Gary Payton II (PG/SG, GSW): Week 4 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 2% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Peep the minutes played by The Mini Glove: 0, 0, outlier-17, 5, 9, 6, real-18, solidified-18. That's correct. Gary Payton II is just bulldozing his way toward a bulkier role and playing time for the Warriors. It's just as simple as that. With Klay Thompson still weeks away from returning and Jordan Pool manning the SG spot, it is Payton who has emerged as the backup point for the team, and truth be told, he's been an absolute menace of late.

Payton's three games with 15+ minutes of playing time have seen him average an interesting 13-4-1-1 line in just 17 MPG. His shooting has been ridiculous (and it will come down in due time, but that's to be expected) at a monster 67.8% on a healthy 8+ FGA per game, the same as his 100% accuracy on free-throw shots so far this season (4-for-4).

One of the most important things concerning Payton's future is his jump up in usage rate as part of the Warriors second unit: in the four games played in the past week-and-change (from Oct. 28 on) Payton has logged USG% marks of 5.1, then 13.9, then 27.0, and then 27.5 percent. That's highly encouraging, and it's not crazy considering he's put up back-to-back games of 14+ points, 5+ rebounds, 1+ dimes, and 1+ steals while only turning the ball over once. Don't hesitate and add Payton as soon as you can in deeper leagues (his low playing time still doesn't merit rostering/starting him in shallower leagues) given his scorching hot shooting (and fantastic rebounding for a guard) while it lasts.

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