- Celtics guard Aaron Nesmith has re-entered the protocols, head coach Ime Udoka said, as relayed by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link). Nesmith briefly exited the protocols before being placed back into them, Udoka added.
- The Celtics will have to decide soon whether to be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline, and the team isn’t making the decision easy for president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, writes Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. After going 6-9 in December, Boston closed out the month by routing the Suns, who have the second-best record in the league. The Celtics are currently in ninth place, part of a logjam of teams between fifth and 12th that are just three and a half games apart.
Sam Jones, a former Celtics guard who won 10 championships with the team during his playing career, passed away on Thursday night at age 88, team spokesperson Jeff Twiss confirmed to ESPN. Jones had been hospitalized in Florida prior to his death due to failing health.
The eighth overall pick in the 1957 draft, Jones spent his entire 12-year career in Boston, earning five All-Star nods during that time and averaging 17.7 PPG in 871 career regular season games (27.9 MPG). He won more titles than any other player besides longtime teammate Bill Russell and was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1984. Jones was also named to the NBA’s 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversary teams and had his No. 24 retired by the Celtics.
“Sam Jones was one of the most talented, versatile, and clutch shooters for the most successful and dominant teams in NBA history,” the Celtics said in a statement. “His scoring ability was so prolific, and his form so pure, that he earned the simple nickname, ‘The Shooter.’ He was also known as ‘Mr. Clutch.’
“… The Jones family is in our thoughts as we mourn his loss and fondly remember the life and career of one of the greatest champions in American sports.”
Our condolences go out to Jones’ family and friends.
More from around the Atlantic:
- The Celtics won’t be signing C.J. Miles to a second 10-day contract after his initial deal expired overnight on Thursday, head coach Ime Udoka confirmed today (Twitter link via Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe).
- Within his look at some of this season’s top trade candidates, John Hollinger of The Athletic says the “consensus opinion” around the NBA is that the Sixers will likely move Ben Simmons before the February 10 deadline, despite having insisted they’re comfortable with the standoff dragging into the offseason.
- Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the Raptors‘ ownership group, announced on Thursday that the team won’t sell tickets for games at Scotiabank Arena for the next three weeks. Ontario has introduced a new temporary limit of 1,000 people in an indoor venue due to the effects of COVID-19 in the province, so the Raptors will play without fans in the short term rather than opening their doors to just a few hundred of them.
A clerical error gave Celtics fans false hope that Dennis Schröder would return to action on Wednesday. It was reported earlier that Schröder had cleared the league’s health and safety protocols but in fact he’s still under those restrictions, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter links). He’s one of six Boston players currently in the protocols.
Magic guard Hassani Gravett entered the protocols after the team’s game on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets. Gravett played 19 minutes against Milwaukee before being pulled out when it was determined he had tested positive prior to the game.
Gravett just signed a second 10-day contract for a team depleted by COVID-19 positives.
Here are the latest developments on players entering or exiting the league’s health and safety protocols:
- The Celtics got some good news, as Dennis Schröder and Josh Richardson have exited the COVID-19 protocols, Jared Weiss tweets. Schroder last played on Wednesday, while Richardson has been sidelined since Dec. 18. Boston plays the Clippers tomorrow.
- Mavericks swingman Reggie Bullock has cleared the protocols, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets. The Mavs still have a handful of players in the protocols, including franchise player Luka Doncic. That group will miss Wednesday’s game against Sacramento.
- Grizzlies guard John Konchar has entered the protocols, the team’s PR department tweets. Konchar contributed a combined 18 points and 23 rebounds in a back-to-back over the past two nights.
- Forward Ersan Ilyasova, signed to a 10-day deal by the Bulls on Wednesday, has entered the protocols, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets.
- Heat guard Max Strus entered the protocols shortly before the team’s game against Washington on Tuesday, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets.
The Wizards now have five players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to head coach Wes Unseld Jr., who told reporters today that Anthony Gill and Thomas Bryant are the latest players to enter the protocols (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington).
Bryant is coming off an ACL tear and has yet to play this season, so being in the protocols won’t affect his availability. However, Gill will no longer be an option in the short term for the Wizards after appearing in eight of the team’s last 11 games.
Here are more COVID-19 updates from around the NBA:
- Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has entered the COVID-19 protocols, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), who reports that assistant Scott Brooks is expected to become Portland’s acting head coach as long as Billups is unavailable.
- Aleksej Pokusevski and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl of the Thunder have entered the health and safety protocols, according to the team (Twitter link via Wojnarowski). Aaron Wiggins also briefly entered the protocols, but has since been listed as available, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City now has four players in the protocols.
- The Hornets announced some good news and some bad news on Monday. While Cody Martin has exited the protocols and has been cleared to play on Monday vs. Houston, rookie Scottie Lewis is now in the protocols, according to the team (Twitter link).
- Three Raptors players – Pascal Siakam, Khem Birch, and Gary Trent Jr. – have exited the protocols and are listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game vs. Philadelphia as they go through a reconditioning period, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Toronto still has seven players in the protocols, but may finally be trending in the right direction.
