Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was sitting with former teammate Gary Payton II on the training table when the latter got called into a meeting on Feb. 9. He did not know, at the time, that Payton was about to be traded back to the Golden State Warriors.
What followed in the days to come was unexpected.
From The Athletic breaking that Payton had failed his physical examination, to the Warriors announcing he would need three months recovery (later adjusted), to accusations about Toradol shots during his time in Portland (denied by his agent), to a waiting game to see if Golden State would accept the trade after all, to, finally, Golden State requesting investigation into Portland’s trade practices.