Quartet Of Mavericks Players Have COVID-19
The Mavericks have four players with confirmed cases of COVID-19, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets. A pair of rotation players tested positive on Monday, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon and Zach Lowe (Twitter link).
None of the players who have tested positive have been named publicly due to privacy issues. Mavericks veterans Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson were self-isolating as of Friday, and Maxi Kleber joined that list over the weekend.
The NBA postponed Monday’s game between the Mavericks and Pelicans due to issues related to COVID-19 and the Mavericks’ game at Charlotte on Wednesday could also be in jeopardy.
Due to contact tracing, the Mavericks and the NBA could not say with certainty that Dallas would have at least eight non-infected/bodily healthy players for Monday’s game, Townsend notes in another tweet.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), Dallas can file for a hardship exception on each of the four players that tested positive, even though none of the players have missed three consecutive games. The normal procedure to request the exception is to have four players miss three consecutive games and be out two additional weeks.
Several other teams, including the Heat, Celtics and Sixers, have been dealing with major personnel issues due to the coronavirus. The league’s Board of Governors is meeting on Tuesday to discuss potential changes to the protocols that have been in place this season.
Wizards Expected To Apply For DPE To Replace Bryant
The Wizards are planning to apply for a disabled player exception due to the season-ending injury to center Thomas Bryant, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The DPE is a salary cap exception designed to allow teams to add a replacement for a player who suffers a season-ending injury. Bryant suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on Saturday. The DPE is worth either half the injured player’s salary or the value of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, whichever is lesser.
Bryant has an $8,333,333 salary, so the DPE in this case would be approximately $4.17MM.
The disabled player exception doesn’t give a team an extra roster spot, but it allows the club to add a player without impacting its salary cap space. It can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers, or to acquire a player in a trade. However, it can only be used on one player and can only accommodate a player on a one-year deal. A free agent signee can’t get a multiyear contract, and any trade or waiver target must be in the final year of his contract.
The Wizards currently have a full roster and are a hard-capped team, so there’s no guarantee they’d make use of a disabled player exception. Still, if granted, it would give them a little more flexibility at the trade deadline.
And-Ones: G League, Allen, Harden, Icons
The G League draft will be held on Monday at 1 PM ET, Adam Zagoria of The New York Times tweets. Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Shabazz Muhammad, Quincy Pondexter, Lance Stephenson and Allonzo Trier are among the NBA veterans who will be eligible for the draft, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. The full list of draft eligible players can be found here. The G League season will begin in Orlando next month.
We have more news from around the basketball world:
- Former Knicks player Kadeem Allen has departed JL Bourg, according to the French club’s Twitter feed. Allen agreed to join the French team over the summer. The 53rd overall pick of the 2017 draft, Allen had been on a two-way contract with New York before being cut earlier in the summer. In two seasons with the Knicks, Allen saw limited action, averaging 8.2 PPG and 3.3 APG in 29 total games (18.4 MPG).
- What are the pros and cons for each Eastern Conference contender to acquire James Harden? ESPN’s Insiders take a closer look at what each of those teams might have to surrender in order to trade for the former Most Valuable Player and whether Harden would be a good fit.
- Which current players are the biggest icons for their franchise? Eric Koreen of The Athletic uses a numerical system to rank those players, with Stephen Curry of the Warriors coming out on top.
Heat-Celtics Game Postponed Due To COVID-19 Protocols
The NBA has postponed the Heat–Celtics game scheduled for Sunday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Both teams were dealing with COVID-19 related issues. A Heat player returned an inconclusive test on Sunday, and the team does not have required eight players to proceed with game due to contact tracing, Charania adds. Avery Bradley was ruled out by the Heat earlier in the afternoon due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
Boston was already down to the minimum eight players, mainly due to those same regulations. They had seven players listed as out due to health and safety protocols, including top scorers Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They also had two injured players on their roster.
However, the NBA plans to trudge on despite increasing issues with the coronavirus. The league has no plans to pause this season, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Central Notes: Bey, Grant, Garland, Bickerstaff
Saddiq Bey is making the Pistons look wise after they engaged in a three-team deal to land the No. 19 pick in the draft, James Edwards of The Athletic writes. The rookie forward from Villanova was averaging 10.4 PPG and 45.7% from 3-point range entering Sunday’s action, though he needs to do a much better job finishing around the rim, Edwards notes. Bey has also display uncommon maturity and has elevated his play in crunch time, Edwards adds.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Jerami Grant has impressed fellow Pistons forward Blake Griffin with his expanded offensive role, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Grant inked a three-year, $60MM contract in a sign-and-trade with Denver in large part because he wanted to be a go-to scorer. He’s posted back-to-back 31-point games. “I’m very impressed with his patience and his decision-making in games. He doesn’t settle,” Griffin said. “He’ll size somebody up. Seems like he can get to the hole whenever he wants and he does a great job of finishing.”
- Prior to suffering a shoulder sprain, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland was emerging as the most improved player of the NBA’s sophomore class, Garrett Brooks of Basketball Insiders opines. Garland, the No. 5 pick of the 2019 draft, is averaging 17.2 PPG and 6.3 APG and shooting 46.9% from 3-point range.
- Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been forced to improvise due to a number of injuries, especially to his backcourt, and he’s using an old-school scheme, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. “It’s a flashback to the 80s,” Bickerstaff said. “We try to slow the game down. We try to make it half court. We’re calling sets and running plays that literally they ran into the early’ 90s, late ’80s when they played with those bigs.”
