Warriors’ Steph Curry Admits He Tried Convincing Gary Payton II to Stay

Steph Curry Gary Payton II

Getty Steph Curry and Gary Payton II celebrate a play in a Golden State Warriors game.

Not long after Steph Curry helped guide the Golden State Warriors to a fourth title in the last eight seasons, he went to work trying to keep the squad together for another run.

Curry opened up about his efforts to play a recruiting role, reaching out to some of the team’s impending free agents in an attempt to convince them to stay. While the plan ultimately had limited success, the All-Star guard was able to help attract some new talent to the team to take their place.

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Curry Reached out to Teammates

As the San Francisco Chronicle’s Ron Kroichick reported, Curry and teammate Draymond Green tried to call guard Gary Payton II and convince him to stay with the Warriors. Payton was originally brought on to the 15th and final roster spot at the start of last season but saw his role increase throughout the season, to the point that he was drawing some of the most difficult defensive assignments in the NBA Finals.

Payton ultimately signed with the Portland Trail Blazers to a three-year, $28 million contract — the most money he had ever gotten during a six-year career that included long stretches spent in the G League.

Curry admitted it would have been difficult to keep Payton, especially when he got an offer that the luxury-tax-crimped Warriors would have been hard-pressed to match. The Warriors also lost big man Otto Porter Jr. but were able to bring back Kevon Looney, the big man who came up huge over the playoff run as the Warriors were forced to match the size of their opponents.

“We all knew how difficult it was going to be to keep everybody, but we tried,” Curry said. “It speaks to how much we value him, Loon, Otto. We tried to keep them all; thank God we got Loon back. …

“The league changes so fast, and obviously when you win, good things happen to good people. We’re going to miss all five of those guys, but there’s opportunity for other guys. Some of the draft picks from this year and last year, plus (James Wiseman), all of them get a chance to step up.”


Finding Payton’s Replacement

While Curry struck out in trying to convince Payton to stay, he was able to help bring in a wing who could help replace at least some of Payton’s defensive abilities. Curry and Green both free agent Donte DiVincenzo, helping sell the 25-year-old free agent on joining the Warriors.

DiVincenzo said the personal outreach helped seal the deal.

“Once I had the conversation with Steph and Draymond, everything kind of slowed down for me a little bit because I got away from the numbers, the dollar signs and everything,” DiVincenzo said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I was more so focused on what is best for Donte and what is best for me going forward. With that culture and environment, it’s something that I want to be a part of and it’s something of who I am.

“I don’t have to change who I am. I can just totally fit in and become a Warrior.”

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