Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our NBA lives.
Yep, despite what seemed like a rudimentary, drama-free and borderline irrelevant trade deadline for the Trail Blazers, the Portland franchise now finds itself embroiled in controversy surrounding a player who was nothing but controversial.
Gary Payton II is gone. Or is he? Until this past Sunday, we didn’t know for sure.
As part of a four-team trade deadline deal that was alleged to have sent the 30-year-old role player back from where he came, Golden State, the Blazers received five second round picks for the 2022 free agent who’d signed a three-year, $28 million deal with Portland this past July.
But soon, the Warriors were waffling on the deal, saying Payton had failed a physical.
Ultimately, the defending NBA champs rubber-stamped the transaction, but by all accounts, they remain steadfast in their endeavor to receive some level of compensation from the Blazers organization, which they feel acted clandestinely regarding the journeyman’s medicals.
What happened? I don’t know. In fact, I’m not sure anyone outside of Payton, the Trail Blazers brass and medical personnel do either. But realistically, there are only three options, right?
- The Blazers lied.
- The Blazers didn’t.
- Payton is misleading the Warriors regarding an injury that defined his — albeit limited — stay in the Rose City, along with the treatment that’s been described as a form of malpractice.
It was reported this past September that Payton had undergone an offseason procedure to address a core muscle injury. At that same time, it was reported on the Trail Blazers’ Twitter account that the soon-to-be-first-year Blazer was “expected to make a full recovery by the start of the regular season.”
That didn’t happen. In fact, he didn’t play his first game until Jan. 2, and since then, he played in 15 games, averaging 4.1 points, 1.5 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 17 minutes per game.
Over that time, the Portland franchise went 8-11, while the Portland faithful fell out of love with a player whom they thought this past summer could be a difference-maker.
Is that on Payton? Not likely. After all, he was at one time quite obviously injured, and if tests have revealed a lingering or new injury, then the proof is in the proverbial pudding.
But if he’s lying and/or exaggerating about the manner in which he was treated by the Blazers organization and their medical staff — well, things could get real interesting for the former Oregon State Beaver, who was already walking a very tight rope amongst the franchise’s most rabid fans.
It's hard to get out of favor with the residents of Rip City.
LaRue Martin did.
Qyntel Woods managed as well.
And no one managed to disenchant Blazer fans quite like Raymond Felton who was acquired via a 2011 trade with Denver. He showed up overweight, at one point threatened to fight local media outside of his Pearl District residence, and was said by former Willamette Week news editor Hank Stern to have “put in less effort than a corpse.”
That is a benchmark difficult to approach, but it’s one that could be eclipsed by Payton if it were to be found he’s slandering the organization by way of inaccuracies involving his treatment.
The Athletic reported last week that Payton had been playing through pain over the past month and that the training staff had been giving him Toradol shots in order to do so.
NBA insider Chris Haynes since reported that Payton’s agent denied such, instead saying, "despite of what's being reported, my client never took Toradol shots to be available for games during his time in Portland."
So, who’s lying?
The Warriors? Not likely, for they have more to lose than gain if found to be manipulating the situation.
The Blazers? Possibly. After all, they did want him on the court. But at the same time, to do so in the manner in which they’re accused would be not only detrimental directly by way of punishment handed down by the league, but indirectly by gaining a reputation that would further complicate their efforts to get game-changing talent to an organization desperate for such.
Or Payton? I’m not sure why he’d do so, but maybe it would excuse his nearly season-long absence in the wake of what was initially thought to be a “trivial” procedure, therefore cleansing him of what could potentially be a problematic stigma that could send a marginal player like him right out of the league.
Your guess is as good as mine, and likely as good as anyone outside of Payton and the two organizations involved.
Lost in this all is the Trail Blazers themselves, who after acquiring a couple of new pieces at last week’s trade deadline are hoping to make a late-season playoff run. They’re focused on winning games, making the postseason, and ideally — by some miracle of God — finding some magic along the way against what will be a formidable Western Conference field of contenders.
It’s a tough road without the outside drama, but an even tougher one if this murky story gets even murkier.
I’m not sure how this will playout, but I know this is something the Blazers didn’t need — kind of like Payton.