Thursday afternoon Atlanta Hawks fans were reassured that this team is going to try and make another deep playoff run after the Hawks acquired the young and versatile forward from the Detroit Pistons, Saddiq Bey. However, this four team trade that includes the Hawks, Pistons, Trailblazers, and Warriors is in serious danger of being rescinded, and Jon Chuckery gave you his instant reaction to the news Friday night on The Jon Chuckery Show.
Senior lead NBA Insider for The Athletic and Stadium, Shams Charania, was the first to report on the story a little after 7 p.m. ET. According to Shams, Gary Payton II, who was headed back to the Golden State Warriors as a part of the four team deal, failed his physical and could actually miss up to three months with a core muscle injury.
Now, a trade that seemed like a win for all sides could leave every team involved less than enthused. The Hawks are supposed to be getting another shooter, perimeter defender, hustle player, and a young guy in Saddiq Bey who could fit into the Hawks long term goals if they so choose.
For the Pistons, they are supposed to get a potential cornerstone piece for their franchise in James Wiseman who has shown to have promise, but has dealt with an ample amount of injuries throughout his young NBA career.
For the Warriors, they are supposed to be getting back the guy they never wanted to lose in Gary Payton II. Payton II signed with the Trailblazers last offseason in free agency because the Warriors couldn’t afford to bring him back at the time, but now the Warriors have him back and they are expecting to have one of their key championship pieces on the court down the stretch to help the Warriors defend their title that Payton II helped them win last season.
Finally, the Portland Trail Blazers are supposed to be getting five second round picks in exchange for Gary Payton II that they will use to either draft and develop more talent around Damian Lillard, or the more likely option, flip those picks to make a trade at some point in time to get Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons some running mates that can help the Trail Blazers win now.
However, if this trade does end up getting fully rescinded it will be at the full fault of the Portland Trail Blazers. According to reports the Trail Blazers training staff had been pushing Payton II to play through pain, and giving him shots of Toradol to help alleviate the pain. Of course all of this information was not shared with the Warriors. This all stems from Payton II having abdominal surgery this past offseason, and initial thoughts by Payton II and the Trail Blazers were that he would be ready for the start of the regular season, and that was not the case.
Payton II’s rehab lingered into the start of the season, and Payton II actually ended up missing the first thirty-five games of the year. Once Gary Payton II made his return he hinted at the fact that he was still in pain, and that the injury had not fully healed saying “It is what it is”. Payton II also went on to say “Probably my fourth or fifth surgery the last five or six years…it’s at the point that it’s the best it’s going to be for this year. Just gotta thug it out.”
Now, the good news is that according to reports the Warriors are in talks with the NBA to somehow rework the deal instead of fully rescinding it, but this is already a horrible look for the Portland Trail Blazers, and if this trade ends up being blown up there will be a lot of angry fans, including Hawks fans, and a lot of angry franchises wanting answers, explanations, and solutions from the NBA along with some form of punishment given to the the Trail Blazers.