Clock is ticking on Warriors to make decision on Payton II
The tradedeadline move that ended James Wiseman’s time with the Warriors and brought Gary Payton II back to the Bay Area moved into its third day of limbo Saturday.
Golden State has until 6:30 p.m. Sunday to decide whether the reigning champs want to proceed with the move after Payton failed his physical on Friday. By league rules, no modifications can be made to the trade. If any of the four teams back out, the entire trade is reversed.
The Warriors were caught off guard by the results of Payton’s physical, which revealed that his core muscle injury that needed offseason surgery could sideline him for significant time. Golden State has raised concerns with the NBA that the Blazers didn’t disclose pertinent medical information regarding Payton before the trade, ESPN reported.
If an investigation by the league were to vindicate the Warriors’ concerns, Portland reportedly could face a fine as well as loss of future draft picks.
Payton missed the first 35 games of the season, but played 14 of the last 16 games for the Trail Blazers, including 22 minutes in Portland’s game against Golden State the night before the trade deadline.
In the hour before Thursday’s trade deadline, the Warriors dealt Wiseman to the Pistons, who sent forward Saddiq Bay to the Hawks and Kevin Knox to the Blazers. In turn, Golden State received five second-round picks from the Hawks, though three of those picks were flipped to Portland for Payton.
The rest of the players have passed their physicals, but the deal is contingent on what the Warriors decide to do. Coach Steve Kerr called the whole situation “strange,” though he hasn’t been able to speak directly about the trade as it remains on hold.
“It is what it is,” Kerr said before Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. “There’s not a whole lot to do or say, so we’re just waiting it out and seeing how it plays out.”