Boomdizzle#5: yup that was annoying, like he would shoot jumpers with hands in his face, ugh everything, couldn't stop him at all...
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Its Official: Payton Signs with Hometown
Oakland, CA
(AP Press) -- Two weeks after news first broke out of the potential Gary Payton signing, GM Chris Mullen and coach Don Nelson have convinced Payton AKA "The Glove" to sign for the mid-level exception, approximately $5,360,000 for 1 year. Payton was only looking for a short term deal, due to his age (39). He will be the primary backup for star point guard Baron Davis, replacing Sarunas Jasikevicius' role. Nelson felt that the team needed a more reliable point guard who could defend better than Jasikevicius, so Mullen approached Payton at the beginning of December.
Payton was of course hesitant to sign right away. He felt that he was too old to play in Nelson's run-n-gun style and that he wouldn't be effective. Nelson assured him that with natural athleticism combined with the fact that he wouldn't be playing starter's minutes, that this would not be a issue. Then there was the conflict of money. His agent, Aaron Goodwin held out at the beginning of the year, trying to decide which was the best fit for his client. Payton, definitely wanted to win another championship, but he also wanted to play an important role for the team, in addition to his salary demands. Golden State initially only presented 2 of his 3 traits that he was looking for, but as the season progressed Payton lowered his demands.
With Golden State becoming a surprising favorite to contend for the NBA championship in 2007-2008, and finally in a position to come back home, Payton called Goodwin to tell him to get the deal done with Mullen. On 1/1/08, he officialy joined the Warriors. However, the rest of the team was in Dallas, preparing for their game against the Mavs, just set to begin in a few hours. Payton flew from his home in Miami to Oakland to pass his physical, and the deal was done. His first practice will be tomorrow on thursday, when the Warriors return home.
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