Warriors Trade Involving James Wiseman, Gary Payton II In Danger Of Being Rescinded
The Golden State Warriors made headlines on Thursday ahead of the NBA trade deadline when they dealt James Wiseman in a four-team trade that included the Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers.
Wiseman was said to be going to the Pistons, Saddiq Bey was going to the Hawks and the Warriors were going to be re-acquiring Gary Payton II, who had signed a deal with the Trail Blazers in the offseason instead of remaining with Golden State.
However, this trade is now in jeopardy of not happening a day after the trade deadline after Gary Payton II failed a physical examination conducted by the Warriors.
According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Payton failed his physical exam with the Warriors as a result of a core muscle injury that he had surgery on in the offseason.
Shams Charania: "Just in: A failed physical exam of Gary Payton II has placed the Golden State-Portland-Detroit-Atlanta four-team deal in serious jeopardy, sources tell me and @anthonyVslater. Payton's core muscle injury could sideline him for up to three months following a Warriors exam."
Charania went on to say that the Warriors have until Saturday to decide whether or not they want to go through with the trade or have the entire four-team deal rescinded.
On September 16, the Trail Blazers announced that Payton had surgery to address a core muscle injury and he did not make his debut with the team until January 2.
Originally, Portland said that they expected Payton to be ready for the start of the season, but he ended up missing the first two-and-a-half months.
Gary Payton II was expected to be a key addition for the Warriors ahead of the trade deadline, especially given that he was instrumental in their championship run a season ago.
Now, the Warriors may not go through with the trade after all, especially since Payton could be sidelined for up to three months with this injury.
Playing in a total of 15 games this season in Portland, Payton averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
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