- Philadelphia native and former Villanova star Mikal Bridges, who was traded from the Sixers to the Suns on draft night in 2018, doesn’t think often about what could have been if he had remained with his hometown team, writes Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Being (in Phoenix) and knowing the city, the people, and what we’ve been doing these past years, I don’t even think twice about ever being home,” Bridges said. “I’m in a great situation now, and I love it.”
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.
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:
- The Pistons, who already had six players in protocols, added guards Cory Joseph and Josh Jackson to the list, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets. The Pistons are scheduled to play the Spurs on Sunday night. San Antonio will be without Dejounte Murray, who also entered protocols on Sunday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
- The Magic, who already had a handful of players in protocols, won’t have B.J. Johnson and Chuma Okeke available against Miami on Sunday after they joined the list, the team’s PR department tweets. Moritz Wagner has exited the protocols but is going through a reconditioning period before returning to action, per the team (Twitter link).
- Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo has entered protocols, joining three other Lakers, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets.
- Two-way player Jose Alvarado became the third Pelicans players to enter protocols, Andrew Lopez of ESPN tweets.
- Bulls guard Lonzo Ball has entered protocols, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The Bulls, who have experienced major COVID issues this month, also have Alfonzo McKinnie and Tony Bradley in protocols, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic tweets. McKinnie just signed a standard contract and he can be replaced via the hardship exemption, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Chicago has seen 14 players enter protocols this month.
- On the positive side, the Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey was spotted at shootaround after exiting protocols, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
If the Cavaliers are able to host the Raptors Sunday afternoon, both teams will have a shell of their normal lineups. Cavs forward Cedi Osman has become the team’s eighth player in the league’s health and safety protocols, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. He joins Jarrett Allen, Ed Davis, Evan Mobley, RJ Nembhard, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler.
Toronto’s roster is even more strained, with 10 players currently in protocols. Khem Birch, Isaac Bonga, and Justin Champagnie were placed in the protocols earlier today, joining Precious Achiuwa, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Malachi Flynn, Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet. Toronto will have to finalize 10-day hardship contracts with at least one more player before game time to reach the league roster minimum of eight.
There’s more COVID-19 news from around the league:
- Pistons forward Trey Lyles entered the protocols Saturday, becoming the team’s sixth player this week to do so, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. Lyles is coming off his best game since signing with Detroit in the offseason, posting 28 points, eight rebounds and four blocks Thursday night. Sankofa expects rookie Luka Garza and possibly Jamorko Pickett to see more playing time while Lyles is unavailable.
- Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has also been placed in the protocols, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Maxey has taken over as point guard in the absence of Ben Simmons and has started 28 of the 29 games he has played in his second NBA season.
- Kings forwards Marvin Bagley III and Louis King have cleared protocols and should be available Sunday, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Terence Davis has been cleared as well, Anderson tweets.
- Nets coach Steve Nash said veteran big man LaMarcus Aldridge has either exited the protocols or is close, but will need time for conditioning before he can resume playing, relays Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link).
- Josh Green has joined his Mavericks teammates in Utah after clearing protocols, but won’t be active for tonight’s game, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). He’s expected to be able to play during the rest of the team’s road trip.
- Mavericks assistant coach Kristi Toliver tweeted on Christmas that she contracted COVID-19.
- There was little discussion at the G League showcase in Las Vegas about the Sixers working out a Ben Simmons trade any time soon, Marc Stein of Substack said on his latest podcast. He adds that trade talks have taken a back seat in the wake of roster upheavals caused by COVID-19. Appearing today on “NBA Countdown,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said there has been no progress on a deal or on Simmons returning to play for Philadelphia.
- Before Danuel House signed a 10-day deal with the Knicks, he received interest from a number of other teams, including the Sixers, Lakers, and Kings, sources tell Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The list of players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols continues to grow. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Sixers wing Danny Green are the two latest players to enter the protocols, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).
Word broke earlier this afternoon that Detroit had lined up a hardship deal with Cheick Diallo, which suggested that a Piston was about to enter the health and safety protocols. Unfortunately, it’s the No. 1 overall pick, who had been hitting his stride lately after a slow start to his rookie season.
Despite a couple clunkers this week vs. Miami and New York, Cunningham has averaged 18.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 5.7 APG on .447/.441/.826 shooting in his last 10 games (33.9 MPG). Now, he’ll be sidelined at least 10 days, unless he can register two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart before then.
