Warriors' Gary Payton II Progressing in Injury Rehab; Will Be Reevaluated in 10 Days
Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II is potentially nearing a return to the court, as he is progressing well in his rehab from a right adductor injury, according to a statement put out by the organization Monday. He is set to be reevaluated in 10 days.
Payton, 30, has not played since Golden State acquired him ahead of the Feb. 9 NBA trade deadline.
He was a key piece in the Warriors' championship run last season and signed with Portland in the offseason before he headed back to the Bay Area via trade.
TOP NEWS
Silver Gives Expansion Update
Shams: 5 Teams in Mix for Bron
Grading Every Team's Summer-League Rookies 🔠
The adductor injury nearly derailed the four-team trade that the Warriors pulled off with the Hawks, Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers to acquire Payton after he failed his physical.
He ended up missing the first 35 games of the season because of offseason abdominal surgery that he had in the summer.
Payton did manage to play in 15 games for Portland before being traded. In that time, he averaged 4.1 points on 58.5 percent shooting, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 17.0 minutes per game.
The Warriors ended up going through with the trade and didn't give any initial timeline of when Payton would be ready to return to action until now.
When he does return, Payton will bring some much-needed intensity to a Golden State defense that has struggled this season, especially on the road. The Warriors rank 14th in the league in defensive rating (113.4), per NBA.com, after being second last season (106.6).
