It was supposed to be a big homecoming, to the Warriors (where he won the NBA title just last June) but instead things for Gary Payton II seem to get complicated and not a little. The Blazers player – sold at the trade deadline to Golden State Warriors in one four way exchange which also involved Detroit and Atlanta – did not pass the medical tests ritual performed by the medical staff of the Warriors, who have identified a muscle problem that might still keep the player away from the fields for up to three months thus giving the Californian team the chance to cancel the trade, given the physical conditions of Payton II. His season in Portland was already started only in the 36th game, on January 2, 2023due to the same muscle problem then highlighted by the Warriors and throughout the championship so far he had gone down on the field only in 15 total matches with the Blazers shirt. Fifteen too many, someone pointed out, alluding to the possibility that in Oregon they pushed the player onto the field too soon following his actual recovery from the injury, thus making things worse and aggravating not his physical situation, which will probably require another long break.
Portland defends itself once morest the accusations: the words of GM and coach
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“The health of the players is very important to us – the Portland GM immediately defended himself Joe Cronin – and if GP2 was playing it was because our medical staff had given us the green light, pretty sure it was okay. Otherwise we would never have let him take the field”. Words also reiterated by the Blazers coach, Chauncey Billups: “We would never push a player to take the field if he doesn’t feel like it. I’d be the first to be afraid if something were to happen.” But something happened, because the results of the Warriors’ medical tests showed a compromised physical framework: Golden State is reportedly considering canceling the trade (which also meant the farewell of James Wiseman, sold in Detroit), having until tomorrow to decide whether to proceed with the trade or “cancel” everything, thus also influencing the scenarios in Detroit, Atlanta and Portland.
