Zero Positive COVID-19 Tests In Last Week Among 346 Players On NBA Campus
The NBA’s Walt Disney World restart is going according to plan so far, with Shams Charania of The Athletic passing along a promising piece of good news for the league.
According to Charania (Twitter link), none of the 346 players at the Disney campus who have been tested since the NBA’s last coronavirus update on July 13 have been positive for COVID-19. The league has since issued a press release confirming Charania’s report.
When the NBA sent out its coronavirus update last Monday, the league indicated that two players had tested positive for COVID-19 at the Disney campus, but both players did so while quarantined, significantly limiting the possibility of an outbreak.
The fact that Disney staffers are coming and going from the NBA’s campus has also been a cause for some concern, but those employees are keeping their distance from players and other league and team personnel. So far, it seems as if the NBA’s protocols are working and the so-called Disney “bubble” is intact, which bodes well for the resumption and completion of the 2019/20 season.
Russell Westbrook Set To Arrive At NBA Campus
Rockets guard Russell Westbrook, whose arrival at the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus was delayed due to a positive COVID-19 test, is traveling to Orlando today, head coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters, including Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
“He’s been working, and he feels good,” D’Antoni said of the former MVP. “If you look at Russell, his worst day, he’s probably in better shape and stronger than anybody we have. I would think he’ll come here and be ready to go.”
D’Antoni expressed some skepticism that Westbrook will be ready to play on Friday when the Rockets face the Raptors in their first inter-squad scrimmage. Once the star point guard arrives at campus, he’ll have to return two negative coronavirus tests at least 24 hours apart, meaning he’s unlikely to participate in his first practice until later this week.
With the Rockets assured of a playoff spot, the club will likely focus on getting Westbrook back to full speed in time for the start of the postseason.
Meanwhile, D’Antoni added today that he’s unsure when recently-signed forward Luc Mbah a Moute will be able to join the club at Disney. However, a source tells Feigen (Twitter link) that it should happen “soon.”
Bucks’ Connaughton Tested Positive For COVID-19, Not Yet In Orlando
Bucks wing Pat Connaughton revealed today, in a statement to ESPN and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that he recently tested positive for the coronavirus and has not yet reported to the NBA’s campus in Orlando (Twitter link via Matt Velazquez of The Journal Sentinel).
“I am healthy and I feel great and I am excited to join my teammates in Orlando once I meet all the NBA protocols,” Connaughton said.
Connaughton, 27, has been a key part of Milwaukee’s rotation in 2019/20, appearing in 61 games and averaging 5.1 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 18.3 minutes per contest. This is his second season with the Bucks after he began his NBA career by spending three years in Portland.
The Bucks are missing two rotation players due to COVID-19 — Eric Bledsoe also hasn’t yet reported to Orlando after testing positive earlier this month. While it remains to be seen whether either player will be ready for the Bucks’ first of eight seeding games on July 31, the club will be more concerned with making sure both players are back to 100% by the time the postseason begins in mid-to-late August.
The 53-12 Bucks have a 6.5-game lead on the Raptors and have essentially already locked in the No. 1 seed in the East, so they’re unlikely to be going all-out during those eight seeding contests.
Pacific Notes: Howard, Baynes, Rubio, Len, Barnes
Lakers center Dwight Howard has been disciplined for not wearing a mask at Orlando’s campus, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes. Howard said on social media that the violation was reported to the NBA Campus Hotline, designed to ensure everyone is following protocols. “(My) reaction is that we all should be wearing masks in and around the hotel lobby,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of Howard’s violation. “And the areas that we’re being asked to wear a mask, we should wear a mask. And he’s doing so now.”
We have more from around the Pacific Division:
- It remains a mystery whether Ricky Rubio and Aron Baynes are practicing with their Suns teammates in Orlando, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Coach Monty Williams has been vague when asked about the duo’s status. “There’s so much medical stuff that I don’t want to violate,” Williams said.
