After a wild day of dealing around the NBA (it’s a bad day to be a second-round pick), the Portland Trail Blazers may have closed the trade deadline by angering some of their own fans as they sent guard Gary Payton II to the Golden State Warriors for five second-rounders and Kevin Knox.
The Blazers are trading Gary Payton II to the Warriors for five second round picks, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2023
Payton II won a championship with Golden State last season.
Portland Trail Blazers add more picks but lose one of the NBA’s best defenders
The Blazers were light on picks about 18 hours before the trade deadline. Since then, they’ve acquired a 2023 lottery-protected first from the New York Knicks in the Josh Hart deal and now five second-round picks from Golden State.
That lottery-protected Knicks first will transition into four second-rounders in 2024 if it doesn’t convey this year. New York currently sits seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, four games clear of Toronto and Indiana, who are fighting for the final play-in spot.
Barring an unforeseen circumstance, Portland should land that Knicks’ selection when New York makes the playoffs and add the additional five second-rounders from Golden State.
Since returning from injury, GP2 was one of the first players off head coach Chauncey Billups’ bench, providing stellar on-ball defense, effort, and hustle, which no other member of the Blazers’ bench mob could match.
He’s not a stat-sheet filler – 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game this season – but his intangibles are going to be missed on a team aiming for a postseason spot. Payton was also a fan favorite for his hustle and grit.
The Blazers got a similar archetype back in Matisse Thybulle, who they acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers earlier on deadline day. Thybulle might be a better defender and is the same kind of offensive liability Payton II was, so Billups still has a player he can go to to fill GP2’s minutes.
Theoretically, Cam Reddish could also help in that department, and again, theoretically, could add some offense the way Payton couldn’t and Thybulle can’t.
Nine second-round picks (or maybe a first) is nothing to scoff at. Those second-rounders are clearly not as valuable as first-rounders, but packaging together four or five of them – which happened multiple times before the official noon PT deadline – could sweeten a deal this offseason that might net Portland a better player.
GP2 will surely be missed. But with a ready-made replacement (at least on the court) and a treasure trove of picks to add to a cupboard that was pretty bare, the Blazers made out well in this deal.