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Gary Payton II is a co-founder of the Skateboard Association (SBA), a new co-ed, equal pay professional skateboarding league based in Big Bear, California, with the intention of platforming career skaters and compensating them for their talents. An endeavor a couple of years in the making, it's the next step in Payton's journey as he looks to use his platform to support the things that are important to him. “Me growing as a person, a businessman, and an athlete– just to intertwine both of those and be able to do cool things like this– and be a part of dope things that you know will change the outlook of a sport is unique. I'm very grateful to be a part of it.”
Gary Payton II on Stephen Curry: You just can't relax with him. Once he gets the ball off, I think he's more dangerous without the ball than he is with the ball. Just cuz his conditioning and his pace and he reads the game and the floor like you got to chase him and if you get behind like somebody else has to help you and that's just him pulling the gravity of the court into the game and he opens up a lot more for everybody else.
The Warriors emerged victorious, 104-96, but coach Steve Kerr and his staff will be blessed with plenty of video sure to leave various members of the roster palming their faces. Three days after Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III blistered the team for its polite approach to defense – which showed signs of improvement – their offense spent most of the evening trying to survive spells of self-suffocation. AKA, the No Steph Syndrome. The Warriors on this occasion were rescued by Gary Payton II, who came off the bench and pulled his teammates to a win that spared them loads of embarrassment. “He was amazing,” Kerr said. “Gary was one of the keys to the game, just his activity levels, his defense obviously working kind of underneath the basket, freeing himself up for some layups, and then obviously knocked down the three. That was kind of the killer, the killer shot.”
The chemistry between Payton and Butler, beginning late in the second quarter, was crucial to making the offense blossom in the second half. Payton scored 12 points in the quarter on 6-of-6 shooting, mostly working near the rim. “Just playing behind the defense, being an outlet and making layups,” Payton neatly summarized. “Jimmy draws a lot of attention when he's driving to the rim, and Gary was able to find all the open spots in their defense,” Draymond Green said. “He was great cutting, rebounding the basketball, which was incredible. He did a great job of playing behind the defense, and Jimmy's always looking for the open man. If you're open, he's going to throw that pass every time. And G was open, and he found him four or five times.”
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The Warriors signed Horford to a two-year, $11.7 million contract with the taxpayer mid-level exception. That signing hard capped them to the $207.8 million second apron. The respective minimum salary cap hits for Melton ($3.1 million), Payton II ($2.3 million), and Richard ($1.3 million) would leave them $24.5 million below the second apron hard cap. The Warriors wouldn’t be able to match an offer sheet that is $1 more than that amount.
Michael Scotto: Sources: Golden State Warriors signed Will Richard to a four-year, $8.69M deal via second-round pick exception. It’s fully guaranteed the first two seasons and non-guaranteed the last two seasons (team option for 2028-29). Gary Payton II signed a one-year, $3.3M guaranteed deal.
Shams Charania: Free agents Gary Payton II and De'Anthony Melton have committed to signing deals to return to the Golden State Warriors, sources tell ESPN. Payton, Melton and Al Horford are now locked in for the Warriors' 2025-26 roster.
Anthony Slater: It's Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II and second rounder Will Richard for roster spots 9-13 for the Warriors. The 14th vacancy is currently left for the unsettled Jonathan Kuminga situation.
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The Warriors remain on course to at last complete their long-planned signings of Horford, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II after Kuminga. They also still hope to sign Seth Curry … but Golden State’s to-the-dollar flexibility won’t be known until Kuminga specifics are known.
Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors have had no discussions about pushing back his deadline to accept the qualifying offer, sources told The Stein Line. You can certainly understand why the Warriors don't want to wait one second longer than they have to at this point. Their long-planned signings of Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II — and possibly Seth Curry as well — have been on hold because of the Kuminga stalemate. If it indeed lasts until Wednesday, Golden State will have to conduct its first two days of training camp practices with various players missing.
NBA free agent Gary Payton II is launching a professional skateboard league, joining a growing movement of athlete-led leagues aimed at providing year-round relevance to Olympic and action sports. The Skate Board Association, a coed, six-team street skateboard league, plans to hold its inaugural 10-game season next summer in Big Bear Lake, California. Payton II, who last played for the Golden State Warriors, told ESPN he founded the league with partners Royce Campbell and Sheldon Lewis, because of his childhood love for skateboarding.
"Growing up, I always wanted to be a skateboarder. The skate park was right next to the basketball court," he said. "I'd skate there with my friends and they'd skate the park and I'd hoop." When his partners proposed the league, "I was like, 'Why hasn't there been a professional league like the NFL, NBA or NHL for skateboarding?'" Payton II said. "'Let's change the sports game and the skateboard game.'"
