5 minutes per game while shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range.</p><p>The Warriors have utilized Payton as a 3-and-D player who can virtually fill any position on the court. The value and energy he brings defensively can’t be replaced, which is why the Warriors decided to bring Payton back during the 2022-23 season after initially letting him sign a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><p>The problem with Payton opting into his contract is that the Warriors now have their backs up against the wall in terms of choosing who they are going to have to let go of.</p><h2><b>How Gary Payton II’s contract impacts Warriors’ offseason plans</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Klay-Thompson-and-Gary-Payton-II-leave-the-court.jpg"><figcaption>Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The Warriors are not in a good position entering the offseason. Not only did they miss the playoffs, but they were going to be faced with financial problems regardless of whether Payton opted into or out of his contract. In the event that Payton had decided to opt out and become a free agent, the Warriors’ payroll situation would have become a lot clearer, especially as they look to keep Klay Thompson.</p><p>However, now that he has opted in, the team’s payroll sits at roughly $174 million, just about $15 million under the second apron. If they were to <a href="https://x.com/YossiGozlan/status/1803459682574671939">waive Paul and Looney</a>, then Golden State would be about $32 million below the $171.3 million luxury tax line entering free agency, according to NBA capologist Yossi Gozlan. Essentially, this would give them the money needed to retain Thompson.</p><p>Aside from what is to happen with Looney, Paul, and Thompson, there are also questions about what Payton opting into his contract actually means. Will he finish out this deal and sign a new one with the Warriors, or could Payton’s moderately-sized contract be utilized in a trade for the Warriors to add an immediate upgrade in search of another title?</p><p>All options are on the table for the Warriors as they approach the 2024 NBA Draft and free agency. This is a critical offseason for them.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Gary Payton II makes $9.1 million contract decision before free agency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/grizzlies-news-wild-gary-payton-hubie-brown-confrontation-recalled-shane-battier');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wild Gary Payton, Hubie Brown confrontation recalled by Shane Battier');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/What-famous-bald-NBA-players-looked3.jpg"></figure><h1>Wild Gary Payton, Hubie Brown confrontation recalled by Shane Battier</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-22T10:00:00-07:00">May 22nd, 10:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-22T10:00:00-07:00">May 22nd, 10:00am</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California and is now serving as an Associate Editor and Chicago Bulls beat writer at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Hubie Brown is 90 years old, and he is now a basketball commentator for ESPN. However, before his broadcasting days, Brown was a head coach in the NBA. His most recent job in the NBA was with the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002-2004. One player that was on the Grizzlies during that time is Shane Battier, and he recently recalled a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/duke-basketball-news-shane-battier-eye-opening-tom-izzo-reason-choosing-blue-devils-over-michigan-state">bizarre story regarding Brown</a> and Gary Payton that happened at a Los Angeles Lakers-<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-grizzlies-consider-no-9-pick-trade-ja-morant-returns">Grizzlies game back when</a> Brown was the head coach of Memphis.</p><p>The Lakers and the Grizzlies were battling things out on the court, but the game wasn’t very close. However, tensions were high because of a feud that was going on between Gary Payton and Hubie Brown. Shane Battier recently appeared on The OG’s Podcast W/ Udonis Haslem &amp; Mike Miller, and here is how the situation was described.</p><p>Shane Battier: “So <a href="https://youtu.be/Oiidg7B7wNo?t=2629" rel="noopener">we’re playing them in</a> Staples, and the Lakers are rolling, they got GP (Gary Payton), they got Karl Malone, they’re rolling, and you know we’re the Grizzlies and they kick our a*s. So Earl Watson, our guard, had a relationship with Gary from his time in Seattle, so GP’s just talking, talking, talking to Earl, and they’re kicking our a*s. During the game Hubie (Brown) says ‘Hey, don’t talk to my player like that.'”</p><p>Mike Miller: “He actually says too all the time, ‘Hey GP, ‘Why don’t you shut the f—k up Jack.'”</p><p>Shane Battier: “True story.”</p><p>Mike Miller: “And I’m kind of standing there, and GP looks at me saying, ‘I guess I got to shut the f**k up dawg’ like I don’t know what to tell you, I’m not going to say nothing about you.”