Oh the tile. During the physical test stage – the classic before signing a contract – the Warriors medical staff detected a muscle injury to Gary Payton II. An injury that might keep him out of the field for three months… and which above all calls into question the entire transfer to four with Portland, Detroit and Atlanta. Golden State has until the end of the day to decide what to do.
It’s very rare, but it can happen that a medical visit is missed when signing a contract with an NBA franchise. Considered one of the best operations of the trade deadline, the return of Gary Payton II to the Warriors might ultimately not take place. The medics of the Bay have indeed discovered that the 2022 NBA champion suffered from a major muscle injury in the abdominal area. A sore likely to send Gary to the infirmary for three months, until… early May. Despite all the love the Warriors have for their former darling, you understand that this still greatly complicates this signing.
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 might sideline him for up to three months following a Warriors exam.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 11, 2023
The question now is “how do we do?“. Shams Charania, who is at the origin of the information, indicates that Golden State has until the end of the day to make a decision. Keep it, at the risk of not being able to use it until the start of the Playoffs conference semi-finals. Otherwise : send him back to Portland, and thus cancel the entire four-team transfer between Portland, Atlanta, Detroit and therefore the Warriors. For the exchange to be maintained, it would be necessary to find a counterparty to send in place of GPII. Which won’t be easy.
The Warriors have until Saturday to go through with the trade — or have the entire four-team deal be rescinded, sources said. Golden State re-acquired Payton at the trade deadline on Thursday. https://t.co/ewWalgLFNl
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 11, 2023
Last thing that remains to be determined: was Portland aware of this injury before sending Payton Jr. to San Francisco? If so, it would still be a form of rather crappy dishonesty. For the moment, no more elements to advance anything on this side, so stay tuned on TrashTalk to not miss the latest updates on this subject !
Source : Shams Charania
