For Payton II, signing with Warriors is homecoming
In the 1990s, when Hall of Famer Gary Payton was playing for the Seattle SuperSonics, he used to work out in his hometown of Oakland during the summer. While he trained at a local gym he’d drop off his son at his father’s house on 41st Street.
Now, as Gary Payton II returns to the Bay Area on a 10-day contract he signed with the Warriors Thursday, he recalls visits to Grandpa’s house fondly.
“I spent a lot of time here growing up,” said Payton II, who will be available for Friday night’s game against the Washington Wizards. “It’s my home away from home.”
Over the years, as he toiled on the periphery of professional basketball, Payton II had many homes: College took him to Oregon State. He had G League stints and NBA auditions in Texas, Los Angeles, Wisconsin and Washington D.C. before a standout performance in Florida’s G League bubble landed him his latest tryout in Golden State.
As the Warriors navigate the final stretch of the regular season, they’ll give Payton II an opportunity to prove he can earn an extended stay in the NBA near the town where most of his family — including his mother and father — still live.
“It’s been the talk throughout the family: When are we going to have this opportunity?” Payton II said Thursday after his first practice with the Warriors. “So this is that opportunity. My family wants me to stick somewhere, of course I want to stick somewhere. This wouldn’t be a bad place to hang around for a few years and be close to family.”
Like his father, Payton II has earned the reputation of being a lockdown perimeter defender. After 13 games with the Raptors 905 in the G League bubble, Payton II last month was named the G League’s Defensive Player of the Year. Another NBA tryout seemed imminent.
As front offices sorted out their rosters around the trade deadline, Payton II trained in Las Vegas. Eventually, he got a call from his agent, who told him to pack his bags and get on the next flight to San Francisco. Payton II, who has relocated nearly a dozen times over the last six years, was ready to go.