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https://theathletic.com/4181357/202...yton-james-wiseman/?source=emp_shared_article
The latest gasp-inducing revelation, the trade that sent out former No. 2 pick
James Wiseman and brought back
Gary Payton II hangs in the balance due to a failed physical by Payton. The core muscle injury Payton had surgery on in the offseason is still in bad shape.
The Blazers reportedly shot him up so he could play but didn’t disclose it to the Warriors when the sides worked out the deal. Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said Payton, who played in 14 of Portland’s last 17 games,
was healthy and cleared to play.
But the Warriors’ medical staff, according to sources, is saying he needs about three months to recover, so the defending champions are now weighing the decision of whether to cancel the trade or accept being blindsided by Payton’s medicals.
Payton
reportedly wanted out of Portland, which led to them trading away the guard who they signed this past offseason to a three-year, $26 million deal.
But after the deal, Payton told multiple people connected to the Warriors he still wasn’t healthy, and part of the reason he was happy to be back with the Warriors was he preferred their medical staff to Portland’s. But his prognosis puts the Warriors in a tough spot.
If the Warriors go through with the trade, they may not get Payton until the middle of the playoffs, which start in about two months. So the critical addition to the rotation the Warriors expected when they sacrificed Wiseman ends up yielding no immediate returns. With any complication, Payton may not be available at any point this season.
If the Warriors nix the trade — which, by the end, was submitted as a four-team deal —
Saddiq Bey would go back to
Detroit, Kevin Knox and the second-round picks would go back to Atlanta, and Payton back to Portland. And Wiseman would come back to Golden State. After existing for the better part of three seasons under a shroud of disappointment, clearly talented but too raw to flourish under the intense championship heat, he would be back under the care of the franchise that gave up on him.