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COVID-19 Updates: Beal, Gill, Pacers, Pritchard, Young, Sixers

January 12th, 2022 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

Wizards guard Bradley Beal re-entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Tuesday, as Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. It’s Beal’s second protocol-related absence within the last month — he missed three games between December 23-28 due to contact tracing, Robbins notes.

Unlike last season, when any player determined to be a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was placed in the protocols, those guidelines only apply to unvaccinated players this season. Beal began the season unvaccinated, but confirmed when he returned in late December that he had recently received the vaccine. That could mean his absence this time around isn’t related to contact tracing, and that he returned a positive or inconclusive test.

The Wizards did get one piece of good news on Tuesday afternoon, as forward Anthony Gill exited the protocols, per Robbins (Twitter link). That means Beal is currently the only Washington player affected.

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

The Pacers announced on Tuesday that Caris LeVert and Goga Bitadze have exited the health and safety protocols, as James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star writes. Both players have a chance to be available on Wednesday vs. Boston. They’re listed as questionable for now.
The Celtics no longer have any players in the COVID-19 protocols, as guard Payton Pritchard has been cleared, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link).
Spurs forward Thaddeus Young is no longer in the health and safety protocols, tweets Paul Garcia of Project Spurs. However, San Antonio still has five players in the protocols, tied with Utah for the highest current total in the league.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and forward Paul Reed aren’t listed on the team’s latest injury report, indicating that they’ve both cleared the protocols (Twitter links via Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia).
Of approximately 2,400 “tier 1” staffers working for NBA teams, there have been more than 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 this season, creating major challenges for franchises, writes Baxter Holmes of ESPN. “You’re basically taking an assembly of people who help the athletes and taking a few people off the line every few days for a week or more,” one athletic training official told ESPN. “It has interfered significantly with the regular protocols and people being given responsibilities/duties they don’t normally have or are even qualified to do in order to get the job done. It’s been the Wild Wild West.”

COVID-19 Updates: Wizards, Budenholzer, Celtics, Nance, Duarte, More

January 5th, 2022 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards are on the verge of replenishing their point guard depth, with Spencer Dinwiddie and Aaron Holiday now out of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both players will remain sidelined for at least one more game, however, as they work on their conditioning.

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

Mike Budenholzer has become the latest head coach to enter the health and safety protocols, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Darvin Ham will serve as the Bucks‘ acting head coach in Budenholzer’s absence.
Aaron Nesmith has exited the health and safety protocols, but another Celtics player – Payton Pritchard – has entered them, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
Trail Blazers big man Larry Nance Jr. entered the COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday, but it’s possible he’ll be able to clear them quickly. According to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter links), head coach Chauncey Billups said Nance registered an inconclusive test, so if he can return two consecutive negatives at least 24 hours apart, he’ll exit the protocols.
Pacers rookie Chris Duarte has cleared the protocols, though he’s doubtful to play in Wednesday’s game vs. Brooklyn, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
Cory Joseph, who was the last Pistons player in the protocols, has exited them, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Joseph remains unavailable for Wednesday’s game in Charlotte due to return to competition reconditioning.
Rookies Marko Simonovic (Bulls) and Brandon Boston Jr. (Clippers) were at their respective teams’ practices today and are no longer in the protocols (Twitter links via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago and Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times).
Other players who have cleared the protocols include Spurs forward Devontae Cacok and Mavericks rookie JaQuori McLaughlin. Cacok is out vs. Boston on Wednesday due to return to competition reconditioning (Twitter link via Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News), while McLaughlin is no longer on Dallas’ injury report.

Celtics Exercising 2022/23 Options On Nesmith, Pritchard

November 1st, 2021 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics are picking up their team options for 2022/23 on swingman Aaron Nesmith and guard Payton Pritchard, a league source tells Brian Robb of MassLive.com. The moves had been expected. Boston also exercised its ’22/23 options on Grant Williams and Romeo Langford, as we relayed earlier today.

The 14th overall pick in the 2020 draft, Nesmith averaged 4.7 PPG and 2.8 RPG with a .370 3PT% in 46 games (14.5 MPG) as a rookie. He’s off to a slow start this season, having missed his first 10 field goal attempts in three games, but the Celtics have seen enough from the 22-year-old to feel comfortable guaranteeing his $3,804,360 salary for ’22/23.

Pritchard, who was selected 12 spots after Nesmith at No. 26 in the 2020 draft, had a bigger role as a rookie, putting up 7.7 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .440/.411/.889 shooting in 66 games (19.2 MPG). He remains a part of Boston’s backcourt rotation and is under contract at a bargain rate — $2,137,440 this season and $2,239,200 in ’22/23.

