NBA: Gary Payton II trade to Warriors completed; Blazers facing probe—report
FILE – Gary Payton II #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts after his basket against the San Antonio Spurs during the fourth quarter at Moda Center on January 23, 2023 in Portland, Oregon. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP
The four-team trade that is sending Gary Payton II to the Golden State Warriors from the Portland Trail Blazers was completed on Sunday night, multiple outlets reported, ending a brief saga that had the deal in limbo since Thursday’s trade deadline.
The trade had been held up by the Warriors’ concerns over Payton’s physical, which reportedly revealed that he would miss a significant portion of the rest of the regular season due to an abdominal injury. The teams had a 9:30 p.m. ET deadline Sunday to finalize the trade.
Along with Payton, 30, reuniting with the Warriors, the deal is sending Golden State’s James Wiseman to the Pistons, Detroit’s Saddiq Bey to the Atlanta Hawks and another Pistons player, Kevin Knox II, to the Trail Blazers. The Warriors would also send five second-round draft picks to Portland.
According to several reports, the Warriors will not officially pass Payton with respect to his physical. The injury forced him to miss the first 35 games of the season following offseason surgery.
The NBA will conduct an inquiry into the Trail Blazers’ handling of the injury, in particular a potential failure to provide sufficient medical information before agreeing to the trade, according to ESPN.
Among the consequences Portland could face should it be found of any wrongdoing are a fine, a loss of draft picks and a re-examination by the league of the package of picks the Warriors sent to the Blazers.
Payton averaged 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 15 games (one start) for Portland this season. In seven seasons and with five teams, Payton has appeared in 157 games, with 40 starts. He is averaging 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 14.7 minutes per game.
