While Stephen Curry understandably stole all the headlines for the Golden State Warriors last season, they had others playing key roles for them as well as they won the championship. Gary Payton II was one of them, as he was excellent on defense while also knocking down some 3-pointers on occasion.
His performances led to the Portland Trail Blazers signing him to a 3-year, $28 million deal last year but things didn’t go to plan at his new home. Payton required offseason surgery which meant he missed a significant amount of time at the start of the 2022-23 campaign.
Payton did manage to get back on the court in 2023, but he was traded back to the Warriors on trade deadline day. When the team conducted a physical, though, it was revealed he had a core muscle issue which is set to sideline him for 2-3 months. That has put the move in serious jeopardy, and the Blazers have been blasted for forcing him to play through injury this season. GM Joe Cronin has now come out and denied those allegations as he stated that player safety is super-important to them.
https://twitter.com/highkin/status/1624210971517648901
Joe Cronin: “Player safety is super-important to us. We were playing [GP2], he was cleared, and we were super-confident he was healthy. We wouldn’t be playing him if he wasn’t healthy.”
Head coach Chauncey Billups also made it clear that they did not push him to play.
https://twitter.com/highkin/status/1624216952590979072
Chauncey Billups: “We would never push a guy to play. Whether it’s medical or he just doesn’t feel like playing. I’d be scared of me doing that, and then something bad happens.”
It is what you expect them to say in this situation, but you find it hard to believe them completely. That report is really quite damning, and if the Trail Blazers had difficulties in getting players to come to Portland, it is only going to get that much tougher now after that article.
Damian Lillard Needs To Leave The Trail Blazers After This Season
While a flurry of moves took place earlier this week, we had a familiar report come out from Portland. It was that Damian Lillard wasn’t available for trade as he seems determined to stay with the team. With this latest development, though, he has to reconsider his stance.
To go with this, there is also a chance that Jerami Grant leaves in free agency, as he hasn’t accepted a 4-year, $112 million deal. Grant wants to see how the season ends before deciding on his future and the way it is going, it won’t end well. A report also came out recently that he won’t sacrifice winning just for some more money, and if he does leave, then Lillard has to request for a move. It’d be a real shame if the last years of his peak are wasted on a mediocre squad that is going absolutely nowhere.
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