NBA
Gary Payton II Hopes To ‘Return Before The Start Of The Playoffs’, Warriors Keeping Him Out At Least A Month
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated23 Feb 2023
The trade deadline is always an exciting time for fans, but it’s incredibly nerve wracking for players around the league. Even Gary Payton II was shocked when he got a call ten minutes before the deadline ended that he was headed back to Golden State. He was traded from Portland and is now back with the team that he won a championship with last season. Payton II is still dealing with an adductor injury and is hoping to be back before the start of the playoffs.
His first game played this year was on 1/2 and he did not make an appearance in any of the Trail Blazers games in 2022. The 2022 NBA champ played in 15 games for the Blazers and made one start, missing nearly 75 percent of their games this season.
That’s why Payton II was surprised when he heard the Warriors traded for him. He failed his physical with the Warriors upon arrival and almost jeopardized a multi-team trade, but Golden State went through with it. California Sports Betting sites have the Warriors at (+1200) to win the Finals this season.
He's back!
Gary Payton II Jerseys are available in-store & online 👉 https://t.co/3rjC6P3q7v pic.twitter.com/aaQrphcw3V
— Warriors Shop (@warriorsshop) February 22, 2023
Gary Payton II remains out with an adductor injury and hopes to be back before the start of playoffs
Payton II was not surprised when he failed his initial physical when being traded back to Golden State. He confirmed reports that he had taken Toradol for pain since his surgery, but clarified he never took shots of it. The 30 year old guard said he did this because he wanted to be on the court helping his teammates.
Golden State is taking a different approach and have said that he will be out at least a month. They said he will spend the next month on rehab with strength and conditioning training. Payton II had this to say to the media on where when he thinks he’ll be able to make a return.
“I know my body, so I think I’ll know when I’m ready to go out there and get to be able to be myself,”… “It took longer than usual, and my body just wasn’t ready. It’s still not ready, so we’ll just take it day by day.” – Gary Payton II
He missed the 35 games straight for the Blazers this season and was dealing with injuries on and off. Now he’s back with the Warriors after the trade deadline and will have to work back slowly to get on the court with not a lot of regular season left to play.