- Kings center Alex Len has posted negative tests for the coronavirus and will rejoin the team on Friday evening, head coach Luke Walton told James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area and other media members. Len, among a couple of other prominent team members, tested positive for the virus in late June. Len will go into quarantine upon arrival in Orlando and Walton is unsure about the big man’s conditioning.
- Walton is in no rush to replace Harrison Barnes on the roster, The Athletic’s Jason Jones tweets. Barnes revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 just before the team headed to Orlando. The Kings don’t want to replace Barnes on the roster just yet, even if he has to miss a game, Jones adds.
Restart Notes: Orlando Campus, Technology, Celebrations, Gambling
The NBA has expanded the number of people it is allowing on the Walt Disney World campus and more changes could be coming in the future, according to Sam Amick and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. A memo was sent out this week saying that team governors will be allowed to attend seeding games, and the eight teams not invited to Orlando can send scouts when the season resumes in 13 days.
All 30 teams will be permitted to have up to three people — a governor, assistant governor and a senior basketball operations executive — at each game. They will only be permitted in the arenas, not any other part of the campus environment, and will be required to report a negative COVID-19 test in the previous 72 hours. Under safety precautions, they will be required to wear masks, undergo temperature checks and symptom screenings and a “rapid coronavirus test” before entering.
“This policy will be revisited and potentially revised based on campus conditions at that time,” the memo states.
There’s more on the NBA’s restart:
- The league is using a combination of technologies to help keep players safe in Orlando, writes Mark Medina of USA Today. Players are required to start each day by using the NBA’s MyHealth app, entering information from a Bluetooth-enabled smart thermometer and a pulse oximeter that measures oxygen levels. “What we really wanted to do was empower everyone to do it themselves every morning so we can integrate that,” said Tom Ryan, the NBA’s Associate Vice President of Basketball Strategy. “So if there is a flag, we will know it right away.”
- Elaborate handshakes have long been a part of NBA culture, but those may be changing now with so much concern over spreading germs, observes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Some teams have started touching elbows instead, while the Nets have adopted air high-fives and Jazz players end each practice by putting their feet in the middle of the huddle. “Some guys chewing their mouth guards, some guys wiping sweat off their face,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, “certain things that the NBA wants our players to get away from doing, just to create as safe an environment as possible.”
- Tom Haberstroh of NBC Sports examines how the league’s lack of transparency is affecting the betting industry. Teams aren’t permitted to confirm coronavirus cases without consent from the player.
Eric Bledsoe Tests Positive For COVID-19 Away From Orlando Campus
Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe tested positive for COVID-19, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN.
“I am asymptomatic and feeling fine,” Bledsoe said. He has not been in Orlando at all since the Bucks arrived to the NBA’s restart campus at Walt Disney World last week. Bledsoe expects to rejoin his teammates once he has cleared all protocols.
An extended absence for Bledsoe, the Bucks’ defensive-minded starting point guard, would be a major blow to the team with the best record in the NBA. The 30-year-old made the 2018/19 All-Defensive First Team with Milwaukee, and was enjoying a similarly productive season for the 53-12 Bucks, who lead the league in defensive rating at 101.9 PPG allowed per 100 possessions.
In his 56 games played (of a possible 65) this season, Bledsoe is averaging 15.4 PPG on 48.2% shooting from the field, including 34.8% from three-point land (on 3.6 attempts a night) and 81.3% from the free throw line. He also boasts 2019/20 averages of 5.4 APG and 4.6 RPG.
Bledsoe hails from a starry 2010 Kentucky team that also featured future NBA All-Stars DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall, plus league journeyman Patrick Patterson and short-term NBA pro Daniel Orton. Bledsoe has been with the Bucks since a midseason trade from Phoenix during the 2017/18 season.
