COVID-19 Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Devin Booker Enters Health And Safety Protocols

March 2nd, 2022 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

Suns star Devin Booker has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will miss Wednesday’s game vs. Portland, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.

Rosters around the NBA were thrown into disarray in December and January as most teams experienced outbreaks of COVID-19. However, Booker is the first player to be placed in the league’s health and safety protocols since the All-Star break. Wizards center Daniel Gafford, the last player in the protocols, was cleared on February 13.

Hopefully, if Booker contracted the virus, it’s an isolated incident rather than the beginning of another league-wide increase in cases. The NBA hasn’t mandated daily coronavirus tests for the last few weeks, requiring players to get tested only if they’re unvaccinated, they’re a close contact of someone who tests positive, or they experience COVID-19 symptoms.

Assuming Booker did test positive, he’ll be out for at least five days or until he returns two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. A best-case scenario for Phoenix would be that Booker registered a false positive and is able to exit the protocols within the next day or two.

The Suns are already missing Chris Paul (thumb), so they’ll be without both of their backcourt stars when they face the Trail Blazers tonight. However, it appears Cameron Payne (wrist) should be available to play for the first time since January 22 — he’s listed as probable on Phoenix’s injury report.

Nets Notes: Irving, Dragic, Nash, Harris

February 23rd, 2022 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets and point guard Kyrie Irving got some promising news today, as New York City mayor Eric Adams told reporters that he “can’t wait” to phase out the city’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements for indoor spaces.

Irving has been unable to play home games all season long due to the local regulations that apply to unvaccinated athletes, but the mayor’s comments today suggest those regulations could be adjusted in the coming weeks.

“I’m not going to get ahead of the science,” Adams said (video link via The Glue Guys). “… They gave us benchmarks. We’re going to follow those benchmarks. But I look forward to the next few weeks going through a real transformation. … We’re moving in the right direction. We’re going to do it in a safe way.”

For now, New York City’s vaccine mandate remains unchanged, so Irving will be ineligible to suit up when the Nets host Boston on Thursday night. But if the city plans to phase out the mandate within the next several weeks, that bodes well for Kyrie’s chances of suiting up in the postseason, which begins in mid-April.

Here’s more on the Nets:

While Goran Dragic is looking forward to playing alongside stars like Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons, and Irving, his decision to sign with the Nets was ultimately influenced by his relationship with head coach Steve Nash, who assured Dragic he’d be an important part of the team, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “If it wasn’t for Nash, Dragic would be either with the Bucks or Clippers,” a source told Scotto.
A source tells Scotto that the Nets and Joe Harris will likely make a decision on whether or not the forward needs a second ankle surgery after seeing how things go this week with his recovery process.
His roster doesn’t look like he expected it to when the season began, but general manager Sean Marks hasn’t adjusted his expectations for the Nets, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. “Championship. That’s it,” Marks said to a group of season-ticket holders. “I’d be doing 17 players and another 60 staff members over there a massive disservice if I said anything other than that, because that’s what we’re all here for.”

Adam Silver Discusses NYC’s Vaccine Mandate

February 16th, 2022 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on Wednesday on ESPN’s Get Up, NBA commissioner Adam Silver questioned the application of New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, as Andrew Lopez of ESPN writes. The city’s regulations have kept Nets guard Kyrie Irving from playing at the Barclays Center or Madison Square Garden this season because he is still unvaccinated.

While Silver made it clear he believes everyone should get vaccinated and boosted, he suggested that New York City should reevaluate an ordinance that is applied unevenly to home players and visiting players.

“This law in New York, the oddity of it to me is that it only applies to home players,” Silver said. “I think if ultimately that rule is about protecting people who are in the arena, it just doesn’t quite make sense to me that an away player who is unvaccinated can play in Barclays, but the home player can’t. To me, that’s a reason they should take a look at that ordinance.”

With local officials beginning to roll back more and more COVID-related restrictions in New York City and elsewhere, Silver said he wouldn’t be surprised if the city reconsiders its restrictions on unvaccinated individuals before the end of the NBA’s season.

“I can imagine a scenario where Brooklyn, as part of New York City, with a new mayor now who wasn’t in place, Eric Adams, when that original ordinance was put into place, I could see him deciding to change along the way and say it’s no longer necessary to have a mandatory vaccination requirement, as I said particularly one that only affects home players,” Silver said.

