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COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Budenholzer, Celtics, Nance, Duarte, More

January 5th, 2022 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards are on the verge of replenishing their point guard depth, with Spencer Dinwiddie and Aaron Holiday now out of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both players will remain sidelined for at least one more game, however, as they work on their conditioning.

Here are more protocol-related updates from around the league:

  • Mike Budenholzer has become the latest head coach to enter the health and safety protocols, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Darvin Ham will serve as the Bucks‘ acting head coach in Budenholzer’s absence.
  • Aaron Nesmith has exited the health and safety protocols, but another Celtics player – Payton Pritchard – has entered them, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
  • Trail Blazers big man Larry Nance Jr. entered the COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday, but it’s possible he’ll be able to clear them quickly. According to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter links), head coach Chauncey Billups said Nance registered an inconclusive test, so if he can return two consecutive negatives at least 24 hours apart, he’ll exit the protocols.
  • Pacers rookie Chris Duarte has cleared the protocols, though he’s doubtful to play in Wednesday’s game vs. Brooklyn, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
  • Cory Joseph, who was the last Pistons player in the protocols, has exited them, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Joseph remains unavailable for Wednesday’s game in Charlotte due to return to competition reconditioning.
  • Rookies Marko Simonovic (Bulls) and Brandon Boston Jr. (Clippers) were at their respective teams’ practices today and are no longer in the protocols (Twitter links via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago and Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times).
  • Other players who have cleared the protocols include Spurs forward Devontae Cacok and Mavericks rookie JaQuori McLaughlin. Cacok is out vs. Boston on Wednesday due to return to competition reconditioning (Twitter link via Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News), while McLaughlin is no longer on Dallas’ injury report.
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COVID-19 Updates: Raptors, Thunder, Stewart, Freedom, Strus

January 4th, 2022 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

After briefly having no players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols for the first time in weeks, the Raptors placed Svi Mykhailiuk and Yuta Watanabe in the protocols today, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

According to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (via Twitter), only three players on the Raptors’ roster have avoided entering the protocols in the last month. Two of those players – David Johnson (injury) and Goran Dragic (personal) – have been away from the team, leaving Chris Boucher as the lone active player not to be affected.

Here are a few more protocol-related updates:

  • Thunder guard Tre Mann and big man Darius Bazley have cleared the health and safety protocols, acting head coach Mike Wilks said today (Twitter link via Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman). That leaves rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl as the only Oklahoma City player still in the protocols.
  • Celtics center Enes Freedom returned to practice today, having exited the COVID-19 protocols, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Aaron Nesmith is the only Celtic who remains in the protocols.
  • Isaiah Stewart has cleared the protocols and met the Pistons in Charlotte, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic. It’s unclear if the big man will be available on Wednesday vs. the Hornets or if he’ll need more time to get back into game condition.
  • Heat guard Max Strus is no longer in the protocols, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Miami now has four players in the protocols, with six hardship additions on 10-day deals, so not all of those players will be able to be active going forward.
  • The full list of players in the COVID-19 protocols can be found right here.
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NBA Reschedules 11 Postponed Games

January 3rd, 2022 at 7:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has announced the rescheduling of the 11 games postponed in December due to COVID-19 issues, listing the changes in a press release.

Additionally, eight other scheduled games have been shifted to accommodate the postponements. A pair of others have been shifted to new starting times.

Most notably, Kyle Lowry‘s return to Toronto will take place two days earlier than anticipated, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN points out.

The Raptors will now host the Bulls on February 3 instead of the Heat. Lowry’s return will occur on Feb. 1 in Miami’s rescheduled visit. The game that Toronto was originally scheduled to play that day against the Hawks will now be played on January 31.

The first two makeups will occur next week — the Nets at the Trail Blazers on Monday, January 10 and the Pistons at the Bulls on Tues, Jan. 11.

“There’s no easy way to do this,” Nets coach Steve Nash said to Bontemps and other media members. “If we were expecting it to be a sweet little add to the schedule, and no blood drawn, that would be foolish.”