The 6’1″ guard is in the first season of a four-year, $70MM extension he signed with the Bucks in 2019. Though Bledsoe has underwhelmed for Milwaukee in past playoff appearances, his athleticism has made him an essential contributor on both sides of the ball. Backup point guard George Hill, in the midst of a terrific shooting season, should get more shine if Bledsoe misses extended time as he recovers.
The 34-year-old Hill has been an imperative role player for Milwaukee in his 12th NBA season. The 6’3″ IUPUI alum is shooting 53% from the field, 48% from deep (on 2.9 attempts per game in just 21.2 minutes), and 83.1% from the free throw line.
Kings Notes: Fox, Len, Barnes
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Kings head coach Luke Walton referred to De’Aaron Fox‘s ankle sprain as “mild to moderate,” as James Ham of NBC Sports California writes. While Walton insisted that the team will be “cautious” with its star point guard, he also expressed optimism that Fox won’t necessarily require a lengthy absence.
“We’re hopeful that because he’s healed fast in the past, he’ll do it again, but it’s something that we’re definitely not going to rush him back,” Walton said.
Fox suffered a more serious (Grade 3) ankle sprain earlier in the 2019/20 season and was able to return ahead of schedule, missing just five weeks, Ham notes. A similar injury this time around would have put his summer availability in jeopardy, but it sounds as if the club thinks Fox should be available for some – if not all – of Sacramento’s eight seeding games, as Mark Medina of USA Today tweets.
Here’s more on the Kings:
- In the wake of Fox’s ankle sprain, Sean Deveney of Forbes took a look at the point guard’s longer-term future in Sacramento, suggesting that the former No. 5 overall pick has a very good chance to become the highest-paid player in team history. “No doubt you are going to pay Fox,” one general manager told Deveney. “Who else are you going to get to come to Sacramento? You have to pay him, overpay him, because it’ll be tough to bring in free agents. If you can sign him, no matter the cost, if you’re the Kings, you do it. I think he gets a max offer from them and he takes it. Simple.”
- Kings center Alex Len, having been medically cleared after contracting COVID-19 last month, is flying to Orlando on Thursday night and will enter quarantine upon arriving at the Walt Disney World campus, Walton told reporters today (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of ABC10).
- Once Len arrives, three of the four Kings known to have tested positive for the coronavirus will be at Disney, with Buddy Hield and Jabari Parker already there. However, there’s no update yet on Harrison Barnes, who announced his positive test earlier this week and remains quarantined in Sacramento, per James Ham of NBC Sports California.
Restart Notes: Protocols, Testing, Virtual Fans, Hotline
The NBA sent out a memo to teams today reminding them of the safety protocols and guidelines in place at the Walt Disney World campus and instructing them to refresh players’ memories on those rules, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link). As Andrews relays, wearing face coverings and masks was one of the points reiterated by the league in its memo.
Shams Charania of The Athletic suggests (via Twitter) that the NBA’s memo also included a reminder that interacting with or bringing an unauthorized person onto the campus is prohibited. Players won’t be able to bring guests to Disney until after the first round of the playoffs is complete.
Here’s more on the NBA’s restart and life at the Disney campus:
- Malika Andrews and Tim Bontemps of ESPN provide details on the updates the NBA has made to its COVID-19 testing protocols to try to assuage concern among teams about the potential for false positives affecting returning players. According to ESPN’s duo, at least one player who contracted the virus, recovered, traveled to Disney, and registered multiple negative tests later tested positive. The league has added an antibody test to its protocol for individuals returning from the coronavirus.
- Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters on Wednesday that games at the Disney campus will include virtual fans, digital boards, and “home team sounds,” tweets Paolo Uggetti of The Ringer. Carlisle added that he was impressed by the setup, as Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News tweets.
- Some players in Orlando aren’t particularly fond of the anonymous hotline set up by the NBA to report protocol violations, suggesting that those in the campus community should be responsible enough to follow the rules. Rudy Gobert referred to the hotline as “sort of petty,” per Eric Woodyard of ESPN. Meanwhile, as Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times details, Ja Morant and Montrezl Harrell suggested they don’t intend to use it, while Lakers center Dwight Howard griped that he was reported for not wearing a face mask despite not being around anyone.