After telling Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports that he didn’t love how the Ben Simmons and James Harden trade drama played out so publicly over many weeks and months, Silver followed up on that topic during his Get Up appearance today. Noting that the NBA’s move toward shorter-term contracts has resulted in more superstar movement than ever, Silver said that can be a good thing for the league as long as it’s done the right way.

“The data shows that superstars moving isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it allows bad situations to, in an orderly way, to change,” Silver said, per Lopez. “It gives teams that may not be in a competitive position hope that they can sign one of those players. But shorter contracts to me is something very different – and free agents moving at the end of contracts is different – than what we just saw, where you have players actively seeking to move while they’re under contract. The data is clear on that. That’s not good for the league.”

Jazz Notes: Gobert, Mitchell, Clarkson, Vivint Arena

February 15th, 2022 at 9:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Following his return to the Jazz from a left calf strain, All-Star center Rudy Gobert suggested that the mood around the team seems improved, according to Jazz.com. Prior to Utah’s dominant 135-101 Rockets win on Monday, Gobert had missed the team’s previous nine games.

“Our energy is different,” Gobert said. “I feel like something happened within our team. … That slump really sparked something. I feel like we’re a team that’s trying to accomplish something.”

The Jazz have won six straight games since losing 11 of 13 in January, and appear to be focused collectively on improving their hustle and defensive intensity. Their offensive efficiency has also improved of late.

There’s more out of Utah:

Jazz All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell discussed his relationship with Gobert in a wide-ranging conversation with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports in Haynes’ podcast Posted Up With Chris Haynes. “First of all, we’re good. I just want to go on record with saying that,” Mitchell told Haynes. “I think it’s interesting that stuff happens, and he and I have never played at this high of a level together since we’ve been here. So I make the joke, ‘For a group that hates each other, man, we’re playing pretty well.’”
In his conversation with Haynes, Mitchell also addressed speculation that he might not want to stay in Utah long-term, dismissing that idea. “I think I’ve reached a point where you’re happy with yourself, first off,” Mitchell said. “… But as far as myself with the franchise, I see the articles, but I really address it with my teammates. I’ve seen it. I’m not too stressed about it. I’m not thinking about it. … There’s going to be talk whether I say something, whether I don’t say something because that’s how I’ve always been. I’ve always been someone that’s like, ‘OK, they’re saying stuff. Let’s go ahead and lock in.’ I haven’t really thought too much about it. I’m happy right now and just continuing to find ways to win.”
Jazz reserve guard Jordan Clarkson, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, has now entered all-time territory with a recent achievement. Upon nailing his 439th three-pointer during Utah’s lopsided victory over the Rockets, Clarkson has the 10th-most made triples in the team’s history, per Jazz.com. “I feel like I’ve been saying it for a long time, but his care factor, his will, and he’s got a lot of pride, he wants to win,” head coach Quin Snyder said. “He can really score but he wants to win more than he wants to score.”
The Jazz’s home court, Vivint Arena, is scheduled to roll back most of its coronavirus precautions for Jazz games on February 25, according to Joe Coles of The Deseret News. Vivint Arena currently requires all attendees to either display proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours of tipoff. Masks will still be a requirement for certain areas close to the court. 3,128 new coronavirus cases were recorded in the state yesterday, per The New York Times.

No NBA Players Currently In Health And Safety Protocols

February 14th, 2022 at 10:01am CST by Luke Adams

Wizards center Daniel Gafford won’t be available for Monday’s game against Detroit, but he’s listed as out due to return to competition reconditioning, meaning he has exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington.

That news is notable because Gafford had been the lone player remaining in the league’s COVID-19 protocols after Pelicans big man Willy Hernangomez was cleared last week. Now that Gafford has been cleared too, none of the 30 teams have a single player in the protocols.

It’s a stark contrast to where the league was at just six weeks ago. At the end of December and the start of January, there were well over 100 players in the health and safety protocols. Most teams needed to sign multiple replacements to 10-day contracts to withstand COVID-19 outbreaks, and even then, several games had to be postponed.

Of course, just because there are no players in the protocols right now doesn’t mean there won’t be more players affected going forward. It’s safe to assume individuals will continue to enter the protocols here and there, and there’s no guarantee there won’t be more team-wide outbreaks before the end of the season. But we’re hopeful that the worst of those outbreaks are behind us for the 2021/22 campaign.

