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COVID-19 Updates: Sixers, Celtics, Rondo, Blazers, More

January 3rd, 2022 at 8:28am CST by Luke Adams

Sixers wing Danny Green cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Sunday, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, Jaden Springer and Matisse Thybulle are both in the protocols now, joining two-way player Myles Powell.

In the latest injury report for the Sixers’ Monday game vs. Houston, Powell and Springer are both listed as out, while Thybulle is considered questionable. That suggests that the team is likely waiting for the results of Thybulle’s latest COVID-19 test before determining whether or not he’ll be available.

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

  • Dennis Schröder and Bruno Fernando returned to action for the Celtics on Sunday after a stint in the health and safety protocols. Jayson Tatum has exited the protocols, but remained sidelined for Sunday’s game — he’s expected to return on Wednesday, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
  • On the Lakers‘ Sunday injury report, Rajon Rondo was listed as out due to return to competition reconditioning. Rondo had been in the COVID-19 protocols since December 26, which presumably delayed the official completion of the trade sending him to Cleveland. Now that he has cleared the protocols, the Cavaliers and Lakers should soon officially announce that deal.
  • Robert Covington, Trendon Watford, and Keljin Blevins are no longer in the health and safety protocols for the Trail Blazers, per the injury report.
  • Knicks center Jericho Sims remained out of action on Sunday, but he was listed on the injury report as taking part in return to competition conditioning, so he has exited the protocols.
  • McKinley Wright (Timberwolves), Jarrett Culver (Grizzlies), and Jay Scrubb (Clippers) are among the other players who have recently cleared the COVID-19 protocols, according to the league’s injury report.
  • Our full health and safety protocols tracker can be found right here.
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COVID-19 Updates: Hawks, Blazers, Celtics, Bucks, Nets

December 24th, 2021 at 6:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Wesley Iwundu, who just signed a 10-day contract with the Hawks on Thursday, has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Iwundu played 23 minutes in the Hawks’ 98-96 victory over the Sixers Thursday night, scoring two points and grabbing five rebounds. ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets that the Hawks will need to sign another replacement player to replace Iwundu — himself a replacement player.

Hawks big man Onyeka Okongwu, who made his season debut last week, has entered the protocols as well, Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. In three games this season (22.3 MPG), Okongwu is averaging 10.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.0 BPG. The Hawks now have nine players in the protocols.

Here are a few more COVID-related updates:

  • Backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and two-way rookie Trendon Watford have entered the protocols for the Trail Blazers and the rest of the team will now be re-tested, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). DSJ and Watford are the only players currently in the protocols for the Blazers.
  • The Celtics have four new players entering the protocols: C.J. Miles, Justin Jackson, Aaron Nesmith, and Bruno Fernando, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic. However, Al Horford, Juan Hernangomez, Jabari Parker, and Brodric Thomas, who’ve all been in the protocols, are listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Milwaukee, so they could be exiting the protocols soon. Until those four are cleared, the Celtics will have 12 players in the COVID-19 protocols — the largest outbreak in the NBA.
  • In addition to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis has exited the protocols for the Bucks, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets. Like Horford and the other Celtics, Donte DiVincenzo, who’s also been in the protocols, is listed as questionable to make his season debut Saturday.
  • Meanwhile, Bruce Brown and James Johnson have exited the protocols for the Nets, but seven others, including star Kevin Durant, remain in the protocols for their game Saturday against the Lakers, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
  • Warriors rookie Moses Moody has entered the protocols, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Golden State now has four players in the protocols.
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Trail Blazers Sign Trendon Watford To Two-Way Contract

July 30th, 2021 at 1:25am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 3: The Blazers have officially signed Watford to a two-way contract, the team announced in a press release.

JULY 30: The Trail Blazers are expected to add undrafted second-year LSU power forward Trendon Watford on a two-way contract, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).

Watford is listed as the 10th-best undrafted rookie prospect on ESPN. The 6’9″ Birmingham, Alabama native was honored as a 2021 All-SEC Tourney selection and a 2020/21 All-SEC First Teamer.

Playing alongside guard Cameron Thomas (who was drafted with the No. 27 pick by the Nets on Thursday), the 20-year-old forward averaged 16.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 2.9 APG, and 1.1 SPG, on .480/.316/.651 shooting, in 28 games during his sophomore season in 2020/21.

An athletic rim-roller with a competitive inside floater, Watford could be an interesting addition in Portland.

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Full List Of 2021 NBA Draft Combine Participants

June 15th, 2021 at 4:58pm CST by Eli Cohen

The NBA has revealed via press release its list of 69 players who have been invited to next week’s draft combine in Chicago and who are expected to attend. The combine will take place from June 21-27.

While several of the prominent names at the top of the draft will opt to skip the event – most notably, presumed number one pick Cade Cunningham and Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs – there are several high-profile prospects set to attend. Evan Mobley, widely considered a likely choice for the No. 2 pick as well as potential top-five picks Jonathan Kuminga and Jalen Green headline the class of participants this year, along with potential lottery picks Moses Moody, Corey Kispert and Scottie Barnes.

