Warriors' Gary Payton II out at Least a Month with Injury After Trade from Blazers

Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers discussed the four-team trade involving the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers that was briefly on hold due to an injury to Gary Payton II.

The Warriors confirmed the deal ahead of Sunday's deadline, and Myers said he remains hopeful Payton is back on the court before the playoffs.

"It was our determination he's not ready to play right now," he told reporters Monday. "But when we hopefully do get him back at some point—the goal would be pre-playoffs. That would be the hope, but until we get a sense of how the rehab process is going, I can't really speculate."

Payton was all set to return to the Warriors, where he spent the past two seasons. However, The Athletic's Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported his physical showed he was suffering from a core muscle injury.

The 6'3" guard underwent abdominal surgery in the offseason and didn't make his 2022-23 debut until Jan. 2. Charania and Slater wrote the injury was serious enough to potentially sideline him for another two or three months.

Charania reported the Warriors filed a formal complaint with the NBA on the matter, which is now under investigation. Myers declined to get into much detail about the inquiry.

Last Friday, Blazers general manager Joe Cronin denied the team knowingly played Payton while he was hurt:

Because the trade deadline had passed, the Warriors were unable to renegotiate the deal with Portland to get either another player or more draft compensation.

That left Golden State in a bind.

Payton's injury means he might have little impact on the court this season, thus negating a big reason Myers made the move in the first place. Voiding the trade meant all of the players going to their old teams, which presented challenges of its own.

In the Warriors' case, they would've had to welcome back James Wiseman.

Trading Wiseman for a somewhat small return was a sign of the organization's desire to move on. He has made just 21 appearances this season, and it looked increasingly clear he wasn't going to unlock whatever upside he still has in the Bay Area.

Having to fit the 21-year-old into the roster could've made for a tricky dynamic or left him frozen out and on the periphery for the remainder of the season.

Myers spoke highly of Wiseman and said he expects the young center to have a better opportunity to develop in Detroit than he would've had in Golden State.

Over time, the Warriors may come to regret letting Wiseman go. It's difficult to argue with Myers' justification, though.