If there's one thing to take away from the Golden State Warriors' preseason, it's at least that they have some options and flexibility in their rotation.
Yaxel Lendeborg and Gui Santos, thankfully, both look like viable starters—an absolutely pivotal development given the Warriors' clear preference for running a small-ball lineup in the absence of Kristaps Porzingis. Brandon Williams has emerged as a clear option at backup point guard behind Stephen Curry. Even Charles Bassey, with his struggles, looks ready for some solid minutes at center if it comes down to it for Golden State.
But many fans' frustrations with the front office this offseason extended beyond even its inability to go out and add a star to this roster. There were multiple veterans they brought back, like De'Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II, rather than springing for younger players with potentially higher upside.
There's a reason the Warriors went that route, though. With almost $90 million on the sidelines to start the season, Steve Kerr needs players he can trust to give consistent, viable minutes on a night-to-night basis. Even factoring in the decrease in minutes we saw for Payton at the end of last season, that means that he'll be left with a relatively large role until the rotation becomes whole again in 2026-27.
Gary Payton II may not have the highest on-court upside—but he'l still be a trusted member of Steve Kerr's rotation
At this point in his career, the Warriors know exactly what Payton provides.
Even if his offensive game is overly reliant on interior scoring in certain scenarios, he gives the team high-energy minutes, hustling consistently for rebounds and loose balls and providing an extra offensive burst in the right situations. Across 73 games last season, Payton averaged 7.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 58.3% from the field. It was his best offensive season in years because of the enhanced opportunity he got when the rotation was depleted late in the campaign.
Intuitively, though, any drop in his 3-point percentage should hurt his chances at playing a major role over the course of the season. He knocked down just 29.1% of his attempts from beyond the arc last season, and he hit just 14.3% of those shots across his four preseason appearances this year.
But assuming that Williams, Bassey, and Niang are all involved in the rotation in some capacity, Golden State is already set to run 10 or 11-deep to start the regular season. Even if Payton doesn't often play a guard role offensively, that still creates competition between him and second-year wing Will Richard for minutes at small forward behind Gui Santos.
Richard was excellent last season, especially for a player who was selected late in the second round of the Draft. But his shooting consistency was sub-par, and that means that Kerr more often than not may be looking towards Payton to fill those minutes. The fact that Payton played double-digit minutes in each of his preseason appearances indicates that it's at least an option Kerr is considering.
Richard outperformed Payton during the preseason, though, especially from beyond the arc. He knocked down 57.1% of his attempts and looked much more active, on the whole, than he did during his rookie season. But Kerr has shown in the past that, when he needs consistent and viable minutes, he's almost always going to turn to his veterans.
We'll see how the rotation ultimately unfolds, but it feels unavoidable that Payton will be playing some type of major role over the duration of 2026-27.
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