Warriors hope Gary Payton II returns from injury in time for NBA playoffs

Warriors hopeful GP2 can be ready in time for playoff run originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

The Warriors’ trade for Gary Payton II finally is complete after an interesting twist, but the 30-year-old won’t be suiting up for Golden State any time soon as he deals with a lingering injury.

But Payton is set to be reevaluated in a month, general manager Bob Myers said Monday, and the Warriors are hopeful their NBA trade deadline acquisition will be healed in time to contribute to a potential playoff run.

“Gary’s going to be out, from our standpoint — we’re going to re-evaluate him in a month and see where he’s at,” Myers said. “But it is our determination he’s not ready to play right now. but when we get him back — hopefully we 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.”

Sitting ninth in the Western Conference with a 28-28 record as of Monday, the Warriors traded for Payton in hopes he could give them a boost. But their four-team deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks, which also shipped former No. 2 pick James Wiseman to Detroit, was in danger of falling apart after Payton failed his physical upon arriving in the Bay.

The Warriors determined Payton still was dealing with a core muscle injury, which he underwent offseason surgery to address, and issued a complaint with the league office over Portland’s alleged nondisclosure of Payton’s injury. The NBA is investigating the Trail Blazers as a result, and Myers said Monday he hopes for a “fair” outcome.

RELATED: Warriors’ roster still faces many questions after GP2 trade

Dub Nation certainly hopes Payton’s recovery is a speedy one now that he’s back in the hands of the Warriors’ capable training staff.

Because with less than two months of the 2022-23 regular season left, Golden State needs all the help it can get as the team looks to run it back.

Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast