Guard Gary Payton II was at Chase Center Saturday to take in the Warriors matchup against the Lakers.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding a four-team trade involving Gary Payton II, the 30-year-old guard joined Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers and vice president of basketball operations Mike Dunleavy Jr. in the stands at Chase Center to watch the end of Golden State's 109-103 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
Payton's status with the Warriors has been in limbo since Friday when he failed the team's physical as they tried to complete a trade involving the Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks.
The failed physical stems from a core muscle injury Payton had offseason surgery to address. He missed the first two-and-a-half months of the 2022-23 NBA season and made his Trail Blazers debut on Jan. 2.
After playing just 15 games for Portland, Payton was traded back to Golden State, the team he won an NBA championship with last year.
But upon examining the defensive star, the Warriors discovered issues with Payton's health. While The Athletic reported Friday that Payton might miss three months, sources told NBC Sports Bay Area's Dalton Johnson that there is "no exact timetable" for how long he would be out.
Golden State Warriors
Sources told NBC Sports Bay Area's Monte Poole that the Warriors are considering waiving Payton's failed physical in order to get him on the roster.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday, citing a source, that the Warriors have until 6:30 p.m. PT on Sunday to either accept the four-team trade or rescind the entire thing, thus taking back former No. 2 overall draft pick James Wiseman.
RELATED: GP2's agent denies guard took Toradol shots for Blazers
But based on the visual of Payton sitting with the Warriors' brain trust, that seems like a good indication of which way the organization is leaning regarding the decision they have to make.
