Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets that Warriors swingman Gary Payton II will be sidelined for at least another week because of a right calf strain. According to Slater, Payton is “making good progress” from his injury, and Golden State indicated that he will get another assessment the following week.
In 14 games played so far in 2023–24, Payton, 31, is averaging 5.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.2 SPG (17.3 MPG). It was against the Kings on November 28 when he suffered the injury.
With the defensive mainstay out, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, and Jonathan Kuminga could see an increase in playing time; nevertheless, the three players’ minutes have fluctuated up to this point.
With a $9.13M player option for 2024–25, Payton—who assisted the Warriors in winning a title in 2022—is earning $8.72M this season.
Golden State, which presently holds the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference with a 10-11 record, has had a patchy start to the 23–24 season. Nevertheless, the Warriors are only two games behind Sacramento, the team now ranked sixth, and it is evident that it is still early.
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