Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Won’t Nix Four-Team Deal

February 12th, 2023 at 6:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

6:00pm: A formal league inquiry into the Trail Blazers ‘ alleged failure to provide sufficient medical information is expected to be opened, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. That could result in the Warriors receiving further compensation.

5:07pm: The Warriors have decided to go through with the four-team deal despite Payton’s injury, The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweets. Golden State will not pass Payton’s physical exam but they’ve decided to move forward with the trade anyway.

All the players involved can now suit up for their teams.

4:45pm: The trade is tracking toward becoming official, Wojnarowski tweets.

1:00pm: The NBA is working with Golden State to help the Warriors finalize their four-team trade without losing their ability to pursue recourse for the way the Trail Blazers shared Gary Payton II‘s health information, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

As we previously relayed, the Warriors have filed an official complaint with the league office, arguing that Portland withheld key medical information about Payton.

The reserve guard, shipped out to Golden State from Portland at the trade deadline last week, flunked a physical exam when the Warriors’ medical staff discovered that his core muscle injury, which he had been playing through for a month, was severe enough it could sideline him for three additional months this season.

Reports from The Athletic and ESPN have indicated that Payton was using Toradol to relieve his pain, which the Warriors didn’t know before agreeing to the trade. Agent Aaron Goodwin told Chris Haynes of TNT (Twitter link) that “despite of what’s being reported, my client never took Toradol shots to be available for games during his time in Portland.”

[Note: The Athletic has since clarified that Payton received Toradol doses orally, rather than via injection.]

Should the Warriors ultimately decide not to move forward with their trade, it would have a ripple effect on four clubs. Their deadline to do so is 9:30 pm ET tonight.

According to Wojnarowski, Golden State will likely move forward with the deal as long as doing so doesn’t cost the team its ability to further pursue the matter. As Woj explains, an NBA investigation could result in a fine and/or lost draft picks for the Blazers if the league discovers “a failure to disclose relevant information.”

The Warriors shipped out 2020 No. 2 draft pick James Wiseman to the Pistons and two second-round draft picks to the Blazers in the trade. Meanwhile, the Pistons sent out small forward Saddiq Bey to the Hawks and combo forward Kevin Knox to the Trail Blazers. The Hawks traded three second-round picks to Portland and two seconds to Golden State.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Warriors File Complaint Over Gary Payton II Trade

February 12th, 2023 at 11:31am CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA has started an investigation of the Trail Blazers for possibly providing misleading information after receiving a complaint from the Warriors regarding a four-team trade involving Gary Payton II, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Payton failed a physical with Golden State’s medical staff after being acquired from Portland on Thursday. The Warriors have a deadline of 9:30 pm Eastern time today to decide whether to keep Payton or rescind the entire deal, which would also affect the Pistons and Hawks.

The Warriors’ doctors determined that Payton has a core muscle injury that could keep him out of action for up to three months. The injury prevented him from playing until January 2, but he had been a regular part of the Blazers’ rotation since then.

Portland general manager Joe Cronin spoke to reporters about the situation on Friday, saying he didn’t do anything to mislead the Warriors.

Payton played an important role in Golden State’s run to a championship last season, and the team saw him as a way to upgrade its perimeter defense. He left last summer in free agency, signing a three-year deal with Portland worth more than $26MM.

In the trade, the Hawks acquired Saddiq Bey from the Pistons; the Pistons acquired former lottery pick James Wiseman from the Warriors; the Trail Blazers acquired Kevin Knox from the Pistons, three second-round picks from Atlanta, and two second-rounders from Golden State; and the Warriors re-acquired Payton from Portland, along with two second-round picks from Atlanta.

None of those players are able to take the court for their new teams until the Warriors announce their final decision.

Southeast Notes: Bey, R. Jackson, Mykhailiuk, Bamba

February 11th, 2023 at 7:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks believe they improved their rotation at the deadline, assuming one of their deals goes through, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team is still waiting to find out if it will add Saddiq Bey, who was acquired from the Pistons in a four-team trade that’s still pending after Gary Payton II failed his physical with the Warriors. Golden State has until Sunday night to make a final decision.

Atlanta, which also added Bruno Fernando and Garrison Mathews in a separate trade with Houston, believes Bey can be part of its long-term future. The 23-year-old can play either forward spot and would add another dimension to the offense with his outside shooting.