Avery Bradley Sidelined By Health And Safety Protocols
Heat guard Avery Bradley is the latest player to be sidelined due to the league’s health and safety protocols. He’ll miss Sunday’s game against the Celtics for that reason, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Bradley is expected to miss more games beyond Sunday’s tilt, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.
Last week, Bradley was listed on Heat injury report due to health and safety protocols because of a stomach illness. His new status is related to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets.
Bradley departed the Lakers and signed a two-year, $11.6MM contract with Miami in November. Thus far, Bradley is averaging 10.0 PPG and 1.7 APG in 22.9 MPG with the Heat. He opted out of last summer’s restart.
The Celtics will be even more shorthanded and might be down to the league’s minimum of eight players, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. They have three players listed as out due to COVID-19 protocols and another, star forward Jayson Tatum, listed as doubtful for that reason. Three other players are listed as questionable, including Jaylen Brown, due to those protocols. They also have two injured players on their roster.
Grizzlies’ Jonas Valanciunas Leaves Game Due To Contact Tracing
Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas was instructed to leave the bench before halftime of the team’s game against the Nets due to contact tracing, according to ESPN’s Royce Young.
Valanciunas did not test positive for COVID-19 but under the league’s protocols, he’d have to quarantine for seven days before being cleared to return if he continues to register negative tests. Memphis plays three more games during that span.
A number of teams have been left shorthanded due to healthy and safety protocols this week, including Boston, Philadelphia and Dallas. Valanciunas is one of Memphis’ key inside players, averaging 15.0 PPG and 11.4 RPG heading into Friday’s game.
Valanciunas is the second Grizzlies player whose availability has been impacted by the coronavirus this season, Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal notes. De’Anthony Melton missed four games earlier this season due to health and safety protocols and returned on Sunday.
Pacific Notes: Caruso, Smith, Morris, Kaminsky
Lakers guard Alex Caruso said he never tested positive for COVID-19, but someone he had seen around Christmas-time tested positive and he was placed under the league’s healthy and safety protocols because of contact tracing, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets.
Caruso understands why the NBA set up those protocols but it was still a frustrating situation for him, Goon adds. The guard missed five games but returned to action for the Lakers on Thursday, playing 20 minutes and scoring eight points against San Antonio.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Suns rookie Jalen Smith didn’t make the team’s three-game road trip that began Friday in Detroit due to health and safety protocols, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. Smith, the 10th overall pick, hadn’t played since Phoenix’s second game against Sacramento because of an ankle injury.
- Marcus Morris has no issue with Clippers coach Tyronn Lue concerning his second-unit role, Goon writes. Morris, who re-signed with the franchise for four years and $64MM this offseason, made his season debut on Wednesday. Morris had been sidelined by knee soreness. “In hindsight, I was fine with either, but I have seen how well those guys are jelling with the first unit and I thought I could help the second unit with scoring, with leadership, things like that,” Morris said. “I just told him, ‘Hey, if that is what you want to do, I’ll go along with you.’”
- Forward Frank Kaminsky made his feelings apparent about the Suns before he re-joined them, Gina Mizell of the team’s website writes. Phoenix declined a $5MM option on his contract but claimed him after the Kings waived him late in training camp. “For some reason, people tell you, ‘Don’t let it be known where you want to go or where you want to play,’” Kaminsky said. “But I don’t care. I wanted to play here. I wanted to be with this team and with this group of people.”
Eastern Notes: Anthony, Pacers Crowds, Wizards, Rose
In the wake of Markelle Fultz‘s season-ending knee injury, rookie Cole Anthony has becomes the Magic’s No. 1 point guard, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Anthony, who was selected with the No. 15 pick in the draft, logged a season-high 32 minutes on Wednesday when Fultz was injured.
“Cole, in my opinion, he’s the starter right now and I think that he’s ready to take it and grow with it and we all have great confidence in him,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Pacers will allow a limited number of fans to home games beginning on January 24, according to a team press release. The Pacers will limit sales to approximately 1,000 tickets per game through January 25 and consider gradual increases for remaining games. The Marion County Health Department will currently allow 25% capacity, or roughly 4,500 fans.
- Now that plans have been revealed for the G League season, the Wizards will assign players to the Pelicans’ G League club, the Erie Bayhawks, for the games in Orlando, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. Both franchises will chip in the costs associated with participating in the “bubble” season, Katz adds.
- The Pistons will likely ask for a first-round pick for Derrick Rose if they decide to deal him or if Rose requests a trade, Rod Beard of the Detroit News speculates. Rose, who will become an unrestricted free agent after the season, could help a contender that needs scoring off the bench.
Mavs’ Richardson, Finney-Smith, Brunson Placed Under Quarantine
7:39pm: Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson are the players under quarantine, Charania tweets.
5:11pm: A Mavericks player has tested positive for the coronavirus and two other players have been placed under quarantine for seven days due to contract tracing, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
A source within the organization confirmed Charania’s report, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News tweets.
The other two players have thus far tested negative and are expected to remain so, according to Charania, but the trio remained in Denver while the rest of the team flew back to Dallas. The Mavericks wrapped up a three-game trip in Denver on Thursday.
The names of the players haven’t been revealed but there will be more clarity when the team issues an injury report prior to its next game. The Mavericks have a home game against Orlando on Saturday.
In recent days, the Celtics and Sixers have revealed COVID-19 issues. Boston’s Robert Williams had a positive test and two others were deemed close contacts. Philadelphia is expected to be without numerous players due to contact tracing after Seth Curry tested positive.