After hearing that Gary Payton II failed his physical, both the Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers are in a tough spot.
Warriors’ potential trade for Gary Payton II is in jeopardy due to his failed physical
League sources: Yes, GP2 failed his physical.
But the Warriors might be willing to waive it to retain his rights.
Situation is fluid (partly bc other pending physicals), but conceivable the full trade still gets completed— Monte Poole (@MontePooleNBCS) February 11, 2023
The Blazers apparently concealed GP2’s long-standing injury from the Dubs during the trade. The entire four-team trade is now in danger as a result of this.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Warriors’ evaluation of Payton revealed that his previous core muscle injury could sideline him for up to three months. However, sources told Charania that there is “no exact timetable” for how long the 30-year-old would be out.
Just in: A failed physical exam of Gary Payton II has placed the Golden State-Portland-Detroit-Atlanta four-team deal in serious jeopardy, sources tell me and @anthonyVslater. Payton's core muscle injury could sideline him for up to three months following a Warriors exam.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 11, 2023
Regarding "no exact timetable," three months sounds like an "overestimation," per source. No timetable until further information is assessed.
The news certainly came as a surprise. https://t.co/S8lXZEAjWG
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) February 11, 2023
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According to Charania’s sources, the Warriors have until this Saturday to decide whether or not to move forward with the trade as it stands, or the deal will be nullified.
The Warriors acquired him via trade in the hopes of bolstering their roster for the remainder of the current campaign. It now appears that Payton won’t be able to play again this season.
NBA Twitter users, reasonably, reacted strongly to the news.
How the Blazers could have missed such a crucial fact during trade negotiations has been called into serious question. And for how long have they been making Payton play with that nagging injury?
Don’t forget, Portland’s medical staff cleared Gary Payton to play and Chauncey Billups said it’s all mental. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/WESp9nbl9f
— Jon Asaad (@jaynbablog) February 11, 2023
Blazers' training staff were pushing GP2 to play through injury with Toradol shots, per @ShamsCharania, @anthonyVslater
Warriors weren't told he was injured at the time of the trade pic.twitter.com/eYCSMEkRKe
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 11, 2023
Gary Payton II played in a game the night before the deadline. I know that injury had been a thing for Payton for a while, but how bad was it to pop as a three-month thing now, but didn't keep him out two nights ago?
Very odd situation.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 11, 2023
Right now, possession of the ball is with the Warriors. This whole arrangement could collapse if they do not change course now that this information is public. There doesn’t seem to be much of a way out of this situation for the Blazers.
A key contributor on defense and other areas, Gary Payton II was an integral part of the 2022 Golden State Warriors championship team.
By the end of June, Payton had agreed to a three-year deal with the Blazers worth just over $26 million. He had to miss the first two and a half months of the 2022-23 NBA season after undergoing surgery on his abdominal muscles in July.
The defensive whiz kid didn’t play his first game for the Blazers until January 2nd, and he’s only appeared in 15. His stats through 17 games are 4.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, and 1.5 apg.
