The Golden State Warriors may have only played three preseason games to date, but it's already becoming clear that one of their offseason free agency moves might not have been the right decision.
Gary Payton II hasn't exactly set the world on fire to start proceedings, having looked much like the same player whose offensive limitations are no longer effectively balanced by his previous status as an elite perimeter defender.
Warriors might have made a mistake bringing back Gary Payton II
Payton did have 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, and has knocked down two of his three 3-point attempts in preseason to date. The veteran guard is always going to be left wide open by opposing defenses though, making for spacing concerns especially if the likes of Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and/or Jonathan Kuminga are also on the floor at the same time.
The bigger issue might be that Payton has evidently lost a step defensively and is no longer the sort of game-changing presence on that end that he regularly was for Golden State during their 2021-22 championship season. Despite having won two of their three preseason games, the Warriors are a -18 in Payton's minutes which ranks second-worst on the team.
"Gary Payton II has not looked terrific early on," ESPN's Anthony Slater recently stated when discussing the state of the Warrior rotation on a recent episode of the GSW Stock Report with Tim Bontemps.
If Payton isn't making plays on the defensive end and can't even be a situational type player when an opposing perimeter player is on a heater, then what's his exact role on this Golden State roster? Is it simply to retain continuity and have a respected veteran voice in the locker room? Would he have been re-signed on a minimum contract if Kevon Looney didn't leave for the New Orleans Pelicans early in free agency?
With so much talent now around the league, the Warriors may have made a painful mistake by not looking at a higher upside option toward the end of their roster. Given the emphasis the front office placed on adding shooting this offseason, it's somewhat surprising that they brought back a player who is a liability in that area.
One positive does come out of this -- it's evident Payton should be part of a healthy 10-man rotation, and his underwhelming performances only make that appear clearer. Whether Steve Kerr actually agrees with that is a different story altogether.