Gary Payton II is officially a member of the Golden State Warriors once again. Just because the controversial trade that brought him back to the Bay has finally been completed, though, doesn't mean Payton will soon be on the floor to help the defending champions rise up the stacked Western Conference standings over the stretch run of the regular season.
At a press conference on Monday, Golden State general manager Bob Myers revealed that Payton will be re-evaluated in a month as he continues recovering from core muscle surgery, with the hope that he'll be ready to play before the postseason.
“Gary's gonna be out. From our standpoint, we're gonna evaluate him in a month,” Myers said. “It is our determination he's not ready to play right now. But when we get him back, hopefully we do get him back at some point, the goal would be pre-playoffs. That would be the hope. But until we get a sense of how the rehab process is going, I can't really speculate.”
The Warriors agreed to re-acquire Payton from the Portland Trail Blazers just before Thursday's trade deadline in a four-team deal that sent former No. 2 overall draft pick James Wiseman to the Detroit Pistons.
The Warriors earn high marks after swapping James Wiseman for Gary Payton II.
(Via @armstrongwinter)https://t.co/sP3yDsvo6O
— Warriors Nation (@WarriorNationCP) February 9, 2023
The trade was at risk of being rescinded the following day, though, when reports emerged that Payton—who underwent core muscle surgery in September and made his delayed Blazers debut in early January, still dealing with pain in his midsection—failed his physical in Golden State. The Warriors filed a complaint with the league office against Portland on Sunday morning, alleging they were misled about Payton's current health status during trade negotiations.
Myers didn't shed much light on the process that ultimately led to Golden State's complaint, insisting he hopes the outcome of the league's investigation into the matter is “fair.” Once Payton got in the building, though, the Warriors' top decision-maker admitted surprise at learning Payton would need more time to reach a clean bill of health.
“I didn't really factor in the thought that he would be out as long as he will be. I didn't think that,” Myers said. “We had a lot of conversations, but I'm not gonna get into the specifics of what the conversations were with the other team.”
It bears stressing that Golden State hasn't provided an official timeline for Payton's return to the floor. Being “re-evaluated” in one month doesn't mean he'll be playing in mid-March. Assuming he doesn't suffer any setbacks while rehabbing, the safe assumption is Payton suits for Golden State around early April, with just a few games left in the regular season.
Here's hoping the Warriors, ninth in the West at 28-28, can make up some ground in the standings before then. Otherwise, they'll even be at risk of falling out of the play-in tournament upon Payton making his 2022-23 team debut.
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