- Celtics forward Grant Williams boarded a flight to Minnesota earlier today and expects to play tonight vs. the Wolves, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Williams has been in the health and safety protocols since December 17.
- Although Ziaire Williams remains on the shelf due to an ankle sprain, he’s no longer listed in the protocols in the Grizzlies‘ latest injury report, suggesting he has been cleared.
Star forward Jayson Tatum has joined a long list of Celtics players in the health and safety protocols, the team announced today (via Twitter).
There are now nine Celtics players in the protocols, as our tracker shows. Of those players, eight have been ruled out for Boston’s Monday game vs. Minnesota. The ninth, Grant Williams, is listed as questionable, which suggests he has either exited the protocols or is on the verge of doing so.
Only two other teams – Atlanta and Toronto – currently have more players in the protocols than the Celtics, whose situation actually seemed to be improving in recent days. Juan Hernangomez, Jabari Parker, Sam Hauser, and Brodric Thomas all recently cleared the protocols.
However, now Boston’s top scorer will be out for 10 days or until he can return consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. Tatum is averaging 25.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 3.8 APG this season in 33 games (36.7 MPG), though his shooting numbers are down (.417 FG%, .329 3PT%).
Tatum contracted COVID-19 last season and had breathing problems well after his return, using an inhaler before games.
Celtics reserve point guard Dennis Schröder has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will not play in today’s Christmas game against the Bucks, the team has announced (Twitter link). He joins eight other Celtics in the protocols.
In a more positive twist, Juancho Hernangómez, Jabari Parker, and Brodric Thomas have exited the league’s COVID-19 protocols and are available for today’s game, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (via Twitter). Guards Marcus Smart, who has been dealing with a hip injury, and Romeo Langford, who has missed time due to an Achilles injury, are also available. Boston center Al Horford is out of the league’s coronavirus protocols but is still working on his conditioning and has been ruled out for the contest.
Here are more COVID-19 protocol updates from around the NBA:
- Lakers guards Avery Bradley and Malik Monk have left the league’s COVID-19 protocols and will be able to suit up today for Los Angeles against the Nets, per Bill Oram of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- Raptors players Khem Birch, Isaac Bonga, and Justin Champagnie have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols, though Dalano Banton has apparently exited, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link). A total of 10 Toronto players are now in the protocols. Toronto’s previously-scheduled game on Wednesday, against the Bulls, was canceled as a result of the Raptors not having enough players available. The team’s next game is scheduled for tomorrow against the Cavaliers. Lewenberg adds (via Twitter) that Raptors rookie shooting guard David Johnson (calf) and veteran point guard Goran Dragic (personal) also continue to be unavailable.
- Keep track of all the NBA players within the league’s health and safety protocols on our tracker here.
DECEMBER 25: The Celtics have officially signed Aminu and Pelle to 10-day contracts, the team announced today in a press release. Both deals will run through January 3.
DECEMBER 24: The Celtics have agreed to sign forward Al-Farouq Aminu and big man Norvel Pelle to 10-day contracts via hardship exceptions, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Boston currently has eight players in the health and safety protocols. The team has signed Justin Jackson, C.J. Miles, and Joe Johnson to 10-day deals, but remains eligible to sign a few more replacement players and will take advantage of that allowance to add Aminu and Pelle.
An 11-year veteran, Aminu has averaged 7.5 PPG and 6.0 RPG across 711 total regular season games for six teams. The 31-year-old, who has long been considered a strong defender, has battled health issues in recent years and has only played in 41 total games since signing a three-year, $29MM+ deal with the Magic during the 2019 offseason. He was traded from Orlando to Chicago in last season’s Nikola Vucevic blockbuster, then was rerouted to San Antonio in the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade in August before being waived by the Spurs in October.
Pelle, meanwhile, has played for a handful of international teams and has bounced back and forth between the NBA and the G League over the last two seasons. The 28-year-old appeared in a total of 37 games from 2019-21 for the Sixers, Nets, Kings, and Knicks. A talented rim protector, Pelle has averaged 2.2 blocks per game in 95 career G League contests and put up 8.9 PPG and 8.3 RPG in his first nine games (22.1 MPG) with the Cleveland Charge this season.
Assuming they clear the COVID-19 testing process in time, Aminu and Pelle could join the Celtics for their Christmas Day game in Milwaukee on Saturday.
Bucks wing Donte DiVincenzo has exited the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols and has been cleared to make his season debut on Christmas Day, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
DiVincenzo suffered a torn ligament in his left ankle during the Bucks’ championship run this spring and underwent surgery in June. The recovery process sidelined him to start the 2021/22 campaign.
Just when it appeared two weeks ago that DiVincenzo was on the verge of getting back on the court, he entered the health and safety protocols, further delaying his return. However, it seems he finally has the green light and will be active when Milwaukee hosts the Celtics this afternoon.
The third-year swingman out of Villanova had his best season as a pro in 2020/21, his first as a full-time starter. DiVincenzo, who will be a restricted free agent in 2022, averaged 10.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 1.1 SPG across 66 games, with shooting percentages of .420/.379/.718.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis out of the protocols too, the Bucks no longer have any players affected by COVID-19, at least for the time being.