On Friday, NBA insider Anthony Slater reported the latest update on Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II’s injury, who exited the game against the LA Lakers on Christmas Day.
According to Slater, Payton suffered a mild calf strain that will sideline him for at least a week.
Through its public relations account on X/Twitter, the Warriors announced on Thursday that Payton underwent an MRI to determine the extent of the injury, which will be re-evaluated in one week.
Payton logged less than seven minutes in Golden State’s 115-113 loss to the LA Lakers. He went out at the 9:27 mark in the final quarter after landing awkwardly from a made layup. Payton finished with four points and one rebound on the night.
The 6-foot-2 guard is in the final year of his three-year, $26 million contract that he signed with the Portland Trailblazers in 2022. He is earning a little over $9 million in 2024-25 and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Before going down with injury, Payton had a relatively healthy NBA season — playing in 28 of 29 games. He has also carved out an essential role off the bench for coach Steve Kerr. Thus, his injury is a big blow to the 15-14 Warriors.
Golden State Warriors struggles this season
After the loss to the LA Lakers on Christmas, the Warriors now sit in the last Play-In spot (10th) in the competitive Western Conference. Superstar Steph Curry has expressed his thoughts after another Golden State loss.
During the postgame conference, Curry was asked about the morale in the locker room.
“I’m sure everybody had a different answer, but I still have hope and faith and confidence that we can figure it out,” Curry said.
“That’s how I’m built. I feel like you go out there and talk about it, but how you execute, how you show up on a nightly basis. The effort we’re giving considering what our record in the recent stretch,” he added.
GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. has already acquired Dennis Schroder from the Brooklyn Nets. Golden State had hoped Schroder could help carry the scoring load alongside Curry.
But Schroder has struggled since coming to town. He started all four games he has played for Golden State so far, shooting 28.2% (11-of-39) from the field and 23.5% (4-of-17) from the 3-point line. Four games is a small sample size, but Schroder needs to increase his contribution as with the recent injury woes, he will be relied upon even more.
Even after acquiring Schroder, the Warriors are still at the center of trade talks around the league, mainly because of their recent struggles. They have been linked with Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler and Chicago Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic.