</p><p>Shane Battier: “So GP and him (Hubie Brown) go toe to toe during the game, I’ve never seen a coach and a player go toe to toe during a game. So everyone steps in, technical fouls, and GP’s like ‘I’ll see you after the game old man.'”</p><p>Shane Battier: “We’re on the bus and sure enough GP’s waiting for Hubie at the bus. GP confronts him, face to face…”</p><p>Mike Miller: “Hubie says one of the most gangster things I’ve ever heard by the way at this time.”</p><p>Shane Battier: “So they’re face to face and GP says ‘You’re not so tough now old man are you.’ Hubie grabs his shirt like this.”</p><p>Mike Miller: “I’m telling Shaq, ‘Shaq come here…'”</p><p>Shane Battier: “And Hubie says, ‘I hope you brought a lunch pale Jack, it’s going to be a long day'”</p><p>Mike Miller: “After that happens, then Hubie walks up on the bus, he addresses the team and says ‘You see that s**t Jack, don’t back down from nobody Jack, unless they got a gun or knife.'”</p><p>That’s quite the bizarre story. Hubie Brown wasn’t backing down back then. Brown had a long coaching career, and it is impressive to see him still in the broadcasting game now even though he is 90. He is clearly a resilient guy that has no trouble facing some adversity.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wild Gary Payton, Hubie Brown confrontation recalled by Shane Battier

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-open-warriors-return-but-theres-a-catch');   ga('set', 'title', 'Gary Payton II open to Warriors return, but there’s a catch');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/7305417391-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Gary Payton II open to Warriors return, but there’s a catch</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-17T12:46:01-07:00">April 17th, 12:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-17T20:49:18-07:00">April 17th, 8:49pm</time><address><a>Christopher Smith</a>Christopher Smith is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints. The Aurora, Illinois native earned a degree in philosophy from Creighton University, where he also competed as a Division 1 Cross Country runner. Smith has previously written for FanSided and Last Word on Sports, and his primary interests lie within the NBA and distance running.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Golden State Warriors are coming off a tough 118-94 <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-stephen-curry-drops-emotional-truth-bomb-on-possible-end-of-big-3">NBA Play-In Tournament loss</a> to the Sacramento Kings. Questions about many players’ futures on the team arose after the defeat. Nevertheless, Gary Payton II has taken a decisive stance about his contract with Golden State ahead of the NBA free agency period.</p><p>Payton wants to return to the Warriors, but the catch is he has a player option for the next season and is willing to renegotiate his contract to free up money for the team.</p><p>“I would <a href="https://twitter.com/MarcJSpears/status/1780654137446953346">love to come back</a> and run it back. Better yet, just redo my whole deal and stay here for a little bit longer. We’ll figure it out,” Payton said, per Marc J. Spears.</p><p>Payton finished his fourth season with Golden State in 2023-24. He averaged 5.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and shot 36.4% on three-pointers in 44 games. A season prior, Payton only played seven games with the Warriors due to a torn calf injury. He had just come off a 15-game stint with the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><p>Payton’s stats may not be eye-popping, but he is a significant presence for Golden State. After joining the team during the 2020-21 season, Payton made an impeccable impact the following year. He amassed a career-high 7.1 points and 1.4 steals in 71 games. More importantly, he helped the Warriors win their fourth NBA championship during the summer of 2022.</p><p>It will be interesting to see how the Warriors handle Gary Payton II’s contract ahead of many pivotal off-season decisions. Most notably, Klay Thompson’s NBA free agency decision will partially determine how the franchise proceeds with its stars.</p><p>Thompson will be an unrestricted free agent, as his $43.2 million contract is expiring. Like Payton, Thompson has expressed a desire to stay with Golden State, but is keeping him on the roster best for the team?</p><h2><b>Warriors contemplate big decisions after disappointing postseason exit</b></h2><p>Thompson has the support of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-stephen-curry-drops-emotional-truth-bomb-on-possible-end-of-big-3">Golden State’s franchise player</a>. After Tuesday night’s loss to the Kings, Stephen Curry admired the way Thompson handled the season, despite his poor zero-point performance.