Wizards Sign Alize Johnson
7:36pm: Johnson officially signed prior to the team’s game in Miami, the team announced (via Twitter).
4:43pm: Alize Johnson is signing with the Wizards on Tuesday and could play significant minutes right away, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Johnson will ink a 10-day contract under the hardship exemption. He was waived by the Bulls over the weekend. His agent told Wojnarowski that his client landed in Miami after clearing waivers and is on the way to the arena, where Washington is playing tonight.
Washington has eight players in protocols, including frontcourt players Thomas Bryant, Rui Hachimura, Anthony Gill and Montrezl Harrell.
Washington has five games over the next 10 days and Johnson will receive about $98K from the Wizards to go along with the $705K+ he made with Chicago, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
Johnson appeared in 16 games for the Bulls, averaging 1.8 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 7.6 MPG.
Selected by the Pacers with the 50th pick in 2018, Johnson spent two years with Indiana, then played 18 games for the Nets last season after joining the team in March on a 10-day contract.
Deandre Ayton Enters Protocols; Trae Young Cleared
Suns center Deandre Ayton has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Assuming Ayton has been vaccinated, he will out at least six days or until he returns two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. He joins teammates Jae Crowder and Elfrid Payton in protocols as well as head coach Monty Williams. Ayton is averaging 17.0 PPG and 11.1 RPG.
On the flip side, Hawks star guard Trae Young has cleared the protocols and will play against Chicago on Monday, Wojnarowski reports in a separate tweet. Atlanta has a 1-2 record since Young entered protocols. He produced a second negative test to exit the protocols, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets.
Young won’t have many of his usual teammates in uniform with him. Atlanta still has 10 other players in the protocols.
In Houston, Rockets players Jae’Sean Tate and Kenyon Martin Jr. have entered protocols, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. That increases the number of Rockets players in protocols to four.
The Wizards, who already had a handful of players in protocols, added Aaron Holiday to the list, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets.
NBA, NBPA Agree To Reduce Quarantine Period For COVID-Positive Players
DECEMBER 27: The NBA and NBPA have agreed to adjust the minimum required quarantine period for a vaccinated COVID-positive player to six days, reports Wojnarowski (Twitter links). A player who continues to test positive can be cleared after six days in quarantine if testing data shows he’s no longer at risk of being infectious.
According to Wojnarowski, the new rule – which also applies to coaches – is expected to immediately impact many players currently in the health and safety protocols. That suggests we could see a significant number of players cleared within the next day or two.
DECEMBER 23: The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are nearing an agreement to reduce the minimum quarantine period for COVID-positive players, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter) initially reported today that the two sides were engaged in discussions on the subject after commissioner Adam Silver mentioned the possibility during an interview with ESPN earlier in the week.
Currently, the quarantine period for a player who tests positive for COVID-19 is 10 days. However, the league and the players’ union could agree to lower it to as few as six days in certain cases, per Charania and Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
The NBA and NBPA are consulting with their own infectious disease specialists and are studying research models from around the world before finalizing a decision, Wojnarowski explains.
Silver stated in his ESPN appearance on Tuesday that the viral load of a COVID-positive player can be ascertained during the testing process and suggested that it might be safe for such a player to return to action if his viral load drops below a certain threshold, since the risk of transmitting the virus would drop significantly. A player’s vaccination status may also be a factor in determining his required quarantine period.
“I think (medical experts are) already realizing that you can move away from the 10-day protocol when you have players who are vaccinated and boosted,” Silver told ESPN’s Malika Andrews on Tuesday. “It seems that the virus runs through their systems faster. They become not just asymptomatic but – more importantly – they’re not shedding the virus anymore.”
It’s unclear how quickly the new guidelines might go into effect if and when the NBA and NBPA reach an agreement.
Suns Sign Emanuel Terry; Monty Williams In Protocols
2:25pm: The Suns have officially signed Terry, the team announced in a press release. His 10-day contract will run through January 5.
12:14pm: The Suns are set to sign forward Emanuel Terry to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Terry, 25, has played for a handful of international and G League teams since going undrafted out of Lincoln Memorial in 2018. He also got into three NBA games as a rookie back in 2018/19 — two for Phoenix and one for Miami.
This season, Terry has been playing in the G League for the Stockton Kings, averaging 11.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 10 games (25.5 MPG) for Sacramento’s G League affiliate. He also represented Team USA last month in the first two qualifying games for the 2023 World Cup.
For most of the month, Phoenix had avoided the league-wide COVID-19 outbreak that left a number of teams around the NBA shorthanded. However, the Suns placed Jae Crowder and Elfrid Payton in the health and safety protocols on Sunday, making them eligible to sign up to two replacement players via hardship exceptions.
The Suns have also temporarily lost their head coach, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Monty Williams has entered the protocols. Williams will miss Monday’s game vs. Memphis and figures to be sidelined into the new year if he has registered a confirmed positive test. Assistant coach Kevin Young will likely take over as acting head coach in Williams’ absence, tweets Wojnarowski.
Timberwolves Sign Greg Monroe To 10-Day Deal
DECEMBER 27: The Timberwolves have completed Monroe’s deal, formally announcing it in a press release. It’ll run through January 5, covering Minnesota’s next six games.
DECEMBER 26: The Timberwolves are planning to sign veteran big man Greg Monroe to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The transaction would be completed using a hardship exemption.
