NBA, NBPA Agree To Adjust COVID-19 Protocols
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have reached an agreement to adjust the league’s COVID-19 protocols amidst a wave of positive tests among players and coaches, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. ESPN obtained a memo stating that the NBA will increase testing and face mask use for players and staff during the holiday season.
Beginning on December 26, players and staffers – besides those who received their booster shot at least 14 days ago or those who recently recovered from the virus – will be tested for COVID-19 on game days. For most of the season, vaccinated players haven’t been tested unless they showed symptoms or were a close contact of someone who contracted the virus.
Additionally, as Wojnarowski details, players and staffers will be required to wear face masks on the bench, in their team’s workout facility, and while traveling with the team.
With so many teams shorthanded and taking advantage of the hardship provision to sign extra players, sources tell Wojnarowski that there’s been some league-wide discussion about finding an easier way to expand rosters.
The Magic added forward Ignas Brazdeikis to their injury report on Thursday night due to the health and safety protocols, making Orlando the 12th team to have at least one player currently in the protocols. A 13th team – Indiana – has its head coach, Rick Carlisle, in the protocols.
Of course, that number seems very likely to change in one direction or the other by the end of the day, since players are entering and exiting the protocols with increasing frequency this month. Lakers guard Malik Monk was the latest player to test out of the protocols on Thursday, per Wojnarowski and ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).
De’Aaron Fox, Two Other Kings Enter Protocols
DECEMBER 17: Kings center Alex Len and two-way forward Louis King were also placed in the health and safety protocols on Thursday evening, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The team now has five players in the protocols.
DECEMBER 16: The Kings’ top player, guard De’Aaron Fox, has entered health and safety protocols, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
As we noted earlier, the Kings canceled practice on Thursday and closed their practice facility due to concerns about a COVID-19 outbreak. There is an expectation more positive tests will be revealed among both players and staff members.
Head coach Alvin Gentry, forward Marvin Bagley III, and guard Terence Davis all entered the protocols on Wednesday with indications both Gentry and Bagley have tested positive for COVID-19.
Fox is averaging 21.3 PPG and 5.0 APG this season. He scored 28 points against the Wizards on Wednesday when the Kings snapped a three-game losing streak and 29 against the Raptors on Monday.
As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets, approximately 7% of the league’s players are now under protocols.
There’s some concern that the team’s game vs. Memphis on Friday could be in jeopardy.
Klay Thompson Expected To Return After Christmas
The Warriors are no longer targeting their home games on December 20 or 23 for Klay Thompson‘s return to action, sources tell Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Thompson also won’t play in Golden State’s Christmas Day game in Phoenix.
The Warriors and Thompson, who is coming off an Achilles tear, have never projected an exact date for his return, but reports over the last few months had previously cited Christmas as an approximate goal. The club reportedly prefers to have him make his season debut at home rather than on the road, so those Dec. 20 and 23 home games vs. Sacramento and Memphis, respectively, have been considered prime targets for a while.
However, the Warriors also don’t want to put any pressure on Thompson to return before he’s 100% ready, and there’s certainly no rush to get him back in the lineup — the Dubs have an NBA-best 23-5 record and can afford to be patient.
Thompson is currently in the process of ramping up his conditioning, so his return timeline remains somewhat in flux. As Charania and Slater observe, the earliest we could see the veteran sharpshooter back in action would be on December 28, when the Warriors host the Nuggets. After that, Golden State travels to Denver (Dec. 30) and Utah (Jan. 1) before returning home for a Jan. 3 contest vs. the Heat.
Zion Williamson Receives Injection In Foot, Will Be Reevaluated In 4-6 Weeks
After undergoing further evaluation on Wednesday, Pelicans star Zion Williamson received a biologic injection into the fracture site in his right foot in order to stimulate bone healing, the team announced today in a press release.
Williamson, who has experienced a couple setbacks in his rehab process this month, will be limited to “low-impact, partial weight-bearing activites” for the foreseeable future, according to the team. The Pelicans say they’ll have another update on the former No. 1 overall pick in about four-to-six weeks, when further imaging is conducted on his foot.
Andrew Lopez of ESPN (video link) said during a TV appearance earlier this week that Williamson’s recovery from offseason foot surgery isn’t a “shut him down for the season”-type issue, adding that the Pelicans believe Zion will return at some point in the new year. However, today’s news is the latest in a series of discouraging updates on the forward’s recovery process since he told reporters on Media Day that he hoped to play on opening night.
A four-to-six week timeline means it’ll be mid-to-late January before we get another update on Williamson, and there’s no guarantee he’ll be on the verge of returning at that point.
While I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, Zion’s ongoing absence could result in some difficult decisions for the 9-21 Pelicans at the trade deadline and in the 2022 offseason, when the 21-year-old will become eligible for a rookie scale extension.