</p><p>“Everybody’s gonna talk about one game and I know he wanted to play better, but we go through so much over 82 games, and the fact that he was able to turn his season around with a new role, adjusting to coming off the bench for a long period and then back in the starting lineup, really just having fun playing basketball and being at peace out there,” Curry said, per ClutchPoints’ Jack Winter.</p><p>“I’m more worried about that because I know he’s a true champion, and we all prepare ourselves to play our best when the lights are bright. When it doesn’t happen, nobody needs to tell you anything. Because all we wanna do is win. Numbers aside, that’s the only thing that matters,” Curry added.</p><p>Klay Thompson’s slump extends past his Play-In performance against the Kings. The 34-year-old put up 17.9 points per game and shot 38.7% on threes in 2023-24, both of which were below his career averages.</p><p>Nevertheless, Curry is not concerned with Thompson’s dip in production. As long as Thompson plays his role and helps the team win Curry is satisfied.</p><p>All in all, it will be interesting to see how Golden State handles its crucial contracts going into the 2024 NBA free agency period.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Gary Payton II open to Warriors return, but there’s a catch

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-miss-play-in-tournament-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Gary Payton II to miss play-in tournament due to injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Gary-Payton-II-to-miss-play-in-tournament-due-to-injury.jpg"></figure><h1>Warriors’ Gary Payton II to miss play-in tournament due to injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-15T14:20:55-07:00">April 15th, 2:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-15T14:21:51-07:00">April 15th, 2:21pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Golden State Warriors (46-36) were forced to navigate a number of potholes during the regular season, and there will unfortunately be more for them to sidestep in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Gary Payton II has been <a href="https://twitter.com/kendra__andrews/status/1779948915082822111" rel="noopener">ruled out</a> for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-draymond-green-adds-fuel-kings-rivalry-before-play-game">Tuesday night’s matchup</a> with the Sacramento Kings and the potential Wednesday game as well, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.</p><p>The key bench piece is dealing with a calf injury and has been sidelined since April 9. He has played in only 44 games this season, as health continues to be a big issue during his career. Payton’s defense, athleticism and high motor have garnered him respect within the organization and fandom, so this development is undeniably a downer.</p><p>Obviously, the timing of the situation only accentuates this bad news. The Warriors enter this must-win showdown with the Kings as the far hotter team, after prevailing in 10 of their last 12 contests. Sacramento is limping into the Play-In but does have the luxury of playing in front of its home crowd.</p><p>This injury can also swing some momentum in the team’s favor. Although Payton averages just 15.5 minutes per game, his productivity (5.5 points on 56.3 percent shooting with nearly one steal per night) and intangibles make him a valuable member of the second unit.</p><p>And fans know how important <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-reminds-nba-trayce-jackson-davis-warning-theyre-regretting-it">the supporting cast</a> is to this team’s chances for postseason success. The NBA Play-In Tournament is supposed to offer Golden State a clean slate, but with opening tip-off still more than 24 hours way, its back already seems to be against the wall.</p><h2><b>Warriors must continue to dig deep with playoff hopes on the line</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Steph-Curry-Draymond-Green-are-dialed-in.jpg"><figcaption>Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Many basketball fans counted out the Dubs in the first half of the season. Draymond Green’s suspensions, Klay Thompson’s struggles and an unforgiving Western Conference all portended the official fall of this empire. Golden State might still finish the campaign in ruins, but it has restored fans’ faith.</p><p>Since the calendar flipped to 2024, few teams have been better than the Warriors (31-19). They have not lost more than two-straight games in that span and do not have a double-digit defeat since March 22. When operating at full strength, Steve Kerr’s squad is lethal.</p><p>But all it takes to derail their momentum and abruptly send them home is one slip-up. The absence of Gary Payton II can make more of a difference than a neutral fan might think. He is an energizer, and that can be crucial for a team that ventures into hostile territory. Though, Golden State has no qualms about competing in the Golden 1 Center.</p><p>The Warriors poured cold water over the Kings’ stellar 2022-23 regular season, defeating them on the road in Game 7 of the opening round of the playoffs. Unless they plunge another dagger into Sacramento, their fan base will be forced to endure its own form of misery this offseason.