The Golden State Warriors made a move at the NBA trade deadline to bring back fan favorite Gary Payton II but now that move appears to be in jeopardy. The move was a four team trade that also included the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers and involved James Wiseman going to the Pistons. It's now possible that the deal may fall through due to a failed physical exam from Payton that could sideline him up to three months as per Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Warriors will have until Sunday to go through with the trade.
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
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1624199664319991808?s=20&t=YArdisivG5u_3ptqwKy-VA
The trade involved Gary Payton II returning to the Warriors after signing with the Blazers as a free agent in the offseason. His 2022-23 season debut was delayed due to injury rehab. In 15 games with the Blazers this season, Payton was averaging 4.1 points per game, 2.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 58.5 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from the three-point line.
While Payton had played in the Blazers last few games, he apparently was being advised to play through injury and the Warriors were not informed of the injury as per Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
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
The rest of the trade involved the Warriors moving James Wiseman to the Pistons, the Pistons moving Saddiq Bey to the Hawks and the Pistons moving Kevin Knox to the Blazers. The trade also involved several second round picks going to the Warriors and Blazers. The move to re-acquire Payton signaled the Warriors intent to make a strong playoff push during the second half of the season. Wiseman had received little playing time this season and had few stints in the G League.
Should the Warriors decide to withdraw from the trade, all players would return to their teams.
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