The Golden State Warriors have a way of finding diamonds in the rough. When Kevin Durant joined the team in the 2016-2017 season, the franchise was forced to find veterans who would accept minimum-level contracts in pursuit of a championship. The team’s payroll still remains at a similar level with contracts for Andrew Wiggins, as well as Draymond Green and Steph Curry’s extensions, on the books, and thus the trend continues of needing to find good value with minimum money.

The best examples of this season’s value haul are Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica. Both have been strong contributors off the bench and have carved out important roles in the rotation. The Warriors have also found a gem in Gary Payton II, who has taken up the 15th roster spot, and has already proven he’s an impact player on the defensive end.

Last season, Payton signed a 2-way contract with the Warriors and appeared in 10 games, averaging about 4 minutes of floor time, with much of those minutes coming during key points where the game is close or the momentum is beginning to shift. In that time, he scored 2.5 points per game and grabbed 1.1 boards per game while also shooting very efficiently with his touches and ball-hawking some of the NBA’s tougher guards.

This season, Payton has appeared in all 6 of the Warriors games, averaging 6 minutes of floor time while maintaining his efficiency. The Athletic’s Anthony Slater also pointed out that there have been three separate occasions now where Steve Kerr has played Payton to end a quarter on a defensive possession: Against the Lakers, the Kings, and the Thunder tonight. All three times, Payton has come up with a steal: The first coming up with a steal on Russell Westbrook, the next catching an errant pass from Tyrese Haliburton, and the final one a textbook pickpocket from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. A testament to his ability to be disruptive and make some great plays on the defensive end, it figures that he’ll see more minutes in moments like that as the season goes on, especially if the Warriors need a smaller guard to pick up some of those tougher perimeter assignments.

Payton is a big reason the Warriors are able to go so deep into their lineup and, once healthy, could realistically put forth a 15-man rotation (although that much need for minute management could result in some overwhelming moments for Kerr and his staff). Payton has already proven he’s a capable defender, picking up tough covers in key momentums of momentum.

The Warriors team need has generally been offensive generation (hence why Chris Chiozza is seeing a lot of minutes in the rotation this season), but should the momentum ever swing in the opposite direction, we could very well see Gary Payton II’s number being called and him making those same impacts.

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