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COVID-19 Updates: Mavs, B. Boston, Cacok, Lakers, C. Thomas

December 29th, 2021 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have placed center Boban Marjanovic and guard Brandon Knight – who signed a hardship deal last week – in the health and safety protocols, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Marjanovic and Knight are the sixth and seventh Dallas players currently in the protocols.

As we noted earlier today, the Mavericks reportedly reached an agreement to sign Isaiah Thomas, who will be the team’s seventh replacement player. If Dallas had just five players in the protocols, the team wouldn’t be able to make another hardship signing, so the fact that Marjanovic and Knight are now in the protocols helps explain the Thomas deal.

Here are a few more COVID-related updates from around the league:

Clippers rookie Brandon Boston Jr. has entered the health and safety protocols, the team announced today. Boston had been playing an increased role as of late with the Clippers shorthanded, averaging 19.6 MPG in 13 games this month.
Spurs two-way big man Devontae Cacok has joined teammate Dejounte Murray in the COVID-19 protocols, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). They’re the only two San Antonio players affected for now.
Lakers guards Austin Reaves and Kent Bazemore have cleared the protocols, tweets Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group. They won’t be with the team in Memphis tonight, but should be available by Friday’s home game vs. Portland.
Nets rookie guard Cam Thomas has exited the protocols and is available, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

James Ennis Signs With Clippers

December 29th, 2021 at 10:43am CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 29: The Clippers have officially signed Ennis to a 10-day hardship deal, the team announced today. The contract will run through January 7, covering L.A.’s next five games.

DECEMBER 28: Veteran forward James Ennis is expected to sign a 10-day hardship contract with the Clippers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Ennis’ 10-day contract with the Nets expired last night and our JD Shaw reported today (via Twitter) that the team didn’t plan to sign him to a second deal. Ironically, Ennis made a cameo appearance against the Clippers on Monday. He also played one other game for the Nets.

The well-traveled Ennis appeared in 41 games for the Magic last season, including 37 starts. He averaged 8.4 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 24.0 MPG. He failed to find a free agent offer after playing out his one-year, $3.3MM contract with Orlando.

The Clippers currently have three players in the league’s health and safety protocols.

COVID Updates: Wiggins, Poole, Len, Payton, Rogers, Tolliver, Wright

December 27th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are the latest developments regarding players entering or exiting the league’s health and safety protocols:

Andrew Wiggins has cleared the protocols, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. The Warriors forward practiced on Monday and is probable to play on Tuesday against Denver, Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Wiggins entered protocols on December 19.
Guard Jordan Poole has also cleared the protocols, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. He’ll return to the Warriors’ facility on Tuesday but won’t play as the team needs to assess his conditioning, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.
Kings center Alex Len is listed as questionable to play on Tuesday, which indicates he’s cleared the protocols, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets.
Suns guard Elfrid Payton returned to action on Monday after clearing the protocols, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Payton had just entered the protocols on Sunday, so apparently he had a false positive.
We noted earlier on Monday that Blazers coach Chauncey Billups has entered the protocols. Assistant coach Roy Rogers is also in the protocols, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets.
Anthony Tolliver‘s 10-day contract with the Pelicans has been voided after he tested positive for COVID-19, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets. Tolliver was signed on Sunday.
Moses Wright, who has been playing on a 10-day contract with the Clippers, has also entered the protocols, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets.

COVID-19 Updates: Suns, Blazers, Rockets, Wolves, More

December 26th, 2021 at 9:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are the latest health and safety protocols updates from around the NBA:

Entering the protocols:

Jae Crowder and Elfrid Payton have become the first two Suns players to enter the COVID-19 protocols, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The Trail Blazers‘ outbreak continues to grow, with Jusuf Nurkic and Cody Zeller among the players now in the protocols, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Seven Portland players have been placed in the protocols since Friday.
Rockets guard Garrison Mathews became the second Houston guard to enter the protocols today, joining teammate D.J. Augustin, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
Timberwolves big man Naz Reid is now in the health and safety protocols, bringing Minnesota’s list of affected players up to eight, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.
The Thunder announced today that they’ve placed rookie guard Tre Mann in the protocols. Oklahoma City now has two players affected — Mann and Darius Bazley.

