COVID-19 Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Five More Cavaliers Players Enter Protocols

December 19th, 2021 at 12:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:28 PM: The five players who have entered the protocols are Allen, Lamar Stevens, Dylan Windler, Denzel Valentine and RJ Nembhard, the Cavaliers announced (via Twitter). Their game with the Hawks Sunday has been postponed due to the outbreak.

11:24 AM: Tonight’s game between the Cavaliers and Hawks is expected to be postponed, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). It would be the third game of the season to be called off, following the Bulls’ games this week against the Pistons and Raptors.

11:21 AM: Center Jarrett Allen is among the five players being placed in the protocols, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Allen has been among the reasons for Cleveland’s turnaround, averaging 16.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 28 games.

10:30 AM: Five Cavaliers tested positive for COVID-19 today and there are concerns that the team may not have eight available players for tonight’s game in Atlanta, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Cleveland is already without Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro, who both entered the protocols this week.

Most players who would be eligible to join the team under the hardship provision are currently in Las Vegas for the G League Showcase, explains Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Travel issues would make it difficult for any of them to be in Atlanta by game time.

The Cleveland players haven’t been identified yet, but because they tested positive, they will have to spend 10 days in the protocols unless they can submit two consecutive negative tests for the virus at least 24 hours apart. The Cavaliers, one of the season’s early surprises with a 19-12 record, are scheduled to play four times in the next 10 days, including tonight’s game.

Follow all the latest COVID-19 updates in our daily tracker.

Drummond, Milton In Protocols; Sixers-Pelicans Game Postponed

December 19th, 2021 at 12:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:09 PM: The game between the Sixers and Pelicans Sunday night has been postponed, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. In a follow-up tweet, Wojnarowski says Philadelphia may be able to resume playing Monday against Boston.

11:01 PM: The Sixers may not have eight available players for tonight’s game against the Pelicans, which could cause it to be postponed, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Andre Drummond and Shake Milton have both entered the league’s health and safety protocols, joining teammate Georges Niang, Charania adds. In addition, Furkan Korkmaz has a non-COVID illness, three other players are hurt and Danny Green and Tyrese Maxey are listed as questionable.

The Sixers are scheduled to play tomorrow night in Boston, where the Celtics also have COVID-19 issues, so that game may be in jeopardy as well. Then they’re off until Thursday against the Hawks, who saw All-Star guard Trae Young enter the protocols earlier today.

If they tested positive, Drummond and Milton will both remain in protocols for 10 days unless they can submit two consecutive negative tests for the virus at least 24 hours apart. Counting tonight’s game, Philadelphia is scheduled to play five times in the next 10 days.

Frank Vogel, Kent Bazemore Placed Into Protocols

December 19th, 2021 at 10:48am CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, along with Kent Bazemore, tweets Bill Oram of The Athletic. Assistant David Fizdale will take over Vogel’s duties until he can return.

L.A. now has eight players either in the protocols or sidelined by injuries, but the team still has enough for tonight’s game in Chicago, Oram adds (Twitter link). Trevor Ariza will suit up, but the Lakers don’t believe he’s ready to make his season debut after ankle surgery, so they will only have nine players available.

Vogel is the third head coach in the protocols, joining the Pacers’ Rick Carlisle and the Kings’ Alvin Gentry.

Trae Young In Health And Safety Protocols

December 19th, 2021 at 9:53am CST by Arthur Hill

Hawks star Trae Young has been placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Young will definitely miss tonight’s game against the Cavaliers, Wojanarowski adds, and his status for a marquee Christmas Day contest with the Knicks is uncertain (Twitter link). If Young tested positive for COVID-19, he will stay in the protocols for 10 days unless he returns two consecutive negative tests more than 24 hours apart.

He’s putting together All-Star numbers again this season, averaging 27.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 9.3 assists through 29 games. Counting tonight’s game, the Hawks are scheduled to play five times over the next 10 days.

Young is the first Atlanta player to enter the protocols. Keep up to date with all the cases around the league in our daily tracker.

