Inside The Warriors

Golden State Warriors NBA Champion Reacts to Former Teammate's Big News

Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II sent a message to OKC Thunder guard Alex Caruso

Joey Linn

Mar 7, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II (0) and Chicago Bulls forward Alex Caruso (6) exchange jerseys after the game at Chase Center.
Mar 7, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II (0) and Chicago Bulls forward Alex Caruso (6) exchange jerseys after the game at Chase Center. / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
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The Oklahoma City Thunder finished first in the Western Conference standings last season, but were eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals.

While they did not advance as far in the playoffs as they wanted to, the Thunder had a very solid season that they project to improve upon next year. Adding two-time All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso, Oklahoma City traded for one of the NBA’s elite role players earlier this offseason.

Sending Josh Giddey to Chicago, who was a less than ideal fit in their starting lineup, Oklahoma City made a great move to strengthen their already talented roster.

In an announcement on Instagram, Caruso shared that he is now engaged.

The 2020 NBA champion received several messages from current NBA players, including Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II.

Gary Payton
Gary Payton / Instagram

Payton won a championship with the Warriors in 2022 and is in his second stint with the team after a brief stop with the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2022-23 NBA season. Playing briefly with Caruso during the 2017-18 NBA season, Payton appeared in 11 games for the Los Angeles Lakers that year.

An elite role player himself, Payton has struggled to stay on the court, but has been very productive when healthy.

Picking up his $9.1M player option for next season, Payton will return to the Warriors for the final year of his three-year, $26.1M deal he signed with Portland.

If he can stay healthy, Payton should have an opportunity to play a lot of key minutes for Golden State next season.

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Joey Linn

JOEY LINN

Title: Credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation Email: joeylinn52@gmail.com Education: Communication Studies degree from Biola University Location: Los Angeles, California Expertise: NBA analysis and reporting Experience: Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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