Kings Cancel Practice, Concerned About COVID-19 Outbreak
The Kings have canceled Thursday’s practice and shut down their facility amid growing concerns about a COVID-19 outbreak, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that Sacramento was preparing for multiple coaches and players to be placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Head coach Alvin Gentry, forward Marvin Bagley III, and guard Terence Davis all entered the protocols on Wednesday, and Charania indicates both Gentry and Bagley have tested positive for COVID-19. According to Wojnarowski, the Kings continue to test and retest their players and staffers, and there’s some concern that the team’s game vs. Memphis on Friday could be in jeopardy.
The NBA is currently in the midst of its most challenging week of the fall in terms of COVID-related issues. The league had to postpone games for the first time this season due to a Bulls outbreak, and a handful of other teams have multiple players unavailable due to positive tests. By our count, there are more than 30 NBA players currently in the protocols, plus two head coaches (Gentry and Rick Carlisle).
We’ll have more updates on the Kings’ situation as they become available.
Pacers’ Herb Simon: “We Can Build On The Go”
Don’t count on the Pacers tanking anytime soon under owner Herb Simon, even if Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star believes they should strongly consider it.
Simon invited five local media members, including Doyel, to discuss the team and the recent report from The Athletic that the Pacers are open to a roster shakeup. The Athletic’s story characterized the Pacers and Simon as increasingly open to a rebuild, despite having resisted going that route in the past. But the 87-year-old pushed back against that notion, suggesting that he’s still opposed to the idea of a full-fledged rebuild and wants to remain competitive even if the club makes a few roster changes.
“We want to be as far up in the draft as possible because we want to win as many games as possible,” Simon says. “I just don’t play the game that way (tanking). I don’t think about it. Maybe I should think about it, but I don’t.
“I don’t want to see it,” he added. “And if I don’t want to see it, the fans don’t want to see it. Why would we want to go through a rebuild when we can build on the go? That’s the talent. Donnie (Walsh) did it all the time. Larry (Bird) did it. Kevin (Pritchard) will do it. We can do it.”
Simon told reporters, including Doyel, “I love our little team,” adding that he believes the Pacers have had some bad luck in close games and can turn things around without doing anything drastic. It remains to be seen whether he’ll adjust his stance by the trade deadline or whether Indiana will prove him right.
Here are a few more interesting quotes from Simon’s media session:
On the Pacers’ ability to acquire top free agents, which they’ve historically been unable to do:
“I don’t believe in the premise (that top free agents won’t consider the Pacers). We’ve had people like David West who wanted to come here. We’ve had our share of good players. Maybe the top three or four players may not want to come here because they want to go to a better climate or pay less taxes or whatever reason. I don’t use that as an excuse.
“… I think it’s blown out of proportion. If it’s the right situation and we pay the right price, we can get most every player, I believe. I don’t see that … I’m not going to pull the small-market (self-pity) thing. I’m not concerned about it. We have a wonderful environment here for players. They treat them very well. They’re taken care of properly. And (players) love being here.”
On his willingness to spend, despite not paying the luxury tax in more than a decade:
“I didn’t build a practice facility not to spend money. We didn’t rebuild this arena not to spend money. I had to put money in that. We’re building a beautiful plaza for the public. We try to be good citizens, and you’re just picking one point: ‘Why aren’t we paying (luxury) taxes?’ We’ll pay taxes when it’s the right time to pay taxes.”
On his desire to win a championship in Indiana:
“I’m not crying poverty, ‘Woe is our small market.’ I’m proud of this market. This is a basketball market, and we’ve had tough times and we’ve had good times and we’re going to have good times again. If I can hang around long enough, maybe we’ll even win a championship.”
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Nets Sign Langston Galloway Via Hardship Exception
DECEMBER 16: The Nets have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Galloway to a 10-day contract.
DECEMBER 15: The Nets have agreed to sign veteran guard Langston Galloway via a hardship exception, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Galloway will receive a 10-day contract.
Brooklyn is eligible to sign multiple players due to the hardship provision, since the team currently has seven players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, with Joe Harris (ankle) also on the shelf. It’s unclear how many more free agents – if any – the team will sign besides Galloway.
Galloway had decided within the last week to play in the G League and joined the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s NBAGL affiliate. It appears his stint with College Park will be brief. He appeared in his first game for the Skyhawks on Tuesday night, and while he struggled with his scoring efficiency, putting up 12 points on just 5-of-18 shooting, he had seven assists and was a team-best plus-15 in a victory over the Raptors 905.
A former St. Joseph’s standout, Galloway played a role off the bench for Phoenix last season, averaging 4.8 points in 40 games while shooting 44.9% from the field and 42.4% from three-point range. He signed a non-guaranteed training camp contract with the Warriors in late September, but was waived before the season started.