We set up a tracker in December to keep tabs on which players were entering and exiting the health and safety protocols, and we’ve updated it daily since then. However, we’re putting that tracker on ice for now and will only resume updating it if the number of players affected starts climbing rapidly again at some point in the coming days, weeks, or months.

Eastern Notes: Bamba, Gafford, Sabonis, Kyrie

February 7th, 2022 at 8:36am CST by Luke Adams

Magic center Mohamed Bamba made his 41st start of the season on Saturday, reaching the starter criteria for restricted free-agents-to-be, as Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report tweets. A player meets the starter criteria when he makes at least 41 starts or logs 2,000 minutes in the season prior to his restricted free agency, or if he averages 41 starts or 2,000 minutes across the two seasons before he becomes a restricted free agent.

If Bamba hadn’t achieved the starter criteria, his qualifying offer this offseason would’ve dipped to $7,228,448. Now that he has met the criteria, his QO amount will remain at $10,096,703.

In many cases, the amount of an RFA’s qualifying offer isn’t all that important, since a player who intends to sign a longer-term deal won’t seriously consider accepting it. But that’s not always the case. For a player with a somewhat limited NBA résumé like Bamba, a $10MM+ qualifying offer wouldn’t be a mere placeholder — the Magic would have to decide whether they’re comfortable making that offer, and if they do, Bamba could realistically accept it if he doesn’t get a multiyear deal he likes.

Here are a few more items from around the Eastern Conference:

Wizards center Daniel Gafford entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Sunday, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Thomas Bryant and Montrezl Harrell figure to share center duties for as long as Gafford remains sidelined.
Pacers center Domantas Sabonis exited the COVID-19 protocols on Sunday, per James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). The big man had a relatively quiet return to the lineup, scoring just nine points in a loss to Cleveland — it was only the fifth time this season that Sabonis hasn’t had double-digit points.
Nets guard Kyrie Irving said on Sunday that he remains hopeful about his ability to play in home games at some point, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN. “I’m keeping a positive mindset that anything can happen in these next few days or the next week,” Irving said. “Just crossing my fingers that something can come up either before the All-Star break or even just after.” Of course, Irving would become eligible to play games in Brooklyn if he received the COVID-19 vaccine, but it sounds like he’s hoping for the city to change its rules related to unvaccinated individuals.

Injury Notes: LaVine, White, Harden, Garland, Hayward, More

February 4th, 2022 at 11:02pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls All-Star Zach LaVine has been suffering through back spasms recently, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic relays. LaVine was noticeably wincing during Chicago’s 127-120 overtime defeat to Toronto on Thursday. Center Nikola Vučević says the team appreciates LaVine’s commitment to winning despite not being fully healthy.

“It tells us a lot about Zach playing through back spasms,” Vučević said. “It’s not easy. It limits you a lot. You just don’t have that freedom of movement, especially in the back. It’s a big, important part of your body, especially when you play basketball. I’m sure it was bothering him a lot, especially on the offensive end trying to score and be aggressive.

“But it speaks a lot about his commitment to winning and to this team trying to still be out there. Even him not being 100 percent helps us a lot, so we appreciate him being out there.”

Coach Billy Donovan told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link), that the Bulls are hopeful LaVine will return Sunday after sitting out Friday on the second game of a back-to-back. However, Donovan also said that LaVine is still battling the knee soreness that sidelined him for a handful of games last month.

Here are some more injury updates from around the NBA:

