The NBA has started an investigation of the Trail Blazers for possibly providing misleading information regarding a four-team trade involving Gary Payton II, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The investigation was prompted by a complaint filed by the Warriors.
Payton failed a physical with Golden State’s medical staff after being acquired from Portland on Thursday. The Warriors have a deadline of 9:30 pm Eastern time Sunday to decide whether to keep Payton or rescind the entire deal, which would also affect the Pistons and Hawks.
The Warriors’ doctors determined that Payton has a core muscle injury that could keep him out of action for up to three months. The injury prevented him from playing until January 2, but he had been a regular part of the Blazers’ rotation since then.
Portland general manager Joe Cronin spoke to reporters about the situation on Friday, saying he didn’t do anything to mislead the Warriors.
“He had been cleared,” Cronin said. “We were confident he was healthy when he was playing. We would not have brought him back if we thought he wasn’t healthy or he was at risk, so you trust that we did the right thing, and you trust that our process was correct.”
Payton played an important role in Golden State’s run to a championship last season, and the team saw him as a way to upgrade its perimeter defense. He left last summer in free agency, signing a three-year deal with Portland worth more than $26M.
In the trade, the Hawks acquired Saddiq Bey from the Pistons while the Pistons acquired former lottery pick James Wiseman from the Warriors and the Trail Blazers acquired Kevin Knox from the Pistons, three second-round picks from Atlanta and two second-rounders from Golden State. The Warriors re-acquired Payton from Portland along with two second-round picks from Atlanta.
None of those players are able to take the court for their new teams until the Warriors announce their final decision.