Exiting the protocols:

Point guard De’Aaron Fox returned to action on Sunday when the Kings hosted Memphis. Fox had been in the health and safety protocols since December 16.
A pair of Timberwolves – Patrick Beverley and Josh Okogie – are no longer in the health and safety protocols, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. They’re both listed as questionable for Monday’s game vs. Boston.
Clippers forward Marcus Morris has cleared the health and safety protocols, though he remained inactive on Sunday as he goes through a reconditioning period, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
Cavaliers wing RJ Nembhard was no longer listed on the team’s injury report on Sunday and played vs. Toronto, so he’s out of the protocols. Isaac Okoro has exited the protocols too, though he’s still working his way back, according to head coach J.B. Bickerstaff (Twitter link via Kelsey Russo of The Athletic).

COVID Updates: Green, Brooks, Bazley, Augustin, Scrubb, Niang, Neto

December 26th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The league continues to be ravaged by COVID positives with an increasing number of players entering the league’s health and safety protocols. Here are the latest updates:

Warriors star forward Draymond Green has entered the protocols, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Green joined four other Warriors in the protocols heading into a pair of games against Denver.
The Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks, De’Anthony Melton and Yves Pons all entered the protocols prior to their game against Sacramento on Sunday, the team’s PR department tweets. Memphis now has five players under those restrictions.
Darius Bazley became the first Thunder player in protocols, Andrew Schlecht of The Athletic tweets.
Veteran Rockets guard D.J. Augustin has entered the health and safety protocols, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
Clippers two-way player Jay Scrubb has been placed in the protocols, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
Wizards guard Raul Neto has joined two other Washington players in the protocols, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.
Two Hornets regulars, Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington, are now in the protocols, the team’s PR department tweets.
On the positive side, Sixers forward Georges Niang has cleared the protocols, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

Xavier Moon Joins Clippers On 10-Day Contract

December 26th, 2021 at 10:34am CST by Arthur Hill

Xavier Moon has signed a 10-day contract with the Clippers under the hardship exemption, tweets Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register.

The 26-year-old guard has been playing for L.A.’s G League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers, where he’s averaging 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 14 games. Moon went undrafted out of Morehead State in 2017 and mostly played overseas before this season.

The Clippers are short-handed in the backcourt with Reggie Jackson entering the health and safety protocols this week. They will also have to get through the next month or so without Paul George, who suffered a torn ligament in his elbow.

Paul George Has Torn Elbow Ligament, Will Miss At Least 3-4 Weeks

December 25th, 2021 at 5:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers star Paul George suffered a torn ligament in his right elbow, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who adds that George’s condition will be re-evaluated in three to four weeks.

George returned to action Monday after missing more than two weeks with elbow pain. He reported a “couple stingers” in the elbow, but remained productive, scoring 25 and 17 points in the two games that he played.

Testing revealed a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link). The Clippers plan to see how the injury responds to rest before determining how to proceed with treatment.

George has been asked to take on a larger role this season with Kawhi Leonard sidelined, and he has responded by averaging 24.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists, which are all the highest totals in his three seasons with L.A.

The Clippers are currently fourth in the West at 17-15, but they are just two games ahead of the ninth-place Timberwolves, so the next month or so should be challenging without their on-court leader. Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson both entered the league’s health and safety protocols in the past week.

Ibaka Frustrated By Inconsistent PT

December 23rd, 2021 at 8:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Clippers big man Serge Ibaka admits he’s frustrated with his playing time but he won’t become a distraction, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. “I’m going to be honest with you, as a human being it can be frustrating,” Ibaka said. “As a coach, [Tyronn Lue] tries to do his best he can to keep the team together, to keep the team playing the best basketball you can and as a player, like, hard worker, someone who loves basketball like me, I want to play, too. . . . but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop being professional.” With Isaiah Hartenstein out of action, Ibaka scored 17 points in 20 minutes off the bench against Sacramento on Wednesday. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Reggie Jackson Not Feeling Any COVID Symptoms

December 22nd, 2021 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers guard Reggie Jackson entered the league’s health and safety protocols today, but he’s not experiencing any effects from the virus, tweets Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register. “Reggie says he feels fine, no symptoms, so that’s a good sign,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “Happy for him about that.”

Reggie Jackson Enters Protocols

December 22nd, 2021 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers point guard Reggie Jackson has entered the health and safety protocols, the team announced today in the latest update to its injury report. Jackson is the second Clipper to enter the protocols, joining forward Marcus Morris. Los Angeles already signed Moses Wright to a 10-day contract via a hardship exception and could theoretically add a second player on a 10-day deal now that two players are in the protocols.

The Kings are optimistic that center Richaun Holmes will be available on Wednesday night for their game against the Clippers, reports Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Holmes, currently listed as questionable, has missed Sacramento’s last seven games due to a laceration to his right eye. Given how many players the Kings are currently missing, the big man’s return would be a boon.