SAN FRANCISCO >> The Warriors’ trade for Gary Payton II has been put on hold as the team works through the ramifications of a failed physical, a source confirmed to this news organization.

Payton’s core muscle injury that needed offseason surgery could sideline him for significant time, sources said. A specific timeline has not been laid out, but The Athletic’s Shams Charania indicated it could be up to three months.

The Warriors traded two second-round picks to Portland for Payton at Thursday’s deadline as part of a four-team trade with the Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks. Golden State sent James Wiseman to Detroit and rerouted big man Saddiq Bey to Atlanta for five second-round picks, which went to Portland along with former Piston Kevin Knox to bring Payton back to the Bay Area.

Payton was seen at Chase Center in Warriors gear following team practice on Friday, though the initial press conference for Bob Myers was canceled and head coach Steve Kerr told reporters he was “not at liberty” to discuss the trade. Golden State has until Sunday, 72 hours after the noon deadline Thursday, to nullify the entire trade or move forward. By league rules, no modifications can be made to the trade. If any of the four teams back out, the entire trade is reversed.

The news caught the Warriors’ brass off guard. Payton played 22 minutes in the Blazers’ game against Golden State the night before the trade deadline. The Athletic reports that Payton was playing through pain and taking Toradol shots to help him play through it. That element was reportedly not told to the Warriors during the negotiating process for the trade.

“Player safety is super-important to us,” Portland general manager Joe Cronin said of the reports to reporters on Friday. “We were playing (GP2), he was cleared, and we were super-confident he was healthy. We wouldn’t be playing him if he wasn’t healthy or at risk. You trust we did the right thing and our process was correct. These reports, if you knew ... the clearance process was proper, I’ll have to rely on that.”

Payton signed a three-year, $26.1 million contract with Portland this offseason after winning the 2022 NBA championship with the Warriors. He’s under contract for the rest of this season and the next two years, though Payton has a player option for 2024-25.

About the West >> Kerr couldn’t speak about the Warriors’ deal, but he did discuss the Western Conference shakeup that saw Durant traded to the Phoenix Suns, Irving to the Mavericks and D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to the Lakers. The conference emerged from the deadline stacked.

“It’s a very interesting trade deadline and a lot of teams in the West got better, stronger, and there were already some teams that were strong to start with,” Kerr said. “The conference definitely got better.”

Draymond Green added his thoughts on his podcast

“Are the Suns favorites in the West now? On paper, they have to be favorites in the West. Definitely on paper,” Green said. “But, you know, the Dubs are still in the West, and it’s the Dubs Invitational until further notice, baby.”

All-Star replacements >> Steph Curry will be re-evaluated for his leg injury following the All-Star break, which ends on Feb. 23 with the All-Star game on Feb. 19. That means Curry won’t participate in his ninth All-Star game.

Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, Toronto’s Pascal Siakam and Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox have been added to the NBA All-Star Game as injury replacements, the league announced Friday, as the three players to replace Curry, Phoenix’s Durant and New Orleans’ Zion Williamson.

Where is Andre Iguodala? >> The 39-year-old Iguodala has missed every game since Jan. 15 with hip injury management, according to injury reports. After missing the first four months of the season, Iguodala announced his return to the court in early January through his podcast. Kerr made clear that any second return to the court will come from Iguodala, too.

“It’s up to Andre to make that announcement,” Kerr said. “However he wants to address that next time you have access to him, you can ask him.”

Iguodala has played just three games this year since his Jan. 7 return.