“He was a starter for Detroit a couple years ago and this season, and some of last season he started to come off the bench,” Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said. “But he’s a guy who can put the ball in the basket, who can help spread the floor for you.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Reggie Jackson and the Hornets have reached an agreement that he doesn’t have to report to the team, tweets Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Boone adds that buyout talks are ongoing with Jackson, who was acquired from the Clippers on Thursday. The Suns and Nuggets are believed to be among the teams with the greatest interest in Jackson once he hits the open market.
Svi Mykhailiuk, whom the Hornets landed from the Knicks in a four-team trade, told reporters before Saturday’s game that he originally believed he was heading to the Trail Blazers in the deal, Boone relays (via Twitter). Mykhailiuk’s agent informed him about an hour before the deadline that he was going to Charlotte.
The Magic have more roster and salary cap flexibility after sending center Mohamed Bamba to the Lakers on Thursday, notes Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando selected Bamba with the sixth pick in the 2018 draft, but he fell out of the rotation and didn’t appear to have a future with the team. Bamba began the season as the primary backup to Wendell Carter Jr., but Moritz Wagner has taken over that role. The Magic wanted to ship Bamba to a team where he’s likely to play more often and were happy to get a future second-round pick in return, according to Price, who hears from league sources that the Clippers, Raptors and Celtics also expressed interest.

Warriors’ Decision On Gary Payton II Trade Due By Sunday Night

February 11th, 2023 at 6:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors must decide by 9:30 pm Eastern time on Sunday whether to rescind a four-team trade in the wake of Gary Payton II‘s failed physical, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He adds that Golden State may take another day to evaluate Payton’s condition and determine if it’s in the team’s best interest to keep him.

Sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that Warriors officials believe the Trail Blazers withheld important information about Payton’s condition prior to the trade, which was completed shortly before Thursday’s deadline. Payton is dealing with a core muscle injury that Golden State’s medical staff says could sideline him for up to three months. The muscle issue prevented Payton from making his season debut until January 2, but he has been playing regularly since then.

Portland general manager Joe Cronin insists the Blazers were completely open in trade negotiations, saying Friday that the organization was “confident that he was healthy.”

At stake is a complex trade in which the Hawks acquired Saddiq Bey from the Pistons; the Pistons received former lottery pick James Wiseman from the Warriors; the Trail Blazers landed Kevin Knox from the Pistons, three second-round picks from Atlanta and two second-rounders from Golden State; and the Warriors re-acquired Payton from Portland, along with two second-round picks from Atlanta.

Because the trade deadline has passed, the terms of the deal can’t be altered, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Initial reporting indicated that might be an option after news broke about the failed physical, but Marks has learned that accepting the trade in its current form or rescinding it entirely are the Warriors’ only choices.

Marks reports that the NBA issued a reminder to each team last week that medical information on players had to be fully disclosed in trade talks (Twitter link). The Warriors could ask the league to investigate (there’s precedent for a team being retroactively rewarded a draft pick in such a case), but Marks notes that it could take weeks or months to complete and wouldn’t help the team with its current decision.

Multiple league sources tell Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area that Golden State is strongly considering holding on to Payton, even if he’s out of action indefinitely. Poole notes that the Warriors’ perimeter defense has been an issue lately, and Payton showed last season that he can make a difference as a point-of-attack defender.

Tim Kawakami of The Athletic first reported that Golden State would have until Sunday to make a final decision on the Payton trade.

Western Notes: LeBron, Warriors, Mavs, Vassell

February 11th, 2023 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Medical imaging conducted on LeBron James‘ injured left foot this week didn’t show any damage, but the Lakers star will miss a second consecutive game due to what the team is calling left ankle soreness, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The Lakers have officially ruled out James for Saturday’s contest vs. Golden State.

Chris Haynes said on his latest #thisleague UNCUT podcast with Marc Stein that LeBron’s foot issue was bothering him quite a bit during Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma City, when he broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record.

“I was told LeBron was severely struggling with that foot injury he has,” Haynes said. “It’s something that’s been nagging him for a few weeks already, but it gets to points where it just gets unbearable, and he plays through it. … The way it was explained to me is that might be something that lingers all season long.”

Although the Lakers will be without James on Saturday vs. Golden State, they’ll get a chance to see several of their newly acquired players in action, with D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Davon Reed all expected to be available, according to McMenamin. Mohamed Bamba is still serving a suspension that he earned while he was with the Magic.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Tim Kawakami of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears from a source that the Warriors actually have until Sunday evening, not Saturday evening, to finalize a decision on whether or not to nix their four-team trade with the Trail Blazers, Pistons, and Hawks due to Gary Payton II‘s failed physical. However, Kawakami notes that the Warriors probably don’t want to drag out the situation any longer than they have to and could make their call sooner.
Speaking on Friday to reporters, including Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison discussed the Kyrie Irving trade, why he doesn’t think the team needs another ball-handler, and whether the club will be looking to add one more free agent. “We’re going to look at it closely,” Harrison said of the buyout market. “If there’s something we think can help strengthen our bench, then we’ll definitely do it, for sure.” Dallas is reportedly considered a frontrunner to sign Terrence Ross if and when he’s bought out by Orlando.
Spurs wing Devin Vassell told Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link) on Friday that there’s still no “set date in stone” for his return from a left knee procedure, but he said it definitely won’t happen until sometime after the All-Star break.