</p><p>It is unclear if Payton will be able to rejoin Golden State for the start of the postseason if the team survives the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-steve-kerr-confident-message-play-in-vs-kings">NBA Play-In Tournament</a>. He will be fidgeting with the rest of Dubs Nation when tip-off commences at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Gary Payton II to miss play-in tournament due to injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-reminds-nba-trayce-jackson-davis-warning-theyre-regretting-it');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Gary Payton II reminds NBA of Trayce Jackson-Davis’ warning — ‘They’re regretting it’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-reminds-nba-of-trayce-jackson-davis-warning-theyre-regretting-it.jpg"></figure><h1>Warriors’ Gary Payton II reminds NBA of Trayce Jackson-Davis’ warning — ‘They’re regretting it’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-03-06T23:19:29-08:00">March 6th, 11:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-03-06T23:21:36-08:00">March 6th, 11:21pm</time><address><a>Jay Postrado</a>Jay is a lifelong motorsports and tennis fan. His need for speed may no longer be on the grid or courts but has stayed with him through writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Trayce Jackson-Davis was not at all a slouch back when he ravaged the Big Ten Conference with the Indiana Hoosiers. He was always a threat to everyone in college basketball. So, it came as a shock to him and to many that he fell a lot in the 2023 NBA Draft. Now, he has kept that chip intact on his shoulder and even had an insane game against the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks. This awesome performance turned the head of Gary Payton II.</p><p>When asked about a certain social media post <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-trayce-jackson-davis-game-changing-stint-sparks-dubs-to-blowout-win-over-bucks" rel="noopener">by Trayce Jackson-Davis</a>, Gary Payton II had a very <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1765617312164626444" rel="noopener">simple response</a>, via Warriors on NBCS.</p><p>“I promise you, they’re regretting it now because he’s playing like a third year. He’s picking up things a lot and when, you know, you’ve got the greatest on your side, it’s kind of easy to fall in line and get a feel of how OGs play,” he declared.</p><p>The tweet shown to the Warriors guard was one posted during the night of the 2023 NBA Draft. “Ya’ll will regret it. I promise you,” were the words of the aspiring draftee before he landed with the Warriors. Since then, he has been on an upward trajectory due to the help of Steve Kerr along with other coaches and teammates.</p><p>Payton added that there was something different that set TJD and other Warriors’ young guns apart.</p><p>“He understands and he knows who to get the ball to and how to protect each other’s backs, he’s learning every day and going uphill. It’s great to see that from all our young guys,” he said.</p><p>All of his efforts and psychotic work ethic are now slowly paying off as the Warriors inch closer to the postseason.</p><h2><b>Warriors demolish the Bucks</b></h2><p> </p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Golden-State-Warriors-forward-Trayce-Jackson-Davis-32-makes-a-shot-over-Milwaukee-Bucks-forward-Giannis-Antetokounmpo-34.jpg"><figcaption>© Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-is-giannis-antetokounmpo-playing-vs-warriors-latest-injury-update" rel="noopener">Giannis Antetokounmpo was doing the best</a> that he could to close the huge gap between the Bucks and the Warriors. He scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and even dished out six assists. But, only Damian Lillard and Bobby Portis Jr. managed to back him up.</p><p>The Warriors, on the other hand, saw Stephen Curry pop off but involve his teammates a lot more. Curry had 29 points while leading the team with eight rebounds. He also saw five other players reach double-digit scoring numbers. Brandin Podziemski and Payton were also just a bucket away from extending this list. But, it was not just the offense that set the Warriors apart. They blazed up for 32 points in the fourth quarter while also just allowing nine points from their opponents.</p><p>This was a big bounce-back performance after losing by 52 points to the Boston Celtics.