The other rescheduled dates are as follows:

  • New Orleans Pelicans at Philadelphia 76ers
    • Previous: Dec. 19
    • New: Jan. 25
  • Denver Nuggets at Brooklyn Nets
    • Previous: Dec. 19
    • New: Jan. 26
  • Toronto Raptors at Chicago Bulls
    • Previous: Dec. 22
    • New: Jan. 26
  • Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors
    • Previous: Dec. 16
    • New: Feb. 3
  • Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs
    • Previous: Dec. 29
    • New: Feb. 3
  • Washington Wizards at Brooklyn Nets
    • Previous: Dec. 21
    • New: Feb. 17
  • Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors
    • Previous: Dec. 20
    • New: March 4
  • Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets
    • Previous: Dec. 30
    • New: March 7
  • Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
    • Previous: Dec. 19
    • New: March 31
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Central Notes: Grant, Pistons, Pacers, Love

January 3rd, 2022 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons aren’t likely to make a series of major deals at this year’s trade deadline, but Jerami Grant looks increasingly like a candidate to be on the move, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, who hears from sources that contending teams are “routinely calling” Detroit to inquire on the veteran forward.

Edwards views Grant as the most realistic trade chip on the Pistons’ roster, since the team doesn’t seem interested in trading any of its top first- or second-year prospects and doesn’t have any other veterans who would generate as significant a return as Grant.

Within his story, Edwards considers what a Grant trade might look like, exploring scenarios involving Atlanta, Chicago, Indiana, and Memphis. While those ideas are merely hypothetical for now, Edwards notes within his section on the Bulls that the Pistons were high on Patrick Williams during the 2020 draft — Williams, who is expected to miss the rest of the regular season due to left wrist injury, could be available if Chicago wants to take another big swing at the trade deadline.

Here’s more from around the Central:

  • Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer also explores trade scenarios involving Grant, suggesting it makes sense for the Pistons to maximize their return for the versatile forward this season and further invest in their youth.
  • Within the same story for The Ringer, O’Connor cites sources who say the Pacers will listen to trade offers heavy on draft picks, but would prefer to make deals for players who can help them get back to the playoffs. While Indiana is said to be open to trading Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, and/or Caris LeVert, the team may be seeking players who are of “near-equal value” in the short term, says O’Connor.
  • Long viewed as a candidate to be traded or bought out, Kevin Love has once again emerged as a valuable contributor for the Cavaliers in recent weeks, writes Joe Noga of Cleveland.com. Since December 1, the veteran forward has put up 18.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 2.3 APG in just 22.3 MPG (16 games). That would be Love’s highest scoring average since 2016/17 despite a career low in minutes.
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COVID-19 Updates: Magic, Trail Blazers, Rockets, Pacers

January 2nd, 2022 at 2:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Here are the latest updates on players and coaches entering and exiting the NBA’s coronavirus health and safety protocols:

  • Four Magic players have cleared the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and will suit up for Orlando against the Celtics. The team has announced (Twitter link) that center Mohamed Bamba, shooting guard Mychal Mulder, swingman Terrence Ross and point guard Hassani Gravett are all now available.
  • Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, who has been unavailable since December 27, has exited the NBA’s coronavirus protocols, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Portland lead assistant Scott Brooks, who had been serving in Billups’s stead as acting head coach, has entered COVID-19 protocols, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Hardship signee Cameron McGriff has entered the protocols, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). Combo guard Anfernee Simons has left protocols after just three days, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The 13-22 Trail Blazers could certainly use all the help they can get, and the return of the 6’3″ guard will help shore up a team still missing seven players to health and safety protocols, with McGriff now replacing Simons in coronavirus protocols.
  • Rockets wing Garrison Mathews has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Houston rewarded Mathews for a solid performance early in the 2021/22 season by converting his two-way contract into a fresh four-year, $8MM deal last month.
  • Pacers small forwards Caris LeVert and T.J. Warren, plus center Goga Bitadze, have entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Warren has been dealing with a major foot injury since the start of 2020/21, and has only played in four games over the past two seasons. Today’s news brings Indiana’s total count for players in protocols to eight.
  • After exiting the protocols on Friday, Pistons guard Cory Joseph has re-entered them, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
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Seven Pistons Exit Protocols, Nuggets’ Monte Morris Enters

December 31st, 2021 at 7:09pm CST by Rory Maher

Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Josh Jackson, Cory Joseph, Saben Lee, Trey Lyles, and Rodney McGruder have all exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols for the Pistons, James Edwards III of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).

