Gary Payton II is on track to play against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, his first action since the Golden State Warriors re-acquired him from the Portland Trail Blazers at the trade deadline.
While the veteran guard has worked diligently to recover from a nagging adductor injury since returning to the Bay six weeks ago, though, Payton knows he'll need some time to completely re-acclimate—to both the NBA game at large and once again playing for the Warriors.
Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Payton admitted he's only just started to “feel like myself” after last taking the floor on February 8th, when he was still a member of the Blazers.
“It feels good. I'm starting to feel like myself,” he said. “I missed a lot of games this year so I'm just ready to get back out on the court with the guys and wrap this up for the home stretch.”
Payton failed his physical with Golden State upon arriving in San Francisco after the trade was agreed upon in principle, still dealing with discomfort in his midsection after undergoing core muscle surgery in mid-September. The Warriors quickly alleged malfeasance on Portland's part, accusing the team of misleading them about Payton's health status during trade talks.
The same day Payton was listed as probable to play against Minnesota, word broke that Golden State ultimately decided not to file a grievance against the Blazers with the league office.
It's unclear how the Warriors' backtracking on the Blazers' official wrongdoing factors into Payton's presumed availability for Sunday's game. Even though he's bound to return sooner than Golden State's initial two-month timeline, Gary Payton II admits he's still not quite feeling 100% healthy.
“At the beginning of the year, working through the little pains and bumps and bruises from the offseason, I feel pretty good,” he said, per ESPN's Kendra Andrews. “Every day getting my body right, a little maintenance, fine tuning, we had a little extra time to do all of that and get it where it needs to be.”
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