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Gary Payton II reminds NBA of Trayce Jackson-Davis’ warning — ‘They’re regretting it’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-gary-payton-ii-on-his-dad-trash-talking-him-as-a-kid');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors: Gary Payton II on his dad trash-talking him as a kid');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Gary_Payton_II_admits_impact_of_his_dad_talking_trash_to_him_when_he_s_a_kid.webp"></figure><h1>Warriors: Gary Payton II on his dad trash-talking him as a kid</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-28T10:56:05-08:00">February 28th, 10:56am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-28T10:56:05-08:00">February 28th, 10:56am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>An experienced writer and journalist, Preston Byers currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sonics-10-best-draft-picks-in-franchise-history-ranked" rel="noopener">NBA legend Gary Payton</a> is one of the most notorious trash-talkers in league history, and the chatter didn’t stop when he went home.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-expected-return-from-illness-vs-hornets" rel="noopener">Gary Payton II, the</a> elder Payton’s son and a member <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-chris-paul-immediate-reaction-to-triumphant-return-from-21-game-injury-absence" rel="noopener">of the Golden State Warriors</a>, said his father’s trash talk <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1762693313231200626" rel="noopener">pushed him to get</a> better and ultimately reach the NBA.</p><p>“He was trash-talking me. I got a lot of that when I was growing up. He used to talk trash to me when I was sorry growing up playing hoop, coming to my games telling me this, telling me that,” Payton II said. “I probably got it a little worse than y’all did on the court, but I kind of think he instilled the dawg in me. I didn’t like the way he was talking to me, so I had to find a way to flip it on him. But now, he don’t say nothing to me no more, so I guess I’m doing something right.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">GP2 says his dad talking trash to him as a kid "instilled the dog" in him 😂 <a href="https://t.co/BR0X4KY3kz">pic.twitter.com/BR0X4KY3kz</a></p><p>— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1762693313231200626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Payton II is in his eighth season in the league, having played his most memorable and successful years with the Warriors. He won an NBA championship with Golden State in 2022; during the postseason, Payton fractured his elbow but returned later in the playoffs to help the Warriors best the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.</p><p>Payton began his pro career in the G League after going undrafted in 2016. He bounced around several teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Washington Wizards, before finally landing with the Warriors in 2021. After the title win, Payton signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, although he returned to the Warriors via trade less than a year later.</p><p>Payton’s father, who earned the nickname “The Glove,” is regarded as one of the greatest defenders in NBA history, having won the 1996 Defensive Player of the Year award and being named to nine All-Defensive First Teams in his career.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors: Gary Payton II on his dad trash-talking him as a kid

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-expected-return-from-illness-vs-hornets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Gary Payton II expected to make return from illness vs. Hornets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/warriors-news-gary-payton-ii-expected-to-make-return-from-illness-vs-hornets.webp"></figure><h1>Warriors’ Gary Payton II expected to make return from illness vs. Hornets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-23T14:08:23-08:00">February 23rd, 2:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-23T14:09:35-08:00">February 23rd, 2:09pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Golden State Warriors picked up a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-draymond-green-sounds-off-key-unlocked-dubs-scary-form-lakers-win" rel="noopener">much-needed victory</a> at home over the Los Angeles Lakers coming out of the All-Star break on Thursday night. However, they played this game without Gary Payton II, who has been dealing with an illness. Known for his defensive abilities and quick burst off the bench, Payton has been a real game-changer for the Warriors in recent seasons.</p><p>Although he missed the battle against Los Angeles, it appears as if Payton will be returning to the court against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night after seeing his status upgraded to probable on the team’s <a href="https://ak-static.cms.nba.com/referee/injury/Injury-Report_2024-02-23_04PM.pdf" rel="noopener">injury report</a>.</p><p>Payton, who recently returned for four games prior to the All-Star break from a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-steve-kerr-sheds-light-gary-payton-ii-plan-injury-return-amid-dubs-rise" rel="noopener">month-long hamstring injury</a>, has made a positive difference in the Warriors’ defensive effort. With Payton available and on the floor, the Warriors were able to win three out of four games heading into the break. Overall, Golden State has picked up victories in nine of their last 11 games. A win over the Hornets on Friday night could result in the Warriors moving up to the 9-seed in the Western Conference.