All seven players are listed as out for Saturday’s contest against San Antonio due to reconditioning. The Pistons’ next game after Saturday will be Monday against the Bucks, when several of the players could return to action. Second-year big man Isaiah Stewart is now the lone player still in the protocols for Detroit.

In other COVID-related news, Nuggets point guard Monte Morris has become the fourth Denver player to enter the protocols in the past two days, joining Jeff Green, Bones Hyland, and Zeke Nnaji, per Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). Morris has started all 32 of his games this season (30 MPG), averaging 12.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 4.3 APG on a .479/.380/.783 shooting line.

The Nuggets signed Davon Reed to his third 10-day hardship contract Thursday, and reportedly plan to sign Rayjon Tucker to a deal as well.

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Pistons Sign Jaysean Paige To 10-Day Contract

December 31st, 2021 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

12:45pm: The Pistons have officially signed Paige to his 10-day contract, the team announced this afternoon in a press release.

7:01am: The Pistons have reached a deal to sign point guard Jaysean Paige to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, agent Dean Hadley tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

Paige, who went undrafted out of West Virginia in 2016, has spent this season so far with the Maine Celtics, averaging 16.9 PPG on .455/.366/.870 shooting in 14 games (26.2 MPG) for Boston’s G League affiliate.

Prior to this season, Paige has played for teams in Germany, North Macedonia, England, Hungary, and Puerto Rico. He also had a previous stint with Maine during the 2019/20 campaign.

The Pistons have experienced plenty of roster turnover this month, with eight players currently in the health and safety protocols. They’ve already signed seven other players to 10-day hardship deals, so Paige is on track to be the eighth.

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Frank Jackson Out At Least 7-10 Days With Ankle Sprain

December 30th, 2021 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Pistons guard Frank Jackson has been diagnosed with a lateral ankle sprain after undergoing tests on his right ankle, the team announced today in a press release. Jackson injured the ankle in the second quarter of Detroit’s loss to New York on Wednesday.

According to the Pistons, Jackson will be reevaluated in about seven-to-10 days, at which point an update on his status will be provided.

Jackson is averaging a career-high 10.7 PPG this season for the Pistons in 33 games. His 22.7 minutes per game are also a career high and his role has only increased recently due to a series of COVID-related absences and injuries. He was in the starting lineup for Detroit’s last three games.

The Pistons’ options at the point guard spot will be extremely limited in the short term, with Jackson, Cade Cunningham, Cory Joseph, and Saben Lee all either injured or in the health and safety protocols. Hardship additions Derrick Walton and Justin Robinson figure to take the lead on ball-handling responsibilities until the team starts getting some of its regulars back.

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Pistons Sign Micah Potter Via Hardship Exception

December 29th, 2021 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

3:10pm: Potter’s 10-day deal with the Pistons is now official, according to the team (Twitter link). It’ll run through January 7, covering Detroit’s next five games.

12:39pm: The Pistons are signing rookie forward/center Micah Potter to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Potter, 23, went undrafted out of Wisconsin earlier this year and competed in training camp for a two-way contract with the Heat. He was waived before the regular season began and caught on with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Miami’s G League team.

In 11 games (all starts) for the Skyforce in 2021/22, Potter has averaged a double-double, with 14.4 PPG and 10.6 RPG in just 26.3 minutes per contest. He has also exhibited an ability to stretch the floor, knocking down 39.5% of his three-point tries (15-for-38).

The Pistons, who have eight players in the health and safety protocols, haven’t been shy about auditioning replacement players on 10-day contracts — the team already has six players on hardship deals, so Potter is on track to be the seventh.

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