Gary Payton II to Reportedly Make Warriors Debut vs. T-Wolves After Adductor Injury

Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II is finally set to make his debut with the team Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves after being out the last 20 games with an adductor injury, according to NBA on TNT and B/R's Chris Haynes.

Payton, 30, was traded to the Warriors from Portland ahead of the trade deadline on Feb. 9. He spent the last two seasons in the Bay Area and was a critical piece to the team's championship run last season.

He had offseason core surgery, which caused him to miss the first 35 games of the season with the Trail Blazers. He's only played in 15 games this year.

Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports reported that Payton scrimmaged with Golden State on Friday and was a full participant in practice for the first time Saturday, which were all good signs that he was more than likely going to suit up.

Payton failed his physical after being traded, which nearly caused the four-team trade with the Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks to be derailed. It was reported that he played through pain in his 15 appearances for Portland and received Toradol from the team's training staff, which was reportedly not disclosed ahead of the trade.

While this season has been a very small sample size, Payton proved last year that he is a perfect culture and scheme fit with the Warriors as he averaged 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 2022 while playing a role as a defensive stopper.

He'll be a big help to Golden State on that end of the floor, as they currently rank 18th in the league with a defensive rating of 114.0.