Sources: Warriors bring back Gary Payton II on vet minimum

The Golden State Warriors are bringing back forward Gary Payton II on a one-year, $3.9 million veteran minimum deal, league sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Saturday.

This will be Payton's seventh season with the franchise, having only briefly departed for the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2022 offseason before a trade brought him back. He has been an organizational mainstay since.

Payton has had injury trouble over the years but put together a healthy 73-game 2025-26 season, serving as a unique bench player as an undersized but athletic 6-foot-2 frontcourt option, defending bigger matchups and slashing offensively.

Payton has a particularly strong relationship with Warriors starsStephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.

The Payton re-signing gives the Warriors 12 players. They will have room to add only two or three more free agents on the veteran minimum.

The Payton reunion is in line with the Warriors' clear plan this summer to bring back the majority of their veteran core on short-term contracts. Earlier in free agency, they re-signed Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton and Draymond Green.