</p><p>In a total of 20 games this season, Payton has averaged 5.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor. Although his numbers are nothing to be enamoured by, Payton is one of those players whose impact is measured by the eye test. Whether it is diving on the ground for loose balls, tipping out rebounds for second-chance scoring opportunities, or poking the ball away on defense, Payton tends to do a lot of the little things that help Golden State win games.</p><p>The Hornets may not be one of the better teams in the league, but they have won four straight games. The Warriors will need to continue playing great defense in order to keep their recent hot streak alive, which is why Payton’s return is meaningful.</p><p>Ahead of Friday night’s game against the Hornets, the second night of a back-to-back for the Warriors, veteran point guard Chris Paul is the only other player listed on the team’s injury report. Paul is expected to make his return to the court in the coming weeks.</p><p>After their matchup with the Hornets, the Warriors will prepare to host the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Gary Payton II expected to make return from illness vs. Hornets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-gary-payton-explain-he-believes-lebron-james-will-finish-career-in-la-after-warriors-interest');   ga('set', 'title', 'Gary Payton explains why he believes LeBron James will finish career with Lakers after Warriors interest');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Gary-Payton-explains-why-he-believes-LeBron-James-will-finish-career-in-LA-after-Warriors-interest_1_50.webp"></figure><h1>Gary Payton explains why he believes LeBron James will finish career with Lakers after Warriors interest</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-16T18:36:35-08:00">February 16th, 6:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-16T18:36:35-08:00">February 16th, 6:36pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LeBron James and the Lakers have picked up the pace a bit in recent weeks, cruising into the NBA trade deadline comfortably above the .500 mark as the season reaches its unofficial halfway point. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-kendrick-perkins-lebron-james-free-agency-take-will-have-la-fans-thrilled" rel="noopener">James has continued</a> playing at an All-Star level so far this year, but that hasn’t stopped other teams from checking in on his availability, as it was recently reported by Adrian Wojnarowski and Romana Shelburne of ESPN that the Golden State Warriors–James’ longtime rivals with the Cleveland Cavaliers–had inquired <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-heat-among-potential-klay-thompson-free-agency-suitors" rel="noopener">with the Lakers</a> about the superstar’s trade availability, and were obviously turned down.</p><p>Still, the report opened up speculation that James might one day opt to join nemesis Stephen Curry in the Bay Area at some point, as he is able to enter free agency this upcoming offseason. However, one person <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/gary-payton-believes-lebron-james-will-finish-his-career-with-the-lakers-013017932.html" rel="noopener">who disagrees with</a> this notion is NBA Hall of Fame point guard and one time Laker Gary Payton.</p><p>“LeBron did what he wanted — [what] he was supposed to. He said, ‘I’m staying where I’m at,’” said Payton, per Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “He’s been traveling too many times, been to Cleveland, you know. He been to Miami, went back to Cleveland. This is his last stop, man.”</p><p>LeBron James has indeed made several stops in his future Hall of Fame career, including with the Cleveland Cavaliers twice, the Miami Heat, and now the Lakers, where he has remained since 2018. With James intact for at least the rest of this season, the Lakers will try to capitalize on last season’s push to the Western Conference Finals.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Gary Payton explains why he believes LeBron James will finish career with Lakers after Warriors interest

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-gary-payton-iis-ultra-confident-take-on-guarding-suns-big-3-nba-superstars');   ga('set', 'title', 'Gary Payton II’s ultra-confident take on guarding Suns’ Big 3, NBA superstars');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Warriors_news_Gary_Payton_II_s_ultra-confident_take_on_guarding_Suns__Big_3_NBA_superstars.webp"></figure><h1>Gary Payton II’s ultra-confident take on guarding Suns’ Big 3, NBA superstars</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-10T23:41:59-08:00">February 10th, 11:41pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-10T23:41:59-08:00">February 10th, 11:41pm</time><address><a>Jack Winter</a>Jack Winter is a veteran NBA writer and editor based on the West Coast. He currently lives in Oakland, covering the last legs of the Golden State Warriors' dynasty.