Blazers GM Cronin Defends Handling Of Payton’s Injury

February 10th, 2023 at 9:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin denied that the team did anything wrong in its medical treatment of Gary Payton II, saying that the reserve guard had been “cleared” to play and the organization was “confident that he was healthy,” Bill Oram of The Oregonian tweets.

The four-team trade involving the Warriors, Pistons, Trail Blazers and Hawks is in jeopardy after Payton failed to pass the Warriors’ physical exam on Friday. Though the trade has been announced as official, players still had to undergo physical exams.

Payton has a lingering core muscle injury that could sideline him for up to three months, according to the exam by the Warriors’ medical staff. Payton underwent surgery in the offseason to address a core muscle injury and was sidelined until early January.

He has been playing regularly since his return, including a 22-minute stint against Golden State on Wednesday in which he scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds.

However, Payton has been playing through pain and the Blazers training staff has been giving him Toradol shots to help him stay on the court, according to a report by The Athletic. That information wasn’t relayed to the Warriors during the negotiation process, The Athletic adds.

Cronin defended the Portland organization and medical staff.

“Player safety is super important to us, it’s a super important thing around the league,” he said. “We were playing him, he was playing. He had been cleared. We were confident he was healthy when he was playing. We would not have brought him back if we thought he wasn’t healthy or he was at risk, so you trust that we did the right thing, and you trust that our process was correct.”

The Warriors have until Saturday to decide whether to nix the complex deal.

Gary Payton II Fails Physical; Four-Team Trade In Jeopardy

February 10th, 2023 at 6:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Gary Payton II has failed a physical exam, placing the four-team swap involving the Warriors, Pistons, Trail Blazers and Hawks in jeopardy, Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic report.

Payton has a core muscle injury that could sideline him for up to three months, according to the exam by the Warriors’ medical staff.

Though the trade has been announced as official, players still had to undergo physical exams. The Warriors have until Saturday to call the complex trade off, according to Charania and Slater.

In the deal, the Hawks acquired Saddiq Bey from the Pistons; the Pistons acquired former lottery pick James Wiseman from the Warriors; the Trail Blazers acquired Kevin Knox from the Pistons, three second-round picks from Atlanta, and two second-rounders from Golden State; and the Warriors re-acquired Payton from Portland, along with two second-round picks from Atlanta.

Payton’s debut with Portland was delayed until Jan. 2 due to a core muscle injury. He has played regularly since returning to action, including a 22-minute stint against Golden State on Wednesday in which he scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds.

However, Payton has been playing through pain, according to Charania Slater, and that the Blazers training staff has been giving him Toradol shots to help him stay on the court. That information wasn’t relayed to the Warriors during the negotiation process, The Athletic’s duo adds.

The defensive ace was a key member of the Warriors’ championship rotation last season and Golden State felt he could have a similar impact on its bench this season.

According to Charania and Slater, there have been behind-the-scenes discussions on Friday about possibly amending the trade. The amount of parties involved complicates matters.

Knicks, Blazers, Sixers, Hornets Officially Complete Four-Team Trade

February 9th, 2023 at 10:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks, Trail Blazers, Sixers, and Hornets have folded two separate trade agreements into a single four-team trade, with press releases from New York and Portland confirming that the deal is official.

The trade combines the Knicks’ acquisition of Josh Hart from Portland with the three-team trade agreement that sends Matisse Thybulle to the Blazers and Jalen McDaniels to the 76ers. Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice first reported (via Twitter) that the two deals would be combined into one.

Here are the full terms of the trade:

Knicks acquire Josh Hart, the draft rights to Bojan Dubljevic (from Trail Blazers), and the draft rights to Daniel Diez (from Trail Blazers).
Trail Blazers acquire Matisse Thybulle, Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, the Knicks’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), and the draft rights to Ante Tomic (from Knicks).
Sixers acquire Jalen McDaniels, the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick (from Hornets), and the Trail Blazers’ 2029 second-round pick.
Hornets acquire Svi Mykhailiuk, either the Hornets’, Hawks’, or Nets’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Sixers), and either the Pelicans’ or Trail Blazers’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Trail Blazers).

The deal expanded slightly to include the draft rights of three draft-and-stash players, but otherwise looks the same as what was previously reported.

As expected, Portland waived Greg Brown to help open up the necessary roster spots for their incoming players.

For more details on the deal, check out our full stories on the Knicks/Blazers half of the trade, as well as the Blazers/Sixers/Hornets portion.

