The Los Angeles Lakers will be [looking to retool their roster this summer](https://lakeshowlife.com/lakers-resolve-major-rotation-issue-spending-dime) around Luka Doncic. As they do, they could hypothetically consider one former player as an addition to this team: Gary Payton II.
Whoa. If you're a Lakers fan, that's a name you probably haven't heard in the context of the Purple and Gold for quite some time. In fact, all the recent memories of Payton for Laker Nation are probably not fond ones.
Joining the Golden State Warriors in 2021, Payton is now one of the longest tenured members of the Warriors' new regime. He helped them to their championship in 2022, and he's been a major pest every time Golden State has matched up with Los Angeles.
If you're a little bit of a newer Lakers fan, you may not remember that Payton played with LA for 11 games during the 2017-18 season. At the time, he was playing on a two-way contract and split time between the NBA club and the G League affiliate South Bay Lakers. His most memorable performance was a 25-point outing in the final game of the regular season against the Clippers.
The Lakers would benefit from adding Gary Payton II
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Payton was also famously the last Laker player to wear the number 23 before LeBron James entered the equation. So, why would the Lakers be interested in him now? It has to do with Payton's specific skill set, and his current situation with Golden State.
For the last 4 years, Gary Payton has been one of the Warriors' best on-ball defenders, and they'd of course love to bring him back. However, it's possible he commands more on the open market than Golden State is able to reasonably pay him.
The chatter is that Payton may have to take a pay cut if he wants to stay with the Warriors. Should he seek a larger deal, it's possible he moves on and finds a new team, possibly one in Los Angeles.
Getting Gary Payton II on a minimum deal would be a big win for LA. His perimeter defensive skills would be a major upgrade, and they would be a fantastic complement to the offensive skills (and sometimes defensive deficiency) of Luka Doncic.
Plus, it's always nice when you can steal the services of a winning role player like Payton away from a rival. If the Lakers have an opportunity to sign GPII for cheap this summer, it's something they should absolutely do.