Update: Warriors sign Looney to 3-year deal; GPII, Otto Porter Jr. move on

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors on Friday brought back one of their key free agents, retaining Kevon Looney — who appeared in all 104 of the team’s games this past season — on a three-year deal that could be worth about $26 million if the final year becomes fully guaranteed. 

However, two other important rotation pieces went elsewhere, with Gary Payton II headed to the Portland Trail Blazers and Otto Porter Jr. is signing with the Toronto Raptors.

According to CBSSports.com, the Trail Blazers offered Payton II a three-year, $28 million deal, as reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Payton’s payday is well earned after he was one of the breakout players of the 2021-22 season. After spending the bulk of his career on 10-day contracts and in the G-League, he finally managed to carve out a steady role for himself with the Warriors as a defensive stopper and unconventional pick-and-roll threat. He helped lead Golden State to a championship, and now, he’ll take his talents to the Pacific Northwest.

The fit, on paper, is quite good. Payton is obviously familiar with that region of the country as his father, Gary Payton, was once a star for the Seattle Supersonics. Both Paytons played collegiately at Oregon State and now the younger Payton will return to Oregon to join a Blazers team trying to build a contender around Damian Lillard.

Otto Porter Jr. signed with the Golden State Warriors last summer hoping to get his career back on track. It was a minimum contract, and it was the best decision he could have possibly made. He played in 63 regular-season games, traded almost all of his long 2s for 3s and won a championship, starting the last three games of the NBA Finals. Porter gave the Warriors some defensive versatility and some shooting in the frontcourt. He was a perfect fit in their movement-oriented offense. It worked out so well that he’s not coming back.

CBSSports.com reported the 29-year-old forward agreed to a two-year contract with the Toronto Raptors on Friday, according to Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes. He’ll reportedly have a player option on the second season. The salary has yet to be reported, but, according to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, Toronto will use some of its $10.5 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception. 

The departure of GPII and Porter follows the signing of Juan Toscano-Anderson by the Los Angeles Lakers, after the team did not extend a qualifying offer .