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Gary Payton II returned to the Golden State Warriors like he never left, playing a pivotal role off the bench in his team’s thrilling <a href="https://www.nba.com/game/phx-vs-gsw-0022300757/box-score#box-score" rel="noopener">113-112</a> win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday at Chase Center.</p><p>Playing for the first time since January 2nd, Payton scored 11 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished two assists, swiped one steal and blocked one shot in just 14 minutes, also shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the field—including a wing three-pointer and a pair of acrobatic reverse lob finishes. Both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green highlighted his offensive influence on the postgame podium, lamenting how easily and frequently that aspect of Payton’s game—especially the finer points like screening, cutting and quickly moving the ball—gets overlooked.</p><p>Saturday’s game was a forceful reminder of why that dynamic exists, though, Payton’s dogged individual defense on Kevin Durant and Devin Booker playing a major role in the Suns’ paltry 106.7 offensive rating. He was especially aggressive checking Durant, refusing to give the two-time Finals MVP airspace off the bounce while forcing him into a series of contested mid-rangers.</p><p>Not many players in the NBA would relish the assignment of guarding arguably the best pure scorer of all-time, particularly facing an eight or nine-inch height differential. Payton, obviously, isn’t most players. He doesn’t just want the other team’s toughest matchup on a nightly basis, but finds defending superstars “fun.”</p><p>“It’s what I’m here for. It’s the funnest part of the game, you know, guarding superstars,” Payton <a href="https://twitter.com/ArmstrongWinter/status/1756539925858787529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1756539925858787529%7Ctwgr%5Ec93f9d33dc6fcc36503facdc22937c63ff95f4fb%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.clutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D2687113action%3Dedit" rel="noopener">told ClutchPoints</a> after the game. “Try to make it difficult, tough for them. Make them think. It was great.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">11 points, 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block on 5-5 shooting for Gary Payton II in his return.</p><p>After the game, I asked him how much he relishes defending guys like KD, Booker, Beal.</p><p>“It’s what I’m here for. It’s the funnest part of the game, you know, guarding superstars.” <a href="https://t.co/nyGZXL6CzV">pic.twitter.com/nyGZXL6CzV</a></p><p>— Jack Winter (@ArmstrongWinter) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArmstrongWinter/status/1756539925858787529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Golden State was already thriving defensively before Payton returned from injury, reaping the benefits of Green-the best defender of his generation-coming back from suspension and playing center full-time. Andrew Wiggins looks much more like the bonafide stopper who helped the Dubs to a title in 2022, and Jonathan Kuminga is getting more and more consistent deploying his rare physical tools both on the ball and in help situations defensively.</p><p>The Warriors’ <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/advanced?LastNGames=10&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=DEF_RATING" rel="noopener">111.4 defensive rating</a> in the last 10 games ranks third-stingiest in basketball. With Green, Wiggins and Kuminga on the floor for the season at large, their defensive rating is a ridiculous <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&amp;Season=2023-24&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=203110,203952,1630228" rel="noopener">101.5</a>, per pbpstats, over seven points per 100 possessions lower than the Minnesota Timberwolves’ league-leading mark.</p><p>Needless to say, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-steve-kerr-sheds-light-gary-payton-ii-plan-injury-return-amid-dubs-rise">Golden State will be even more difficult to score on</a> now that an elite all-around defender and tone-setter like Gary Payton II is back in the fold. The Dubs’ next two opponents, the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers, better take note of his presence. Payton seems to have no other plans going forward but wrecking offenses, just like he did while helping the Warriors to one of their best wins of 2023-24.</p><p>“We got Utah and then we got the Clippers, so…I’m excited for the next couple games, basically,” he said.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Gary Payton II’s ultra-confident take on guarding Suns’ Big 3, NBA superstars

