Shams revealed the injury situation of Peyton Jr., according to MRI, Peyton Jr.'s injury is a minor injury to the ligament, a fracture of the left elbow, which means that Peyton Jr. may have to miss 3-5 weeks, of course, if the Warriors can reach the Finals, maybe Peyton Jr. can catch up with the comeback. But the current situation is that Payton Jr.'s second round of the playoffs will definitely not be played, and if the Warriors can advance to the Western Conference Finals, Payton Jr. will most likely not be able to play. It can be said that this injury has a very big impact on Peyton Jr., at least from the perspective of his suspension, this injury has almost affected his overall play this season.
The biggest problem for the Warriors with Payton Jr.'s injury is that there is one less good defender on the outside, the Warriors' loss is the loss on the lineup and rotation, and for Payton Jr., his loss may be the loss of his career contract. In the summer of 2020, Peyton Jr. signed a contract with the Warriors for 2 years and 1.99 million US dollars, but this contract was completely insecure. Because there is no guarantee of the contract, last season Peyton Jr. only got an annual salary of $12,000, watching Peyton Jr. fall out of the league's perspective again, this season Kerr used him, did not expect that the effect of Peyton Jr. was very good, and the Warriors also naturally turned his contract to regular.
Payton Jr. has shown a very strong defensive ability this season, especially in the playoffs, which has become the Warriors' defensive tip on the outside. And facing morant against the Grizzlies, Payton Jr. is also a key defensive figure. And after the playoffs with the Nuggets, League salary structure expert Bobby Max believes that Payton Jr. may get a two-year, $13 million contract this summer, and that price is only a lot less. And he believes that even if the Warriors do not choose to renew Payton Jr., there will be multiple teams in the league that will throw an olive branch to Peyton Jr. and give him a considerable contract.
Payton Jr.'s career is quite inspiring, and as an older draft player, he was actually not very optimistic about the potential stock when he entered the league. In addition, Payton Jr.'s projection ability is generally not reused even if he is Payton's son. After the little Payton to develop the league, bucks, rockets, Lakers these teams after the only result, that is, to be cut. Then he was discovered by the Warriors at the age of 28, and when he was 29 years old, he made a name for himself, which was really his own place.
If it weren't for the injury, Payton Jr.'s value might have continued to soar after playing in the playoffs, but from the moment he was injured, everything was full of uncertainty again. The easiest person in the league to be replaced is this kind of role player, maybe you just missed a dozen or twenty games, but by the time you come back, the world is not yours. If you play step by step, Payton Jr. will definitely get a good contract this summer, but now no one dares to say how big his next contract is, and the business alliance will not give you a sympathy.