According to the press release, players will conduct interviews with NBA teams, participate in five-on-five games, and go through shooting, strength and agility drills throughout the week-long event. It’s likely that the more high-profile names will focus more on the interviews than the drills.

The press release also confirms that a select number of standout players from the G League Elite Camp will be invited to participate in the Combine as well.

Here’s the full list of 69 names announced by the NBA today, in alphabetical order:

  1. Max Abmas, G, Oral Roberts (sophomore)
  2. Ochai Agbaji, G, Kansas (junior)
  3. Marcus Bagley, F, Arizona State (freshman)
  4. Scottie Barnes, F, Florida State (freshman)
  5. Charles Bassey, C, Western Kentucky (junior)
  6. Brandon Boston Jr., G/F, Kentucky (freshman)
  7. James Bouknight, G, UConn (sophomore)
  8. Greg Brown, F, Texas (freshman)
  9. Jared Butler, G, Baylor (junior)
  10. Julian Champagnie, G/F, St. John’s (sophomore)
  11. Justin Champagnie, G/F, Pittsburgh (sophomore)
  12. Josh Christopher, G, Arizona State (freshman)
  13. Sharife Cooper, G, Auburn (freshman)
  14. Ayo Dosunmu, G, Illinois (junior)
  15. David Duke, G, Providence (junior)
  16. Kessler Edwards, F, Pepperdine (junior)
  17. Luka Garza, C, Iowa (senior)
  18. RaiQuan Gray, F, Florida State (junior)
  19. Jalen Green, G, G League Ignite (auto-eligible)
  20. Quentin Grimes, G, Houston (junior)
  21. Sam Hauser, F, Virginia (senior)
  22. Aaron Henry, G/F, Michigan State (junior)
  23. Ariel Hukporti, C, Lithuania (born 2002)
  24. Matthew Hurt, F, Duke (sophomore)
  25. Nah’Shon Hyland, G, VCU (sophomore)
  26. Isaiah Jackson, F, Kentucky (freshman)
  27. David Johnson, G, Louisville (sophomore)
  28. Jalen Johnson, F, Duke (freshman)
  29. Keon Johnson, G, Tennessee (freshman)
  30. Herb Jones, F, Alabama (senior)
  31. Kai Jones, F, Texas (sophomore)
  32. Johnny Juzang, G/F, UCLA (sophomore)
  33. Corey Kispert, F, Gonzaga (senior)
  34. Jonathan Kuminga, F, G League Ignite (auto-eligible)
  35. Scottie Lewis, G, Florida (sophomore)
  36. Isaiah Livers, F, Michigan (senior)
  37. Makur Maker, C, Howard (freshman)
  38. Sandro Mamukelashvili, F/C, Seton Hall (senior)
  39. Tre Mann, G, Florida (sophomore)
  40. Matthew Mayer, G/F, Baylor (junior)
  41. Miles McBride, G, West Virginia (sophomore)
  42. Davion Mitchell, G, Baylor (junior)
  43. Evan Mobley, F/C, USC (freshman)
  44. Isaiah Mobley, F, USC (sophomore)
  45. Moses Moody, G, Arkansas (freshman)
  46. Trey Murphy III, G, Virginia (junior)
  47. Daishen Nix, G, G League Ignite (auto-eligible)
  48. John Petty Jr., G, Alabama (senior)
  49. Yves Pons, G/F, Tennessee (senior)
  50. Jason Preston, G, Ohio (junior)
  51. Joshua Primo, G, Alabama (freshman)
  52. Roko Prkacin, F, Croatia (born 2002)
  53. Neemias Queta, C, Utah State (junior)
  54. Austin Reaves, G, Oklahoma (senior)
  55. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, F, Villanova (sophomore)
  56. Terrence Shannon Jr., G/F, Texas Tech (sophomore)
  57. Day’Ron Sharpe, F/C, North Carolina (freshman)
  58. Jericho Sims, F/C, Texas (senior)
  59. Jaden Springer, G, Tennessee (freshman)
  60. DJ Steward, G, Duke (freshman)
  61. Cameron Thomas, G, LSU (freshman)
  62. JT Thor, F, Auburn (freshman)
  63. Isaiah Todd, F, G League Ignite (auto-eligible)
  64. Trendon Watford, F, LSU (sophomore)
  65. Joe Wieskamp, G/F, Iowa (junior)
  66. Ziaire Williams, F, Stanford (freshman)
  67. McKinley Wright IV, G, Colorado (senior)
  68. Moses Wright, F, Georgia Tech (senior)
  69. Marcus Zegarowski, G, Creighton (junior)
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Draft Updates: Shannon, Smart, Watford, More

April 8th, 2021 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Texas Tech sophomore wing Terrence Shannon Jr. will test the draft waters, declaring for the 2021 NBA draft while retaining his college eligibility, he announced today (via Twitter).

Shannon, who started 13 of his 28 games for the Red Raiders in 2020/21, averaged 12.9 PPG and 4.0 RPG on .448/.357/.756 shooting in 26.7 minutes per contest.