While Cunningham is the first Piston to enter the health and safety protocols this week, Green has some company in Philadelphia — Andre Drummond, Shake Milton, and Georges Niang are also in the protocols. The Sixers have already signed one replacement player – Tyler Johnson – and are eligible to add more if they so choose.
By our count, there are now 96 NBA players in the league’s health and safety protocols, though that number is constantly fluctuating.
DECEMBER 22: The Sixers have officially signed Johnson to a 10-day deal, according to a press release from the team. He should be available for Philadelphia’s next four games before his contract expires on December 31.
DECEMBER 20: The Sixers have reached an agreement to sign free agent guard Tyler Johnson, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). It’ll be a 10-day contract via a hardship exception, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer confirms (via Twitter).
Johnson, 29, has plenty of NBA experience, having appeared in a total of 348 games for the Heat, Suns, and Nets since 2014. He averaged 5.4 PPG and 2.0 RPG on .393/.364/.857 shooting in 39 games (17.5 MPG) for Brooklyn last season, but didn’t catch on with a new team during the offseason after his deal with the Nets expired.
Johnson will add some depth to a Sixers backcourt that is currently missing Shake Milton (health and safety protocols), Furkan Korkmaz (non-COVID illness), Jaden Springer (concussion), and, of course, Ben Simmons (personal). Tyrese Maxey is also listed as questionable for Monday’s game due to a left quad contusion.
Johnson’s 10-day contract will pay him $128,709, but it won’t count against the Sixers’ team salary for cap or tax purposes.
New Nets guard Langston Galloway is viewing his 10-day contract with the top team in the East as an audition for a longer-term return to the NBA, writes Shlomo Sprung of Boardroom.tv. Galloway – who was most recently playing with the Hawks’ NBAGL affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks – is averaging 16 MPG across his first two contests with Brooklyn.
Galloway, 30, went undrafted out of Saint Joseph’s in 2014, but eventually latched on with the Knicks in the middle of the 2014/15 season. The 6’1″ combo guard suited up for five NBA teams across seven NBA seasons before landing with Brooklyn this year. In 447 total games played with the Knicks, Pelicans, Kings, Pistons, Suns, and now Nets, he holds averages of 8.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 1.5 SPG.
Galloway played in just one game with the Skyhawks this year before being scooped up by Brooklyn. He notched 12 points, seven assists, three boards, and one steal.
“It gives guys an opportunity for another look,” Galloway said of his G League experience prior to joining the Nets. “Playing in G League games is great, but it’s nothing like having eyeballs on you at the NBA level and being able to show that I could really still do this. It’s a huge opportunity.“
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau offered measured praise for point guard Kemba Walker, who poured in a season-best 29 points in a 114-107 loss to the Celtics this weekend, Walker’s first game back in the rotation since his unceremonious benching nine games prior, writes Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “Well, that’s who he is,” Thibodeau acknowledged about Walker’s solid offensive game. “He’s an accomplished player. I have to do what I think is best for the team. And that’s how I’m gonna make my decisions.” The Knicks went 2-7 in their nine games without Walker. Though Thibodeau was noncommittal after a Monday practice about whether or not Walker would play in further games, it appears fate is forcing his hand. Fred Katz of The Athletic reported (via Twitter) that point guard Derrick Rose would be unavailable for New York’s next game, Tuesday night against the league-worst Pistons, with an ankle injury. With six other Knicks still in the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, Walker will officially start for New York again this evening, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- Sixers head coach Doc Rivers reflected this week on just how deeply Philadelphia is feeling the absence of embattled point guard Ben Simmons, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The team was the top seed in the East last year, but at 16-15 is currently the sixth seed in the conference as Simmons continues to sit out. “You see the glaring holes that he leaves us,” Rivers said of the club’s missing All-Defensive First Teamer. “And you know, he may or may not play. If he does, great. If he doesn’t, then whoever we get can help us.”
- New Raptors shooting guard Nik Stauskas, a former lottery pick most recently with the Grand Rapids Gold, is delighted to be joining his hometown Toronto team, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The 28-year-old Michigan alum has logged time with the Kings, Sixers, Nets, Trail Blazers, and Cavaliers, but has not appeared in an NBA game since the 2018/19 NBA season.
Grant Riller was waived by the Sixers on Sunday and new details have emerged why that move was made. He’s undergoing right shoulder surgery and will miss the next four-to-six months, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Riller was on a two-way contract and could return to Philly next season after he recovers. Riller, a 24-year-old point guard, suffered a torn meniscus in early October and injured the shoulder in a G League game last month.