SAN FRANCISCO – A pair of familiar veteran guards are in line to bolster the Warriors depth at that position.
Beloved defender Gary Payton II and fellow former Warrior De’Anthony Melton have both agreed to resign with the team, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Sunday evening.
The two have long been linked to Golden State. Veteran center Al Horford also committed to the Warriors on Sunday morning, according to Charania, but none of the players have been officially signed.
The Warriors are still negotiating with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, and no deals are expected to be finalized until that situation has been resolved.
Kuminga has until Wednesday to pick up his qualifying offer.
Payton, 32, is the son of Skyline High legend and current Alameda College basketball coach Gary Payton.
Known commonly as GP2, he played 15 minutes a game last season, when he averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He has played the majority of the last five season sin the Bay Area.
Melton, 27, played six games for the Warriors last season, averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists while being a pesky defender.
His season was cut short by an ACL tear on Nov. 20, and he was then part of a package traded to the Nets for Dennis Schroeder and a 2025 second-round pick that would eventually be flipped for the rights to rookie Alex Toohey.
Warriors’ wing rotation now consists of those two, plus Jimmy Butler III, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski.
Reserve forward Gui Santos re-signed with the team just before free agency, and rookie second round picks Will Richard and Alex Toohey reportedly agreed to a multi-year deal with the Warriors.
Training camp begins on Tuesday, and the team’s first preseason game is on Sunday at Chase Center against the Lakers.