Monroe, 31, owns nine years of NBA experience, making past stops with the Pistons, Bucks, Suns, Celtics, Raptors and Sixers. He’s averaged 13.2 points and 8.3 rebounds in 27.7 minutes per game for his career, appearing in 632 total contests. He last played in the league during the 2018/19 season.
Monroe has been playing in the G League with the Wizards’ affiliate. In 12 games this season, he’s averaged 10.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per outing. The Timberwolves currently have eight players in the league’s health and safety protocols, as shown by our tracker.
Minnesota has back-to-back home games scheduled against Boston on Monday and New York on Tuesday. Monroe will arrive Monday morning, complete a physical, and sign his contract if everything goes well, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets.
Nets Sign Langston Galloway To Second 10-Day Contract
DECEMBER 27: The Nets have officially signed Galloway to a second 10-day deal, the team confirmed today in a press release.
DECEMBER 26: Hardship addition Langston Galloway will receive a second 10-day contract from the Nets, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The 30-year-old guard appeared in three games during his first-10-day deal, which expired Saturday night. He logged 15.0 minutes per night for a short-handed Brooklyn team, averaging 3.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
The Nets still have six players in health and safety protocols, so Galloway may continue to see a significant role until some of them return.
Jayson Tatum Enters Health And Safety Protocols
Star forward Jayson Tatum has joined a long list of Celtics players in the health and safety protocols, the team announced today (via Twitter).
There are now nine Celtics players in the protocols, as our tracker shows. Of those players, eight have been ruled out for Boston’s Monday game vs. Minnesota. The ninth, Grant Williams, is listed as questionable, which suggests he has either exited the protocols or is on the verge of doing so.
Only two other teams – Atlanta and Toronto – currently have more players in the protocols than the Celtics, whose situation actually seemed to be improving in recent days. Juan Hernangomez, Jabari Parker, Sam Hauser, and Brodric Thomas all recently cleared the protocols.
However, now Boston’s top scorer will be out for 10 days or until he can return consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart. Tatum is averaging 25.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 3.8 APG this season in 33 games (36.7 MPG), though his shooting numbers are down (.417 FG%, .329 3PT%).
Tatum contracted COVID-19 last season and had breathing problems well after his return, using an inhaler before games.
Isaiah Thomas Won’t Get Another 10-Day From Lakers
Isaiah Thomas will not receive another 10-day contract from the Lakers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Thomas’ initial 10-day deal with the club expires tonight.
According to Charania, multiple teams are expected to express interest in Thomas, who averaged 9.3 PPG in four games for Lakers. That included a 19-point outing against Minnesota. Thomas was signed using the hardship exemption.
Thomas had been unable to secure an NBA opportunity through the season’s first two months. He signed a G League contract and joined the Grand Rapids Gold, Denver’s affiliate, where he delivered a 42-points, eight-assist game.
Prior to his Lakers’ stint, Thomas appeared in just 55 total NBA games since the start of the 2018/19 season for the Nuggets, Wizards, and Pelicans, averaging 11.1 PPG and 3.2 APG in 21.0 minutes. The 32-year-old was bothered for years by hip problems, but has said he’s fully healthy now and recently represented Team USA in a pair of qualifying games for the 2023 World Cup.
John Collins, Jalen Johnson Placed In Health And Safety Protocols
Hawks forward John Collins has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Rookie Jalen Johnson is in the protocols as well, bringing the team’s total to 10 players (Twitter link).
Collins is among Atlanta’s best players, averaging 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds in 32 games. He has been helping the Hawks remain competitive after the loss of Trae Young, who is also in the protocols. Johnson has gotten into 10 games during his first season with averages of 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.0 minutes per night.
Atlanta’s other players in the protocols are Sharife Cooper, Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Huerter, Wesley Iwundu, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Onyeka Okongwu and Lou Williams.
The Hawks have signed Iwundu, Malcolm Hill, Lance Stephenson, Cat Barber and Malik Ellison to 10-day deals under the league’s hardship provision.
Bulls Waive Alize Johnson, Sign Alfonzo McKinnie For Rest Of Season
10:43am: Both moves are official, the Bulls announced (via Twitter). Since Johnson’s $1.7MM salary was partially guaranteed, the prorated cap hit for Chicago will be about $706K, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. McKinnie will have a $1.09MM salary and a $1.02MM cap hit, leaving the team roughly $3MM below the luxury tax line.
9:06am: The Bulls will waive forward Alize Johnson, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The newly-opened roster spot will be used to sign Alfonzo McKinnie to a contract that covers the remainder of the season (Twitter link).
McKinnie becomes the league’s first COVID-19 hardship addition to earn a standard contract, Charania notes. The 29-year-old small forward signed a pair of 10-day deals and has averaged 8.0 points and 2.3 rebounds in three games. This is the fifth NBA team for McKinnie, who has also played for the Raptors, Warriors, Cavaliers and Lakers after going undrafted in 2017.
Johnson, 25, signed a two-year deal with Chicago during the offseason and received a partial guarantee of $250K for making the opening-night roster. His $1.878MM salary for 2022/23 was non-guaranteed until July 2, 2022, so the Bulls won’t be on the hook for any more money beyond this season.
Johnson was among several Chicago players who entered the league’s health and safety protocols earlier this month, but he was cleared to return on Thursday. He appeared in 16 games for the Bulls, averaging 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per night.
Selected by the Pacers with the 50th pick in 2018, Johnson spent two years with Indiana, then played 18 games for the Nets last season after joining the team in March on a 10-day contract.