Nuggets Re-Sign Davon Reed

December 19th, 2021 at 9:49am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 19: The move is official, the Nuggets announced (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 18: The Nuggets are re-signing guard Davon Reed to another 10-day contract via the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The exemption has been granted to teams with COVID-19 and/or injury issues. It allows a team to add a 16th player to its standard “15-man” roster without waiving anyone.

According to our latest count, the team still has two players in health and safety protocols, though one (Michael Porter Jr.) is injured. The other player still sidelined by protocols is Bol Bol. They also have two other players out of action due to long-term injuries.

Reed signed on December 4. He’s averaged 3.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 1.5 SPG in 16.5 MPG while appearing in six games.

Reed had previously been playing for the team’s new G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold. A 2017 second-rounder, Reed appeared in 21 games for Phoenix during the 2017/18 season and 1o more for Indiana the following season. In seven games with the Gold, he averaged 12.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 3.8 APG.

Latest On Kyrie Irving

December 18th, 2021 at 7:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets plan to bring Kyrie Irving back for road games once he clears health and safety protocols, but general manager Sean Marks may not be committed to that as a long-term decision, tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Asked today if the team will continue with Irving as a part-time player when the roster returns to normal, Marks declined to answer, calling the question “hypothetical.”

Brooklyn has been hit hard by COVID-19 in the past week and currently has 10 players in health and safety protocols with tonight’s addition of rookie Day’Ron Sharpe, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The Nets, who also have Joe Harris sidelined after ankle surgery and Nicolas Claxton sitting out with soreness in his wrist, are missing 12 players for tonight’s game with Orlando. They signed four players this week with hardship exceptions to fill out their roster.

Marks admits the extreme shortage of personnel was behind the decision to let Irving start playing again, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, although he’s still ineligible for home games because he hasn’t met New York City’s vaccine requirement.

“Several months ago we made a decision that was based around what was best for the team,” Marks said. “What was best for the team at that point was continuity and I think we all see that continuity right now over the course of the last week and whatever the future looks like may be out the window for a while, and we’ve got to navigate that as best we can.”

Irving was placed in the league’s health and safety protocols earlier today, which means he either tested positive for the virus or returned an inconclusive result. Marks said he hasn’t appealed to Irving to get vaccinated or tried to change his mind about the issue, Reynolds adds.

“There’s also a risk for Kyrie when a guy comes in and if they’re not vaccinated,” Marks said. “I don’t want to get into those type of discussions, but that’s a risk for him coming into this environment, not just the team and so forth. But we’re all well aware of the status and his status and moving forward and how we’ll navigate this as best we can.”

Coach Steve Nash echoed Marks’ comments in a pre-game meeting with reporters, saying the original decision on Irving was based on continuity, but “continuity’s out the window now,” tweets David Aldridge of The Athletic.

“I’m excited to have Kyrie back,” Nash continued (Twitter link from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype). “He’s an incredible player, no matter what capacity. We’ll incorporate him in. It’s a positive for our group.”

Owner Joe Tsai also spoke about the thinking behind the reversal on Irving, telling Brian Lewis of The New York Post that the decision was made solely for basketball reasons and isn’t an attempt to make a statement about the vaccine mandate.

“We’re trying to be practical. And I’ve always said I don’t want to make this a political issue,” Tsai said. “My only religion is to win games and win the championship. That’s where we are.”

Pascal Siakam In Health And Safety Protocols

December 18th, 2021 at 6:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has been placed in the league’s health and safety protocols, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Teammate Dalano Banton is in the protocols as well, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link).

There’s no word on whether either player tested positive for COVID-19, but if they did, they will miss a minimum of 10 days unless they return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. They are the first two Toronto players to enter the protocols, according to our tracker.

Siakam has helped the Raptors climb up near the .500 mark after returning in early November from shoulder surgery. He is averaging 19.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 17 games. Banton has earned regular playing time in his first NBA season, averaging 4.1/2.3/1.8 in 12.7 minutes per night through 27 games.