Wiseman To Pistons, Bey To Hawks, Payton To Warriors In Four-Team Deal

February 9th, 2023 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:01pm: The trade is now official, the Hawks announced in a press release. According to Atlanta’s announcement, three of the five second-round picks the team is sending out in the deal are going to Portland, while the other two are going to Golden State. Here’s the breakdown:

To the Blazers:

Either the Hawks’, Nets’, or Hornets’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable).
The Hawks’ 2024 second-round pick (the Hawks previously traded this pick to Portland with top-55 protection; those protections are now removed).
The Hawks’ 2025 second-round pick (protected 41-60).
- Note: Portland will receive this pick if it’s between 31-40 and Oklahoma City will receive it if it’s between 41-60 (based on a prior trade).

To the Warriors:

The Hawks’ 2026 second-round pick.
The Hawks’ 2028 second-round pick.

The Blazers are still receiving five second-rounders in total, however. According to the Warriors’ own press release announcing the deal, they’ve sent two other second-round picks to Portland. Those picks are the Grizzlies’ 2026 second-rounder (top-42 protected) and the Warriors’ own 2028 second-rounder.

1:55pm: The trade is being expanded further, according to Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the Warriors are sending five second-round picks and Knox to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Gary Payton II.

It’s unclear if those are the same five second-rounders Golden State is getting from the Hawks, but the Warriors are essentially trading out Wiseman and getting back Payton, who was a key rotation player on last season’s championship team.

Interestingly, the Warriors just faced the Blazers last night, getting an up-close look at the defensive stalwart, who will now rejoin Golden State. Payton signed a three-year, $26.1MM deal with Portland in the offseason, but has only appeared in 15 games in 2022/23 — he was slow to recover from abdominal surgery.

In addition to getting back a player they’re very familiar with, the Warriors will also save a good chunk of money toward the luxury tax over the next two seasons, as Payton’s cap hit is smaller than Wiseman’s.

1:34pm: Kevin Knox is headed from Detroit to Golden State in the trade for salary-matching purposes, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Knox isn’t a lock to remain with the Warriors, Woj notes.

1:04pm: The Pistons will acquire James Wiseman from the Warriors in a three-team trade that will send Saddiq Bey to the Hawks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Golden State will get five second-round picks from Atlanta in the deal, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).

Detroit needs to send out another $2.5MM to match salaries, so at least one more player will be involved in the deal, tweets Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), the Warriors also had Wiseman discussions with the Trail Blazers and Spurs. The Pistons and Hawks discussed a separate deal involving John Collins, but sources tell Fischer that those talks have stalled.

Reports that the Pistons and Warriors were discussing a deal involving Wiseman broke earlier this afternoon. Detroit has been interested in the 21-year-old center since the 2020 draft, and Golden State was willing to move on from a player who never lived up to expectations after being the second overall pick.

He has appeared in just 21 games this season after sitting out all of 2021/22 with injuries and has spent a significant portion of the season in the G League. The Warriors picked up Wiseman’s fourth-year option, so he will be under contract for $12.1MM next season. He will be eligible for an extension this summer, but it’s extremely unlikely that the Pistons will want to make that type of commitment.

Bey has been a productive forward for Detroit since being selected 19th overall in 2019. Through 52 games (30 starts, 28.8 MPG) in ’22/23, he’s averaging 14.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.6 APG and 1.0 SPG on .404/.345/.861 shooting.

The 23-year-old is still on his rookie contract, which is very affordable considering he’s been a regular contributor in each of his first three seasons. He’s making $2.96MM this season and will make $4.56MM in ’23/24. Like Wiseman, he will eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Hawks, Rockets Finalize Four-Player Swap

February 9th, 2023 at 7:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

7:04pm: The trade is now official, the Rockets and Hawks formally confirmed in a pair of press releases.

1:33pm: The Hawks are trading Justin Holiday and Frank Kaminsky to the Rockets for Garrison Mathews and Bruno Fernando, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

The Rockets are also acquiring two second-round picks that the Thunder owed the Hawks in 2024 and 2025, Kelly Iko of The Athletic tweets.

The trade provides some salary cap relief for Atlanta. Holiday is making approximately $6.3MM and Kaminsky is on a veteran’s minimum deal (approximately $2.46MM). Fernando ($2.7MM) and Mathews ($2MM) have non-guaranteed contracts for next season, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. There’s also a team option on Matthews’ contract for 2024/25.

None of the players in the deal were playing significant minutes. Holiday has played in 28 game this season, averaging 4.5 points in 14.7 minutes. Kaminsky has seen spot duty in 26 games.

Fernando has played 30 games (four starts) this season, averaging 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes. Mathews has appeared in 45 games off the bench this season, averaging 4.8 points in 13.4 minutes.

The 34th overall pick in 2019, Fernando spent his first two seasons in Atlanta, so the Hawks are familiar with him as a person and player.