New Gary Payton II Trade Rumblings Heat Up After Early Warriors Exit

Getty Gary Payton II celebrates with fans during the Golden State Warriors' 2022 NBA championship victory parade.

It’s hard to believe the Golden State Warriors have reached a point where beating the Toronto Raptors is a major occurrence, but that’s where we are. With Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins both out and the team entering the contest with a 2-14 road record, Sunday’s win in the Great White North was kind of a big deal.

The win did little to ease concerns that the defending-champion Warriors could be staring a lost season in the face, though. Rather, fans in the Bay and around the world continue to wish for a return to the form that yielded an NBA championship just a handful of months ago.

Alas, the magic that surrounded the team during its dynastic comeback has largely disappeared; much of it having flown out the door when Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica made early exits over the summer.

Payton’s departure, in particular, continues to be a source of angst for Dub Nation. That said, folks hoping to see the lockdown ace find his way back into the Warriors fold have a lot more reason to believe in the possibility right now than they did a week ago.

Gary Payton II on the List of Ballers Who Are Now Eligible to Be Traded

In many cases, players who sign free agent deals in the NBA cannot be traded by their new clubs for three months after those deals are signed or until December 15, whichever is later. Others — like Warriors pivot Kevon Looney — aren’t trade-eligible until January 15.

As such, those two dates are always circled on the calendars of GMs around the Association.

The first date has officially come and gone, opening up a number of trade possibilities with seven weeks remaining until the league’s February 9 deadline for deal-making. On the Dubs front, offseason signees Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green can now be offloaded.

This group of newly-movable ballers also includes Payton, who signed a multiyear deal with the Portland Trail Blazers in July. And moves bringing the 2022 champ back to Golden State have been discussed by fans, pundits and reporters alike as the Dubs have stumbled their way through the 2022-23 campaign.

Wrote Heavy Sports’ own Sean Deveney last month: “Knowing what a good fit Gary Payton II was before leaving for a payday in Portland this summer, the Warriors even could look to swap [James] Wiseman to the Blazers to bring him back.”

The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami had a similar thought, writing: “The Warriors would’ve loved to bring GP2 back, but almost $9 million a year was way too much with their luxury-tax issues. If they flipped Wiseman for Payton, though, it would save the Warriors money. And they know GP2 (if healthy) fits them perfectly.”

Payton Getting Closer to Hardwood Return

As it stands, Payton hasn’t actually appeared in a game since helping the Warriors clinch the title in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. During the summer, the 30-year-old was forced to undergo a core muscle surgery that has ended up delaying his debut with Blazers significantly.

Fast-forward to now, though, and the long wait for Payton is very nearly over.

On December 12, The Athletic‘s Shams Charania reported that Payton’s hardwood return could be coming in “one to two weeks.” Payton has been a full participant at Blazers practices since the early days of Dec.