​Warriors linked to reunion with 6-foot-2 ex-Lakers guard, NBA champion originally surfaced on The Sporting News, and readers were urged to add The Sporting News as a preferred source by clicking here. The prevailing chatter around the Golden State Warriors centers on how they will fare in the current sweepstakes involving LeBron James. Securing the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar could push the Dubs to a higher level of contention, while missing out on the 22-time All-Star might leave Golden State slipping into the Play-In tournament for the third time in four years. Would a potential reunion with a former Lakers guard and NBA champion be enough to salvage the Warriors’ title odds? The straightforward answer appears to be no, but that hasn’t stopped Heavy’s Sean Deveney from connecting the two parties on Thursday.
“What is surprising is that the Warriors have not chosen to do anything besides bring back their own players,” Deveney remarked. “They could opt to bring back Gary Payton II soon. But there have been options that they could have added while waiting on James, but chose not to do so.”
Payton, who spent 11 games with the Lakers during the 2017-18 season, has been a high-energy perimeter defender and a occasionally reliable three-point shooter for the Warriors over the early to late 2020s, including a championship with the franchise in 2022. The Oregon State product posted averages of 7.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 0.9 steals per game with Golden State last season, while shooting 58.3 percent from the field and 29.1 percent from beyond the arc. Given that Payton isn’t a game-changing contributor who would dramatically bolster Stephen Curry’s title hopes, it makes sense why Golden State hasn’t prioritized adding him or pursuing a significant upgrade.
In related NBA news, headlines noted that the Lakers officially parted ways with a disgruntled $101 million superstar and four-time NBA champion, and pundits speculated that Spurs could outbid the Warriors for the high-profile Lakers star. Rumors also touched on Luka Dončić signaling to the Lakers a roster strategy they cannot ignore if they want better results. As the league continues to evolve, the implications for the Warriors’ championship ambitions remain a topic of robust debate among analysts and fans alike.