3 Golden State Warriors who might not last the entire 2024-25 season

2. Gary Payton II

Gary Payton II emerged as a fan-favorite and incredibly important player during the Warriors' 2021-22 championship run, but since then has struggled with multiple injuries that's seen him limited to just 66 of a possible 164 regular season games in the last two years.

Those issues led Payton to opting into his $9.1 million player option for the 2024-25 season, though his role with Golden State is still far from guaranteed despite his value as one of the league's best perimeter defenders.

In reporting on Payton's decision to opt into his contract, The Athletic's Anthony Slater immediately stated that his "midsized expiring deal could be valuable in salary-matching for potential trades." The same could be said for veteran center Kevon Looney who had the final year of his contract guaranteed last month, but Payton could be even more vulnerable given the Warriors current roster.

Whereas the franchise only has young center Trayce Jackson-Davis as a genuine big man ahead of Looney, Golden State has a plethora of options to fight for Payton's role in the rotation. They've added guards/wings Lindy Waters III, De'Anthony Melton and Buddy Hield this offseason, while Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski are all slated for more minutes.

Payton could be involved in a Lauri Markkanen trade if that eventuates in the next week, but otherwise the flexibility of his expiring deal could be utilized in a number of different trade scenarios before the end of next season.