LaVine wasn’t the only Bulls player absent from Friday’s 122-115 win at Indiana, as Coby White also missed the game due to a groin strain, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Donovan said White has had lingering discomfort in the groin, but it was aggravated against Toronto.
Nets coach Steve Nash said James Harden was held out of Brooklyn’s 125-102 blowout loss at Utah on Friday for precautionary reasons, per Nick Friedell of ESPN (via Twitter). The team is giving Harden a couple extra days rest to ensure his hamstring is feeling better. Nash doesn’t think Harden will need an MRI and is hopeful he’ll return to action Sunday at Denver. Rudy Gay exited the game early for the Jazz with right knee soreness and didn’t return to the court, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets.
Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, recently named an All-Star for the first time, missed his third consecutive game Friday at Charlotte with lower back soreness, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Gordon Hayward returned to action for the Hornets in the team’s 102-101 loss after missing the past two weeks due to COVID-19, Boone notes.
Lakers forward Carmelo Anthony will likely be out Saturday vs. New York, providing extra rest before the team re-evaluates his strained right hamstring next week, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. LeBron James is also doubtful for the contest against the Knicks with knee swelling, per Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link).
Heat center Omer Yurtseven has cleared the health and safety protocols and is available for Saturday’s game at Charlotte, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports (via Twitter).
Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 draft, missed his second straight game for the Pistons Friday with a hip pointer, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. Coach Dwane Casey said the injury isn’t considered serious, but the team is being cautious with its rising star. The Pistons fell to the Celtics, 102-93.
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon missed his second consecutive game Friday with hamstring tightness, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). The Nuggets lost to the Pelicans without Gordon, 113-105.

Southwest Notes: Bates-Diop, Jones, Collins, Ingram

January 31st, 2022 at 6:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Keita Bates-Diop is out of the league’s health and safety protocols, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News tweets. The Spurs forward, who has missed four games, is no longer on the team’s injury report. San Antonio plays Golden State on Tuesday.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones is out of the league’s health and safety protocols, according to the team’ PR department (Twitter link). Jones was available to play against Philadelphia on Monday.
The Spurs have recalled forward Zach Collins from their G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, Marc Spears of The Undefeated tweets. Collins played four games and averaged 15.3 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.8 APG and 1.8 BPG in 25.7 MPG. Collins, who has only appeared in 11 NBA games the past two seasons due to shoulder, foot and ankle injuries, has yet to make his San Antonio debut after undergoing foot surgery last summer.
Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram didn’t suit up against Cleveland on Monday but he should return soon, Jim Eichenhofer tweets. Ingram has been out since January 20th with an ankle injury. “He’s getting better and better,” coach Willie Green said. “We expect him back soon.”

Domantas Sabonis Enters COVID-19 Protocols

January 31st, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Pacers center Domantas Sabonis has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will miss Monday’s game vs. the Clippers, the team announced today (Twitter link).

If he registered a false positive or inconclusive test result, Sabonis could clear the protocols quickly. But if he tested positive for COVID-19, the big man figures to be sidelined for at least five or six days unless he can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart before then.

Sabonis, who recently missed four games due to an ankle sprain, had been terrific since returning, averaging 22.5 PPG, 16.5 RPG, 9.0 APG, and 1.5 BPG on 65.4% shooting in games in Oklahoma City and Dallas on Friday and Saturday.

With Sabonis unavailable, the Pacers could find themselves pretty shorthanded up front. Myles Turner (left foot) is also out, while Goga Bitadze (right foot) is questionable to play. As James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star writes, rookies Isaiah Jackson and Terry Taylor should be in line for larger roles, especially if Bitadze is ruled out.

As our tracker shows, Sabonis one of just seven players currently in the health and safety protocols, with the league’s COVID-19 situation looking a lot better than it did a month ago.

COVID-19 Updates: Anderson, Murphy, Porter, Murray

January 31st, 2022 at 7:21am CST by Luke Adams

Kyle Anderson returned to action for the Grizzlies on Saturday night after missing five games in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. While Anderson only scored four points in 23 minutes, he chipped in nine rebounds and four assists in Memphis’ 20-point win over Washington.

After dealing with a mini-outbreak of COVID-19 this month, the Grizzlies now have just one player still in the protocols. Tyus Jones, the team’s lone affected player, is listed as questionable for Monday’s game in Philadelphia, suggesting that he could be on the verge of being cleared.

Here are a few more protocol-related updates from around the NBA:

The Pelicans are no longer listing rookie Trey Murphy III on their injury report, signaling that he has exited the health and safety protocols and should be available on Monday vs. Cleveland. Murphy was out of New Orleans’ rotation even before he entered the protocols, having not played more than three minutes since December 28, so his return shouldn’t have a major impact on the team’s game plan.
Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. has been upgraded to questionable for Monday’s game vs. Golden State and is no longer listed in the protocols, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Porter is dealing with an illness, but it doesn’t appear to be COVID-19.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray continues to recover from left ACL surgery, but isn’t in the COVID-19 protocols anymore, per the NBA’s injury report.