While those numbers don’t jump off the page, Shannon is a highly-regarded prospect who is a strong candidate to be drafted. He ranks 33rd overall on ESPN’s list of this year’s top 100 prospects and comes in at No. 37 on Jonathan Wasserman’s big board at Bleacher Report.

Here are a few more updates on the 2021 draft:

  • After testing the draft waters in both 2019 and 2020, LSU guard Javonte Smart will once again declare in 2021 and will go pro this time, he announced on Instagram. As a junior this season, Smart averaged 16.0 PPG and 4.0 APG on .460/.402/.857 shooting in 28 games (35.6 MPG).
  • Smart’s LSU teammate, sophomore forward Trendon Watford, is also entering the draft and intends to hire an agent, he announced on Twitter. Watford, who averaged 16.3 PPG and 7.4 RPG in 28 games (34.6 MPG) for the Tigers, is the No. 55 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
  • Florida State junior guard Sardaar Calhoun is testing the draft waters, he announced on Twitter. He saw limited action in 2020/21, averaging 5.3 PPG in 14.2 minutes per game (25 games), though he did hit 39.7% of his three-point attempts.
  • Keve Aluma, a redshirt junior forward at Virginia Tech, will enter the draft while retaining his college eligibility, he stated on Twitter. Aluma put up 15.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, and 1.3 BPG in 22 games (30.6 MPG) in ’20/21.
  • Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) share their latest 2021 mock draft, which features Baylor’s Davion Mitchell moving all the way up to No. 7. Mitchell and Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs were among the players whose stocks increased the most as a result of the NCAA tournament.
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And-Ones: Draft, Robinson, NBA Foundation, Bubbles

August 5th, 2020 at 5:27pm CST by Luke Adams

There was some surprise around the NBA that so many college early entrants decided to withdraw from the 2020 draft before Monday’s deadline, according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com. As Woo observes, the 2021 draft class is widely viewed as stronger than 2020’s, and the ’20/21 college season remains somewhat in flux, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Still, Woo acknowledges that the stability of returning to a college program was likely appealing for many of those prospects who withdrew, especially since we also don’t yet know what the NBA and G League schedules will look like for ’20/21.

Elsewhere on the draft front, Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link) has updated his 2021 mock draft to account for recent early entrant decisions. Prospects such as Corey Kispert (Gonzaga), Isaiah Joe (Arkansas), Trendon Watford (LSU), and Luka Garza (Iowa), who recently pulled out of the 2020 draft pool, now show up in the second round of Givony’s mock for next year.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Former No. 5 overall pick Thomas Robinson has parted ways with Khimki Moscow, his team in Russia, as Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando relays. Robinson appeared in 313 games for six NBA teams after being drafted in 2012, but hasn’t been on an NBA roster since being cut by Atlanta before the 2018/19 season.
  • The NBA announced today that its Board of Governors – in partnership with the NBPA – will contribute $300MM over the next 10 years to a new, league-wide charitable foundation called the NBA Foundation, which is “dedicated to creating greater economic empowerment in the Black community.”
  • Jason Lloyd of The Athletic takes an interesting look at what the “bubble” sports leagues are getting right and what lessons can be learned from the experiments, which have been a success so far.
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Draft Notes: Watford, Pons, Petty, Tillman

August 3rd, 2020 at 8:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LSU forward Trendon Watford has decided to withdraw from the draft, Adam Zagoria of the New York Times tweets. The 6’9” Watford is currently ranked No. 73 overall among draft prospects by ESPN. He joins Tigers teammates Darius Days and Javonte Smart, who also opted to pull out of the draft, giving the Tigers a strong group of returnees.

We have more draft decisions with the early entrant withdrawal deadline approaching at midnight ET on Monday:

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LSU’s Trendon Watford Declares For Draft

April 12th, 2020 at 2:40pm CST by ChrisCrouse

LSU power forward Trendon Watford has declared for the NBA draft, confirming his decision to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

“I am announcing my decision to declare for the NBA draft,” Watford. “Thank you to all who have supported me throughout all the years and a special thanks to my family and friends who have been along this journey.”

Watford is the No. 73 prospect in 2020’s draft class, according to ESPN. He was a top recruit out of high school and a McDonald’s All-American, then averaged 13.6 PPG and a team-best 7.2 RPG in 31 games (31.6 MPG) as a freshman in 2019/20.

Watford will maintain his college eligibility as he goes through the draft process, his brother tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). The 2020 draft is still scheduled for June 25, though with the COVID-19 crisis ongoing, it’s possible the event gets pushed back.

“I really don’t know what the draft process will look like,” Watford told Givony. “I’m just hopeful that things will return to normal somewhat and I can get a chance to audition and work out for teams. If not then I will be focused on handling the interview process as best as I possibly can with the outcome of being a first round pick. I really want to go through the process because you dream about these things as a kid. I think I would raise my stock also. I’m still hopeful that we will have a combine and some workouts.

“In the meantime, the thing we all can do to help this situation is take it serious and practice social distancing. That’s the simplest thing but also the most effective. People are really losing their lives and loved ones so you can’t be selfish in that aspect. You may wonder why this would happen during this moment of my career, but it’s way bigger than that.”

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