Warriors
The Warriors have approved the four-team trade that will send center James Wiseman to the Pistons, forward Saddiq Bey to the Hawks and guard Gary Payton II from the Trail Blazers to Golden State.
The Warriors indicated that the Blazers withheld key medical information regarding Payton, who has a core muscle injury, per reports. As part of the trade, the Warriors will also receive two second-round picks.
The Blazers are receiving forward Kevin Knox and five second-round picks in the deal.
Trail Blazers
- The NBA opened an investigation into the trade from the Blazers’ end, per Aaron Fentress of the Oregonian. Depending on what the league finds, Portland could be forced to surrender draft picks or face a fine.
- Former Blazers guard/forward Josh Hart praised the Blazers and GM Joe Cronin after a trade to the Knicks. “I just want to say Portland as an organization was great,” Hart said, via Fentress. “Joe Cronin’s been great. That organization’s nothing but a class act — in the front office and in the training room. And I just want to say that that organization is respectful, a class act and does everything by the book.”
Pelicans
Power forward Zion Williamson re-aggravated a hamstring injury and will remain sidelined for at least a few more weeks, executive vice president David Griffin said.
Williamson was already ruled out for the All-Star Game, but was expected to return soon shortly after the break. He has missed 28 games this season in all.
“Unfortunately, this is an injury that has a very high instance of recurrence,” Griffin said, via Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “There is nothing he did wrong to bring this about. … It is what it is unfortunately. It’s an injury that is tricky and hard to navigate.”
Williamson missed all of last season with a broken foot.
“We are all very disappointed for Z,” Griffin said, via Clark. “His teammates are disappointed. But we know what’s at stake, and I think we all know what comes next.”
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