Payton II to be sidelined at least a month
Newly acquired Golden State guard Gary Payton II will be out for at least a month as he fully recovers from offseason surgery for a core muscle injury, and Warriors general manager Bob Myers is awaiting a decision from the NBA on whether the Trail Blazers withheld anything on Payton's health before trading him.
“What do I want? Whatever the NBA says is fair, just whatever that is,” Myers said Monday of receiving any potential compensation from Portland. “I just want a fair result. I don't know, whatever it takes it takes, I don't know how long.”
Myers is hopeful the defensive guard could return before the playoffs. Payton is listed on the injury report with right adductor soreness, stemming from the abdominal area — and there were no further details on whether that means the high-flying Payton's right leg is also compromised.
“Gary's going to be out. We're going to evaluate him in a month. It is our determination he's not ready to play right now,” Myers said.
Myers wouldn't address any issues the Warriors had with how Portland handled the trade or whether they failed to share any details on Payton's health, citing legal constraints and medical privacy. Golden State did bring concerns about the process to the league before deciding Sunday to go through with the fourteam swap that sent center James Wiseman to the Pistons.
MLB `GHOST RUNNER' IN EXTRA INNINGS MADE PERMANENT BY MLB >>
Starting extra innings with a runner on second base during the regular season was made a permanent rules change by Major League Baseball on Monday after three seasons of use during the coronavirus pandemic.
Known by some as the “Ghost Runner” and by others as the “Manfred Man” after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, the rule was unanimously adopted by the sport's 11-person competition committee.
Use of position players as pitchers also was tightened by the committee.
They will be limited to extra innings, when a player's team is losing by eight or more runs or is winning by 10 or more runs in the ninth inning. Last year, a position player could pitch only in extra innings or if his team was losing or winning by six or more runs. WASHINGTON NATIONALS OWNER TED LERNER DIES AT 97 >> Ted Lerner, the billionaire real estate developer whose family bought the Washington Nationals in 2006, has died, the team announced. He was 97.
A Nationals spokesperson said Lerner died Sunday of complications from pneumonia at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Lerner's group purchased the Nationals from Major League Baseball in 2006 for $450 million after the team was moved to the U.S. capital from Montreal. He was managing principal owner until ceding that role to son Mark in 2018.
Under the Lerners' ownership, the Nationals went from one of baseball's worst teams in their first several seasons in Washington to World Series champions in 2019. The Lerners also are credited with revitalizing the city's Navy Yard area since Nationals Park opened in 2008.
Men's basketball ALABAMA HOOPS NO. 1 IN AP TOP 25 FOR FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS >>
Alabama is the new No. 1, rising to the top spot in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the first time in 20 years.
Purdue's loss to Northwestern last week caused a jumble at the top of the AP Top 25 and that helped the Crimson Tide.
Alabama received 38 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel Monday, moving up two spots to leapfrog No. 2 Houston. The Cougars had 22 first-place votes to remain at No. 2 and Purdue, down to No. 3, still had two first-place votes.
UCLA and Kansas rounded out the top five. NEW MEX ST CANCELS SEASON AFTER SEX, HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS >> New Mexico State called off the rest of its men's basketball season Sunday after reviewing a police report that cited three players for false imprisonment, harassment and counts of criminal sexual contact against a teammate.