Warriors' Gary Payton II on Jimmy Butler, NBA potential return to Seattle
Warriors' Gary Payton II on Jimmy Butler, NBA potential return to Seattle
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The biggest questions for the 2nd half of the NBA season
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Gary Payton II has spent the past nine seasons in the NBA but as the son of a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, he's been around the game his entire life.
Nearly a decade into his career, the guard has managed to carve his path and win an NBA title in 2022.
He is currently on his second stint with the Golden State Warriors, who are currently eighth in the Western Conference standings.
If the season ended today, the Warriors would be included in the NBA's play-in tournament, which gives the 7th through 10th-seeded teams from each conference an opportunity to play in the postseason.
The Warriors are 31-27 throughout the first 58 games of the 82-game season. The Warriors will play the Magic in Orlando at 7 p.m. ET.
Payton has averaged 5.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 13.4 minutes per game. He's started in 10 of the 46 games he's played for Golden State this season.
Payton spoke with USA TODAY to share some insight on various topics related to the league and his career.
Gary Payton II on playing with new teammate Jimmy Butler
Payton and the Warriors want to make a strong push toward the postseason.
The Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat before the deadline, adding him to a roster featuring Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
'The Jimmy addition is amazing,' Payton said. 'His skill, his IQ and what he brings. … Jimmy is just a dog. He loves to hoop.'
Through his first seven games with the Warriors, he's averaged 18 points, six rebounds and 5.4 assists.
'He goes out there and plays his heart out and he is a great fit for us. He can play big or small but just that addition to what Draymond and Steph bring for us, it's just amazing. … We will continue to figure it out and get him accustomed to everything but it won't be too hard. He is a high IQ level guy and loves to play the right way.'
The Warriors have won six of their first seven games with Butler on the court.
Butler signed a two-year, $113 million contract extension with Miami on Feb. 6 before he was traded to Golden State. Butler has averaged 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists during his 14-year career.
While Butler is expected to be a key player for Golden State, Payton is in the final year of a three-year deal he initially signed with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2022. He signed the deal seven months before he was traded back to Golden State.
The nine-year veteran exercised the $9.13 million player option he had on his contract to remain with the Warriors for this season.
While it remains unclear where he will play next season, Payton did not hold back about his aspirations for the future.
Bringing basketball back to Seattle
Payton was born and raised in Seattle, where his father spent 13 years as a star player for the Seattle SuperSonics.
While the city no longer has a basketball team, Payton remembers growing up when the basketball team was present before leaving for Oklahoma City.
There's been speculation over the years that the NBA will expand in the future, leaving some to be vocal about Seattle's need to be a front-runner to host a franchise again.
'Personally, that's all I've ever wanted since they've left,' Payton explained. 'Growing up and being around the Sonics and the KeyArena and now being in the position I'm in today, I've always wanted to go back home and play.
'Hopefully, in the next couple of years, they can figure it out and bring it back and that my dad is a part of it.'
There's no deadline set for an announcement regarding the league officially expanding. Still, the NBA has made it a point to host preseason games in Seattle in recent years, which may indicate some level of interest by both the city and the league.
The Climate Pledge Arena, which was previously named the KeyArena from 1995-2018, hosts the NHL's Seattle Kraken and the WNBA's Seattle Storm. The arena finished its renovations in 2021, the same year the hockey team was founded.
'I think (Seattle) still deserves a men's hoop team,' Payton said. 'They are doing an amazing job with the Storm and now the Kraken down there. It's a great fan base and the city has proved that they deserve the Sonics back.'
The Kraken upset the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of a seven-game series in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, becoming the first NHL team to win its inaugural playoff series against a defending champion.
The Storm was founded in 2000 and did not leave with the NBA franchise for its move to Oklahoma City. The WNBA became the primary professional basketball team in town, winning four league championships (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020).
Payton expands his investments beyond basketball
Payton recently invested in a Black-owned water bottle brand called Suplmnt. He secured an equity stake in the company founded by Jarius Morris, aligning with the mission to promote hydration and cultural impact.
'My best friend and business partner presented me with this water bottle and wanted me to check it out,' Payton said. 'A few weeks went by and I was using the bottle everywhere and the feedback I was getting was crazy.'
Morris created this brand to encourage Black and Brown communities to drink more water and empower others.
The water bottles were designed to make drinking water easy and fashionable through a dedicated focus on the art and culture portrayed in the bottle designs.
'I discovered the isolated water space pretty late in the game,' Morris said. 'Water bottles have been around for a long time but I never heard of some of them prior to me discovering them. I did more research and realized that the reason I didn't hear of these brands is because they weren't typically targeting the urban demographic; it was more toward outdoor and the environment, so I wanted to get something that resonated with the culture.'
Payton thought highly enough of the bottles that he used them as a Christmas gift idea for his teammates. He also enjoys the different laser-printed designs available and how they can play into his everyday fashion.
'This is pretty smooth,' Payton said about the bottle. 'So from there, it was just a part of my everyday life before I was even invested.'
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