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Blazers Trade Gary Payton II to Warriors for Second-Round Picks, Kevin Knox

The defensive specialist is headed back to the defending champs.

Atlanta Hawks v Portland Trail Blazers Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images

The Portland Trail Blazers have traded Gary Payton II to the Golden State Warriors for five second-round draft picks. Portland is also receiving Detroit Pistons forward Kevin Knox in the deal, who Golden State received in a trade with the Pistons earlier today.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN delivered the news.

The Blazers are trading Gary Payton II to the Warriors for five second round picks, sources tell ESPN.

The Warriors are routing Kevin Knox to the Blazers via multi-team deal with the Pistons, sources tell ESPN.

The move comes just months after the Blazers signed the defensive-minded wing to a three-year, $26 million contract. The 30-year-old guard appeared in only 15 games for Portland this season, sitting out while recovering from offseason surgery.

Payton averaged 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 17.0 minutes per game for the Blazers this year, shooting 58.5% from the field and 52.9% from the three-point arc. This is his 7th NBA season.

Knox is in his fifth NBA season. He spent his first three seasons with the New York Knicks before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks last season. This season, his first with Detroit, the 6’7, 23-year-old forward is averaging 5.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting 37.1 percent on 3-pointers. Knox appeared in 42 games with Detroit, averaging 14.1 minutes per contest.

The Pistons signed Knox this offseason to a two-year, $6 million deal.

In addition to the players involved in the Payton trade, the Blazers have acquired Cam Reddish and Ryan Arcidiacono from the Knicks and Matisse Thybulle from the Philadelphia 76ers at the deadline.