OAKLAND — Stepping away from an adoring crowd and hearing the question about his future, Gary Payton II\u2019s grin stretched toward his earlobes before he replied.<\/p>\n
The versatile veteran is returning to Golden State Warriors — the place he calls home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s done,\u201d Payton told NBC Sports Bay Area on Saturday at Fremont High School, where he joined former Golden State teammate Juan Toscano-Anderson in donating backpacks and other school supplies to local students.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s already done.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s done is a signature on a one-year contract worth $3.9 million<\/a> for Payton to return to the franchise with which he has spent nearly 80 percent of his NBA career. Though he was an unrestricted free agent, technically on the open market, he had no desire to leave the place where he found basketball happiness.<\/p>\n That explains the broad grin.<\/p>\n What the Warriors need is a bounce-back season from GP2.<\/p>\n There\u00a0have\u00a0been two primary factors behind Payton\u2019s success as a Warrior. 1) He has mastered the art of playing with Stephen Curry; only Draymond Green has similar court chemistry with the franchise player. 2) Payton remains a valuable perimeter defender on one end, and a solid \u201cdunker spot\u201d specialist on the other.<\/p>\n Those attributes were crucial to Golden State\u2019s last championship in 2022. Payton, 33<\/a>, is now tasked with trying to make the same impact four years later.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s go get it,\u201d Payton said. \u201cWe\u2019ve said enough, man. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n GP2\u2019s priority on offense is to rediscover his 3-point shot. It has declined in each of the past three seasons, from 36.4 percent in 2023-24 to 32.6 in 2024-25 to a dismal 29.1 last season. When Payton\u2019s corner threes are falling, it adds a much-needed dimension to the Warriors\u2019 offense, and it\u2019ll be a barometer for his playing time.<\/p>\n The other issue is Payton\u2019s health. He played a career-high 73 games last season — his most since the 2021-22 title season — by avoiding the kind of nagging injuries that cost him 58 games over the previous two seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m (feeling) great,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything’s good. I\u2019m ready to go. Last couple months before camp, so let\u2019s wind it up and get ready. Let’s please stay healthy. Not just me, but all of us. We definitely need that.\u201d<\/p>\n Because Payton is perhaps the most positionless player on the roster, his place on the depth chart is variable. He\u2019ll slide between guard and forward, based on matchups. There will be games in which he might play eight minutes, and there will be other games when he might be on the floor for 28.<\/p>\n