Gary Payton II, Warriors Agree to New Contract After Draymond Green Deal, Updated Salary Cap

Gary Payton II is staying with the Golden State Warriors on a new contract.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, Payton has agreed to a one-year, $3.9 million deal to return to the Warriors for the 2026-27 season.

Yossi Gozlan of the Third Apron provided a breakdown of the Warriors' cap space before the latest deal:

Payton was a late signing for the Warriors last offseason when he got a one-year deal on Sept. 29. He wound up having the best season of his career, setting personal-bests in games played (73), points per game (7.5), rebounds (3.6) and tying his career-high in assists (1.7).

The Warriors and Payton have remained linked for most of the past seven seasons, including with this new contract. He originally joined the team late in the 2020-21 season on a 10-day contract.

After spending the entire 2021-22 campaign with Golden State, helping the team win an NBA title, Payton left via free agency to join the Portland Trail Blazers on a three-year, $28 million contract. He appeared in 15 games with Portland before getting traded back to the Warriors in February.

Payton has continued to play a role off the bench for head coach Steve Kerr since returning to the Warriors. He is generally regarded for his defensive ability, but has shown some skill on offense with his ability to get to the basket.

This offseason represented something of a transitional moment for the Warriors, though they did get Kerr to return on a two-year contract after some uncertainty about his future.

Golden State is still going to be led by Stephen Curry, but the front office is working to put pieces around him with the hope of making another Finals run while he is still playing at a high level.

Kristaps Porziņģis is returning on a two-year, $40 million deal, but his injury issues make it hard to depend on him as a regular contributor for a team trying to make a playoff push.

Draymond Green turned down his $27.7 million player option, but he ended up re-signing with the team on a one-year, $27.7 million contract.

The Warriors were also in the LeBron James sweepstakes, and he decided to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Payton will return to join that group in his role off the bench to give the Warriors depth off the bench in their quest to get back to the playoffs after a 37-45 record last season.