Gary Payton II fails physical, jeopardizing a four-team deal that would bring him back to Warriors, per report

The four-team trade, which took place before Thursday’s deadline, is in jeopardy due to Gary Payton II’s failed medical. according to The Athletic. Payton was scheduled to return to the Golden State Warriors, where he won the championship last season, but the exam reportedly revealed a core injury that would keep him out of action for up to three months.

If the Warriors back out of the deal, it will affect the other three teams involved. The trade was reported to also send center James Wiseman to the Detroit Pistons, forward Saddiq Bey to the Atlanta Hawks, and forward Kevin Knox to the Portland Trail Blazers, along with five future second-round picks.

“Golden State” must make a decision before Saturday. according to Athletic:

“On Friday, the Warriors deemed him a failed physical and must complete the deal as a technical pass to the physical by Saturday or cancel the entire deal. This was an unexpected revelation for the Warriors during the admissions process. On Friday, there were backroom discussions about the possibility of amending the deal or canceling the deal entirely. The number of parties involved (four teams, four players) complicates things.”

Payton did not make his season debut for Portland until January 2 after undergoing abdominal surgery during the offseason. In December, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said that Payton was also trying to overcome psychological obstacles to get on the court.

“Medically we did and he did the best he could” Billups said. “I always tell people many times that no one really understands, like when you have an injury, you have an operation, you have to overcome not only the physical component, but also the mental component. get hurt again, you don’t want to hurt yourself again and I think that’s what happens to G, he’s just trying to get over it.”

In 15 games since returning to the Blazers, the defensive specialist averaged 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 17 minutes per game. The Athletic reported that Payton continued to play through pain in Portland, where training staff injected him with Toradol to get him on the court, unbeknownst to Golden State.

Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin vehemently denied the report, stating that they would not have played Payton if he was unwell.

“Player safety is very important to us, it’s very important to the entire league,” Cronin said. via Bill Oram of The Oregonian. “We played with him, he played. He was justified. We were sure he was healthy when he played. trust that we did the right thing and you trust that our process was right. And these reports, I think… The process was right, so I’ll have to rely on that.”

Last season with the Warriors, Payton averaged 7.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. He was expected to contribute to the defense of the Warriors, who dropped from No. 2 in the NBA last season to No. 18 this season.

Wiseman was supposed to start a new life in Detroit, and Bey took a place in the rotation with Atlanta. There are many other moving parts that depend on whether the Warriors decide to make a deal.