Southeast Notes: Bryant, Hornets, Heat, Jones
Wizards big man Thomas Bryant, who previously tested positive for COVID-19, has reported to the NBA’s campus at Walt Disney World, the club announced today (via Twitter).
Bryant was part of a small group of Wizards players who didn’t initially travel with the team to Orlando last week. Gary Payton II also contracted the coronavirus, while Garrison Mathews‘ arrival was delayed due to a personal matter.
Now that he has reported to the Disney campus, Bryant will have to go through a brief quarantine period and undergo COVID-19 and physical testing before being cleared to practice with the Wizards.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- The eight teams not involved in the NBA’s summer restart still aren’t permitted to conduct group workouts, but that didn’t stop Hornets players Devonte’ Graham, Miles Bridges, and Dwayne Bacon from playing 5-on-5 ball at a non-Hornets gym, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. There’s no expectation that the league will fine those players, but it’s the latest indication that those bottom eight teams are anxious for some form of league-sanctioned offseason activities, writes Bonnell.
- Heat forward Derrick Jones contracted COVID-19 in June, but was fortunate not to significantly affected by the virus, he told reporters on Tuesday. “I never felt a symptom at all,” Jones said, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Jones also spoke about his desire to remain with Miami in free agency this fall. “I wouldn’t want to be on any other team,” he said. “I love it here.”
- The Heat have shown interest in meeting with TCU prospect Desmond Bane, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Bane, the No. 42 player on ESPN’s big board, is one of the top shooters in the 2020 draft class, having knocked down 43.3% of his three-point attempts in four college seasons.
- Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington explores what the Wizards‘ starting lineup and rotation might look like with Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans not playing this summer.
Western Notes: Holiday, Duncan, Len, Hield, Schiller
Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday announced today during an appearance on ESPN’s The Jump that he and his wife Lauren will be putting his remaining game checks toward the Jrue and Lauren Social Justice Impact Fund, as Andrew Lopez of ESPN writes.
The aim of the social justice fund will be to help communities in New Orleans, Indianapolis, and the Los Angeles area, according to Lopez. Holiday plays in New Orleans, his brothers Aaron Holiday and Justin Holiday play in Indiana, and the Holiday family is from the L.A. area.
“We want to make an impact,” Holiday told ESPN. “God has blessed us with so much. We know a couple of things that are important are time and money, and right now, we have both. To be able to give away our money to help further this movement and Black-owned businesses that have taken a hit in COVID-19, to us, it felt like the perfect time and opportunity.”
Lopez suggests that Holiday’s remaining game checks could be worth up to $5.3MM — that estimate seems a little high based on my calculations, but considering the veteran guard has a 2019/20 salary of $26MM+, his donations will be substantial.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Spurs assistant coach Tim Duncan won’t be with the team in Orlando, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times, who tweets that Duncan is staying in San Antonio to help oversee LaMarcus Aldridge‘s rehab from shoulder surgery.
- Like Harrison Barnes, center Alex Len – who recently contracted COVID-19 – isn’t yet with the Kings at the Walt Disney World campus, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “We have to prepare as if we’re not going to have either one of those guys,” head coach Luke Walton said of Barnes and Len. “And that’s just getting ready for what worst-case scenario would be. And there’s a reality that might be it. So our mindset is we prep that we’re not going to have them with us, and we’re hopeful that they rejoin us.”
- Within the same story, McMenamin passes along Buddy Hield‘s comments on his experience with the coronavirus. The Kings sharpshooter said his symptoms were mild and that the virus resulted in just “a little head cold” and “chills one night.”
- G League Coach of the Year Martin Schiller, who had been the head coach of the Jazz‘ NBAGL affiliate, is leaving the Salt Lake City Stars to coach Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania, as Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune details.