Celtics Notes: COVID-19, B. Thomas, J. Jackson, I. Thomas

December 18th, 2021 at 4:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics continue to be impacted by a COVID-19 outbreak, with Brodric Thomas the latest player to enter health and safety protocols, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Thomas is the sixth player in the past 48 hours to be placed in the protocols, giving Boston eight inactive players for tonight’s game against the Knicks. Others sidelined are Dennis Schröder, who has a non-COVID illness, and Romeo Langford, who is dealing with a neck issue.

Boston can replenish its roster with hardship exceptions, but because Thomas has a two-way contract he can only be replaced by a player with three years or fewer of NBA service, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). That’s also true for fellow two-way player Sam Hauser, who is among the six players in the protocols.

There’s more from Boston:

With Justin Jackson joining the Celtics via the hardship exception, Chris Forsberg of NBC Boston looks at how the 26-year-old forward can help the team. Jackson will likely see time at power forward with Al Horford, Grant Williams, Juan Hernangomez and Jabari Parker all in the protocols. Jackson has been with four teams since being selected with the 15th pick in the 2017 draft, but he has been shooting well in the G League this season and may provide some minutes as a stretch four until a few players return.
Marcus Smart wishes the Celtics had signed former backcourt mate Isaiah Thomas, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Thomas, a long-time fan favorite in Boston, scored 19 points Friday night in his first game since signing a 10-day deal with the Lakers. “It’s amazing. I’m just proud that he gets another chance,” Smart said. “He’s been doing everything he can to show the world that he’s still IT. I think he was written off a little early, but that dude is a quiet warrior, and I’m just happy that somebody gave him a chance.”
New coach Ime Udoka has been relying heavily on film sessions to motivate players and point out their errors, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive. The latest instance was Friday’s game against the Warriors when Udoka showed clips at halftime of the Celtics getting beat to loose balls.

Evan Mobley, Marcus Morris, Miles McBride Enter Protocols

December 18th, 2021 at 12:45pm CST by JD Shaw

Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley (Twitter link), Clippers forward Marcus Morris and Knicks guard Miles McBride (Twitter link) have all entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to their respective teams. All three updates were released on Saturday morning.

Mobley, Morris and McBride join a growing list of players in the league’s protocols. A total of 58 players are currently waiting to return, according to our tracker. Assuming the trio tested positive for COVID-19, they’ll be out for at least 10 days unless they register consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

Mobley, 20, is currently enjoying a stellar rookie season. In 25 games, he’s averaged 13.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 33.6 minutes, starting in every one of his contests.

Morris, an 11-year veteran, is one of many Clippers players on the team’s injury report for Saturday’s game against Oklahoma City, but he’s the only player listed out due to the protocols.

McBride shined in the Knicks’ 116-103 win over Houston on Thursday, recording 15 points, nine rebounds and four steals as a starter. New York now has six players in the protocols.

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving Enter Protocols

December 18th, 2021 at 11:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

11:51am: Irving has now been placed in the league’s health and safety protocols, making him the ninth Nets player on the list.

According to Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News (Twitter link), the typical testing process for Irving to rejoin the team wouldn’t have required him to be entered into the protocols, so he registered either a positive or inconclusive test.

Irving needs five consecutive days of negative tests to join the team for practices, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

10:38 am: Nets superstar Kevin Durant has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Durant has tested positive on multiple occasions over the past two years. He had his own bout with the virus shortly after the pandemic struck. He missed three games last January after testing positive and missed three more in February after being deemed a close contact.

Durant has been playing at an MVP level, carrying the team through its current COVID crisis. He’s averaging 33.1 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 6.7 APG this month for a team currently on a four-game winning streak.

Brooklyn, which has the Eastern Conference’s top record, also has seven other players on the protocols list. That group includes LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre’ Bembry, Bruce Brown, Jevon Carter, James Harden, James Johnson and Paul Millsap.

The Nets have been scrambling to have enough players in uniform. They announced on Saturday that James Ennis and Shaquille Harrison have been signed to 10-day contracts using the hardship exemption. Langston Galloway was previous signed under the same conditions.

They also announced on Friday that Kyrie Irving would return to the team and play in road games.