How good is GP2

[migya]

Gary Payton jr. has been a real asset for the Warriors this season. How good is he defensively by current standards? How good has he been offensively? How much of a difference maker is he for the Warriors? And how good could he get as a player from now on?

I really think he is such an important player whose energy and abilities at times have made the Warriors so much better. He looks like one of the best defenders at the moment. He has been shooting well also and his leaping ability is probably the best on the Warriors. He is such a great happy story.

[Colbinii]

I think he is a better defender than his dad.

[migya]

I think he is a better defender than his dad.

That's a big call. I don't think he's there yet but he certainly is at that level, this season.

[Onus]

He's a really good on ball defender but off the ball he does tend to get lost. His offense has been respectable in this system where he isn't asked to just stand still and not be a participant. Probably an odd fit for other teams as having a guard who needs a lot of time to shoot and doesn't really dribble is tough to slot in offensively.

[migya]

Would be great to see him get many votes for dpoy next year.

[eminence]

His offensive role is a tough one to fit in. He's a 6'3 guy who takes ~40% of his shots at the rim and ~80% of them are assisted. Bruce Brown, Josh Green, Thybulle, and Okoro are somewhat comparable, maybe Kenyon Martin Jr if people bother to watch the Rockets? But notably smaller than all of them. Might be the 2nd best shooter of the bunch by a slim margin (Martin Jr is the best). Doesn't really create much with the ball in his hands. Sets solid screens from what I've seen.

Defensively, he's spectacular on-ball. Off-ball I find him good, physical tools to do things around the rim most guys his size can't, but instincts are in the good not great category.

Overall he's a very nice rotation piece that could maybe be a low-end starter in the perfect setting, but that perfect setting is a bit tough to envision (woulda been a nice 5th starter for the KD era Warriors).

[Colbinii]

I think he is a better defender than his dad.

That's a big call. I don't think he's there yet but he certainly is at that level, this season.

While his dad definitely had the accolades, I think GP2 is even better on-ball and is more versatile on-ball compared to his dad. As others have said, he does have a tendency to get lost defensively.

I wouldn't pit him in the DPOY category.

[Gibson22]

He's a good player. Top 5 ish guard defender, great POA, pest type of defender. Pretty bad offensively cause he can't shoot or dribble but at GS he has found a role even offensively as basicaly a 6'3 center lol, so he even has good ppg and rpg for his limited minutes. 68% TS as a 6'3" guy with no shooting or scoring skills is crazy.

[RCM88x]

I feel like in another offense where he's expected to actually contribute something he'd be pretty much a fringe rotation guy. But with GS, it's so much easier for him on that end that he's actually elevated to a decent role player level. He reminds me a bit of DeAndre Liggins from a few years ago, but a bit smaller and quicker. I think they both are guys who need a great offensive system/support to be playable but are really quite strong defensively man to man and are big enough to switch onto other perimeter positions without giving up anything.

[parsnips33]

He's an great finisher, and I'm not just talking about dunks. His touch and body control around the rim are extremely high level

[migya]

He's an great finisher, and I'm not just talking about dunks. His touch and body control around the rim are extremely high level

He's been a great story. Be good to see him before a legit 6th man type.

[jalengreen]

random but

Payton knew there was an opening in the Golden State Warriors' video coordination department, so he approached assistant coach Jama Mahlalela.

It was an opportunity, he thought, to still contribute and participate.

"I was dead serious," Payton says. "If I get cut, I'm going to audition for that job. ... I was just trying to stay around. I'd still be around the game, I could still help, travel whatnot. And then figure it out from there."

But Mahlalela had other plans.

"I just talked to him about the criteria for the video room: A willing learner, someone who can get on the court still and play, whatever. And he's like, 'I'll do that,'" Mahlalela says. "And I'm like, Gary, I'm not letting you do that. There is no chance in the world you are going to do that. You are playing for this team."

source https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33774492/how-lifelong-struggle-paved-way-gary-payton-ii-success-golden-state-warriors

how close he was to being effectively out of the league makes u wonder how many potentially great players missed out on the opportunity bc they didnt find the perfect fit like gp2 did

[Outside]

In most systems, his offense would be a liability that would keep him off the floor, but he's in the perfect situation where he has a wealth of shooting around him and all the motion and passing. That allows him to be a cutter who can finish at the rim or take wide-open threes. He's not a dribble-creator, he's a poor mid-range shooter, and he doesn't shoot contested threes well, but he's not needed for that with the Warriors. The Warriors system makes him the absolute best he can be.

What he does well is defend at the point of attack, finish at the rim in transition and within the offense, and rebound.

[ShotCreator]

At least as good as peak Andre Roberson.

Who was a starter and was on pace for DPOY.

Best perimeter defender since 18 Roberson.

Thybulle’s recovery and funneling style isn’t resilient enough to be thought of as on par IMO.