11:15am: The Mavericks have closed their practice facility after a second positive COVID-19 test in three days, sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). He adds that Kleber began self-isolation this morning.
10:48am: Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber is the latest player to be placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, which will keep him out of action for 10 to 14 days, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
A league source confirms the report to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), but says the exact amount of time Kleber will have to be isolated remains unclear.
Kleber becomes the fourth player on Dallas’ roster to be sidelined for coronavirus-related reasons. Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson were all placed under quarantine earlier this week. One of those players reportedly tested positive for the virus, while the other two are in contact tracing.
Kleber, now in his fourth NBA season, has been a valuable part of the Mavericks’ rotation. He is averaging 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds through nine games, while making three starts.
Another guy who can test negative a thousand times and they still make stay home for no reason
That’s gonna hurt Dallas
He played yesterday. The NBA has a problem here.
That mid season “All-Star” break can’t come soon enough. Need two of’em.