Gary Payton II finalizing deal with Portland Trail Blazers; 3-year, $28M deal, sources say

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Gary Payton II is finalizing a multi-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, his agent, Aaron Goodwin, confirmed to ESPN.

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Payton, who spent the past two seasons with the Golden State Warriors, is expected to join the Blazers on a three-year, $28 million deal, sources told ESPN's Marc J. Spears.

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The Warriors offered Payton the taxpayer mid-level exception, sources told Spears.

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Just as Payton has ties to the Bay Area -- with his father, Hall of Fame guard Gary Payton, being born in Oakland

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He also has a connection to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. He grew up in Seattle while his father played for the Seattle Supersonics.

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Payton also attended and played at Oregon State for two years.

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After bouncing around the league since his rookie season in 2016-17, Payton finally found a fit in Golden State that allowed his game to flourish.

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Payton's primary role was as a lockdown defender, posting a defensive rating of 100 -- good for 40th in the league and sixth-best amongst players.

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