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/warriors-news-steve-kerr-sheds-light-gary-payton-ii-plan-injury-return-amid-dubs-rise');   ga('set', 'title', 'Steve Kerr sheds light on Gary Payton II plan in injury return amid Warriors’ rise');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/warriors-news-steve-kerr-sheds-light-on-gary-payton-ii-plan-in-injury-return-amid-dubs-rise.webp"></figure><h1>Steve Kerr sheds light on Gary Payton II plan in injury return amid Warriors’ rise</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-10T17:14:52-08:00">February 10th, 5:14pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-10T18:04:26-08:00">February 10th, 6:04pm</time><address><a>Jack Winter</a>Jack Winter is a veteran NBA writer and editor based on the West Coast. He currently lives in Oakland, covering the last legs of the Golden State Warriors' dynasty.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors are defending better, playing faster and reaping the all-court benefits of deploying more athletic lineups. Adding even more encouragement for the Dubs as those developments drive their midseason turnaround? <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/how-surging-warriors-have-found-their-best-version-despite-quiet-trade-deadline" rel="noopener">Golden State has developed its new identity</a> with Gary Payton II watching from the sidelines, out since early January due to a hamstring strain.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-set-for-major-gary-payton-ii-boost-vs-suns" rel="noopener">Payton is set to return</a> for the surging Warriors’ highly anticipated Saturday clash against Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns. Steve Kerr told reporters pregame that Payton will “definitely be on the floor” at Chase Center, getting the chance to tangle with the Suns’ vaunted Big Three, but will play on an unofficial minutes restriction as he re-acclimates to the NBA action after missing the last five weeks.</p><h2>How Gary Payton II will fuel Warriors’ new identity</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Golden_State_set_for_major_Gary_Payton_II_boost_vs_Suns.webp"></figure><p>The presence of Durant, Booker and Beal makes Payton especially valuable to the Warriors on Saturday. There may not be a team in the league against which he’s primed to make more of an impact than the Suns. Payton isn’t just some situation stopper, though. He’s been a rotational for Golden State when healthy this season. But the Dubs’ new identity could present the perfect opportunity for Payton to provide the same game-changing two-way play he did on their run to the 2022 title, making them even more dangerous as the stretch run of the regular season dawns.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/ArmstrongWinter/status/1756470679950799360" rel="noopener">Asked how</a> Payton’s game fits into the new-look Warriors’ attack, Kerr stopped just short of telling ClutchPoints the “6’3 power forward” goes hand in glove with his team.</p><p>“Our defense has gotten better. We’ve played with more pace, we’re attacking the rim a little bit more,” Kerr said of Golden State’s recent play. “Gary is such an interesting player because he’s almost like a 6’3 power forward in some ways. He’s a little bit lineup dependent; we’ll have him in certain combinations. But we absolutely want him to do what he does best, which is to generate steals, deflections, dive to the rim, finish around the basket. And those things, as I said, they kinda fit into the way we’ve been anyway. We’re playing with a little more athleticism, a little more pop and he fits right into that.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Gary Payton II is set to play vs. Suns tonight after missing the last five weeks with a hamstring strain. Asked Steve Kerr how he fits into Dubs’ new identity.</p><p>“We’re playing with a little more athleticism, a little more pop and he fits right into that.” <a href="https://t.co/3fYTBpxWtN">pic.twitter.com/3fYTBpxWtN</a></p><p>— Jack Winter (@ArmstrongWinter) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArmstrongWinter/status/1756470679950799360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Expect Payton to take Gui Santos’ minutes at backup forward for the foreseeable future. His lack of a threatening long-range jumper from anywhere but the corners accounts for that lineup dependence, suggesting Payton will mostly see the floor with units featuring Green and Dario Saric at center rather than Kevon Looney or Trayce Jackson-Davis. Payton also has a better ball-screen mind-meld with Curry than anyone on the roster but Green, fueling the expectation his minutes will be closely tied to Golden State’s best players, too.</p><p>It may take awhile before Payton gets back up to full speed. Once he does, though, don’t be surprised if he helps the Warriors lean even further into the pace, ball pressure and halfcourt movement that’s defined their eye-opening play over the last couple weeks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
4.7	2.9	1.3	0.4	0.7

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
4.7	2.9	1.3	0.4	0.7

Gary Payton news

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