Galloway, who turned 30 this month, has put together a seven-year career with the Knicks, Pelicans, Kings, Pistons and Suns since going undrafted in 2014. He has appeared in 445 NBA games with career averages of 8.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
The Nets will assume a cap hit of $95,930 for Galloway’s 10-day contract, while he earns a $128,709 salary, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Brooklyn will also take on approximately $504K in additional tax penalties as a result of the deal, Marks adds.
Pacers Sign Terry Taylor To Two-Way Contract, Cut DeJon Jarreau
The Pacers are signing undrafted rookie Terry Taylor to a two-way contract, agents BJ Bass and Cam Brennick tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The team has confirmed the move, announcing in a press release that former Houston Cougars guard DeJon Jarreau has been waived to open up a two-way slot for Taylor, whose deal is official.
A 6’5″ wing, Taylor had a big senior year in 2020/21 for Austin Peay, averaging 21.6 points and 11.1 rebounds in 27 games (37.0 MPG). He saw his three-point percentage dip to just 27.9%, but he made 35.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc in his first three college seasons and still made 52.1% of his total shots from the floor as a senior.
Taylor’s performance in college earned him a training camp invitation from the Pacers. While he didn’t earn a spot on the regular season roster, he joined the Fort Wayne Mad Ants – Indiana’s G League affiliate – and has gotten off to a great start, averaging 19.5 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.3 BPG on 67.9% shooting through 11 games (33.5 MPG).
Jarreau, meanwhile, has put up more modest numbers in 10 games (20.9 MPG) for Fort Wayne, recording 9.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 3.9 RPG with a .407/.381/.588 shooting line. He appeared briefly in just one game for Indiana.
Duane Washington holds the other two-way spot on the Pacers’ roster.
Kings’ Alvin Gentry Tests Positive For COVID-19
2:30pm: Christie will take over as the Kings’ acting coach while Gentry is unavailable, a source tells Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).
11:01am: Kings head coach Alvin Gentry, who took over last month when the team dismissed Luke Walton, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (all Twitter links). Gentry figures to miss a few games, with one of his assistants taking over as an interim coach to the interim coach.
According to Wojnarowski, the Kings canceled their morning shootaround on Wednesday and are conducting COVID-19 tests to see if any other players or coaches have contracted the virus.
Gentry tells Wojnarowski that he has been essentially asymptomatic, outside of having a scratchy throat. Assistants Mike Longabardi and Doug Christie are the most likely candidates to replace him on the sidelines for the short term, Woj adds.
Gentry has led the Kings to a 5-6 record since taking the reins from Walton in November. Sacramento lost all three games on its recent road trip, prompting Gentry to state after Monday’s loss in Toronto that the team needs to find a way to “right the ship.” The Kings begin a three-game home stand on Wednesday against the struggling Wizards, the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies, and the 10-16 Spurs, so there’s some bounce-back potential there.
Gentry is the second head coach to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols in the last week, joining Rick Carlisle of the Pacers.
Jazz Hire Danny Ainge As Alternate Governor, CEO
1:29pm: The Jazz have officially announced Ainge’s hiring, issuing a press release to confirm the news.
“Rarely do you get an opportunity to come into a franchise that is this close to being a special team,” Ainge told Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). “It’s a very unique opportunity.”
12:48pm: The Jazz are hiring Danny Ainge to be the franchise’s alternate governor and CEO, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). The former Celtics executive will oversee Utah’s basketball operations, with Justin Zanik remaining in the general manager role, per Wojnarowski.
Since Ainge stepped down from his position in Boston earlier this year, Utah has been repeatedly cited as a potential landing spot for him. Ainge played his college ball at BYU and is close with team owner and governor Ryan Smith. Additionally, the Jazz have undergone some front office changes in 2021, having reassigned executive VP of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey to an advisory role, which opened the door to bring in someone new like Ainge.
At the time of Lindsey’s demotion, reports indicated that Zanik had essentially been running the day-to-day operations of the front office since 2019. It seems likely he’ll continue to do so, since Ainge recently suggested he’d prefer to join a new team as a “helper,” rather than as someone who works “18-hour days.”
Ainge’s title indicates he’ll be above Zanik in the front office hierarchy, but Wojnarowski says (via Twitter) the two executives will “work closely.”
Ainge previously served as the president of basketball operations in Boston from 2003-21. The Celtics made the postseason in all but three of his 18 seasons running the front office, taking home a championship in 2008. Ainge’s trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen helped lead the Celtics to that title.
The 2013 blockbuster deal that sent an aging Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets for a boatload of draft picks is considered one of the biggest NBA heists of the century, putting Boston in position to land Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in subsequent drafts. However, while the C’s made three Eastern Finals appearances during Ainge’s last few years in Boston, that team could never quite get over the hump, with major additions like Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving not panning out as hoped.
In Utah, Ainge will inherit a roster that appears on the verge of title contention, with Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Royce O’Neale, and Rudy Gay all locked up for multiple seasons.