Chauncey Billups on Friday responded to some allegations surrounding the Portland Trail Blazers’ handling of Gary Payton II.
The Golden State Warriors agreed to a trade with the Blazers on Thursday that would send Payton to Golden State for five second-round picks. The deal involved Detroit and Atlanta, as James Wiseman was being traded to the Pistons and Saddiq Bey to the Hawks.
The trade is in jeopardy of falling through after the Warriors had problems with Payton’s physical.
Payton had offseason core muscle surgery and returned came much later than Portland expected. The 30-year-old guard wound up missing the first 35 games of the season and didn’t make his Portland debut until January 2. But he has been playing lately, including on Wednesday against the Warriors.
Though Payton has been playing with the Blazers, he reportedly has been receiving pain-killing injections and was being pushed by the team’s medical staff to play. The Warriors reportedly believe Payton needs 2-3 months to recover.
Billups responded prior to the Blazers’ game against the Thunder on Friday to the allegation that Portland’s training staff was pushing Payton to play.
“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,” Billups said.
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."
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) February 11, 2023
There could just be a difference of opinion between medical staffs. The Blazers obviously feel that Payton is well enough to play, while the Warriors’ staff feels differently.
The Warriors have until Saturday to accept the trade or rescind it, which would cause the entire 4-way deal to fall through.