We’re tracking all of the 2022/23 rookie scale option decisions right here.

Atlantic Notes: Pritchard, Brown, Toppin, Rose

February 12th, 2021 at 8:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Payton Pritchard has emerged as the top reserve on an otherwise thin Celtics bench, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes. Pritchard, who made six 3-pointers against Toronto on Thursday, has thrived as an off-the-ball guard whose shot opposing defenses have to respect. That provides Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with space to operate and the 26th pick in last year’s draft has also held his own defensively.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Brown is dealing with tendonitis in his left knee, radio show Toucher and Rich tweets. GM Danny Ainge said the team will keep close tabs on Brown’s knee issue. Brown has appeared in 22 of Boston’s 24 games entering Friday’s action, averaging 26 PPG in 33.2 MPG.
Knicks rookie forward Obi Toppin could reap benefits from playing with recently-acquired Derrick Rose, Steve Popper of Newsday notes. Toppin was fouled while dunking off a pass from Rose against Miami on Tuesday. Toppin could return to his rim-running ways in college, rather than be used a spot-up shooter. “Playing with him, he plays with speed. He looks to find guys,” Toppin said of Rose. “So playing with this team, period, is amazing, but Derrick, having him here now is amazing.”
The Knicks will start allowing a limited number of fans at Madison Square Garden on February 23 and Toppin is excited to finally play in front of a home crowd, he told Marc Berman of the New York Post. “We have the best fan base in the NBA,” he said. “It will be amazing to have fans. But safety is first. When that time comes for fans to be there we’ll love it.’

Payton Pritchard Out At Least Two Weeks With MCL Sprain

January 23rd, 2021 at 4:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Payton Pritchard has been sidelined by a Grade 1 MCL sprain in his right knee, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Celtics guard is expected to resume on-court activities in two weeks.

The injury occurred in the first quarter of Friday’s game against the Sixers when Jaylen Brown landed on Pritchard’s foot while chasing a rebound. Pritchard’s knee bent awkwardly and he had to be helped off the court.

The rookie out of Oregon has been a pleasant early-season surprise in Boston. He is averaging 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists through 14 games and has moved ahead of veteran guard Jeff Teague in the rotation.

The Celtics’ backcourt will be short-handed while Pritchard is out of action, notes Matt Vautour of MassLive. Kemba Walker, who returned from left knee soreness last weekend, is on a minutes restriction, while Carsen Edwards and Aaron Nesmith are already out of action.

Injury/Illness Updates: Herro, Pritchard, Wall, Wood, Porter Jr.

January 22nd, 2021 at 9:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Heat guard Tyler Herro returned to Miami on Friday for the remainder of the team’s four-game trip, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Herro seemed ready to return to action after practicing on Thursday but woke up Friday with more neck soreness. He has missed four consecutive games and will also be absent from Miami’s two-game set in Brooklyn against the Nets on Saturday and Monday.

We have more injury updates:

Celtics rookie guard Payton Pritchard suffered a right knee sprain against the Sixers on Friday and did not return, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Pritchard was injured during a “friendly fire” incident when Jaylen Brown fell on his leg. Coach Brad Stevens said afterward that Pritchard would undergo testing in the next day or two.
The Rockets are hopeful that John Wall and Christian Wood will be back in uniform on Tuesday for the team’s home game against Washington, Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire relays. Wall missed his fifth straight game on Friday due to knee soreness, while Wood didn’t make the trip to Detroit due to an ankle sprain.
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. returned to action on Friday after a 10-game absence, according to ESPN’s news feed. Porter had been sidelined due to the league’s healthy and safety protocols.

Kemba Walker To Miss Start Of Season

December 1st, 2020 at 8:31am CST by Dana Gauruder

Celtics point guard Kemba Walker will be sidelined until at least early January as he continues to rehab a left knee injury, according to a team press release.

After consulting several medical specialists in early October, Walker received a stem cell injection in the knee and was put on a 12-week strengthening program. He is expected to return to on-court activities early this month but he won’t be ready to play when the season begins.

Walker was hampered by left knee soreness prior to the stoppage of play in March and it continued to affect him during the restart. GM Danny Ainge admitted that team’s prized free agent acquisition in 2019 was “definitely not himself” during the playoffs.

Walker tried to gut it out and continued to play heavy minutes — he averaged 36.9 MPG in 17 postseason outings. He posted solid averages of 19.6 PPG and 5.1 APG during that span but his perimeter shooting suffered (31.0% from long range).

If Walker’s knee issues continues to linger, it could have a major impact on the team’s bottom line. He is due to make approximately $34.4MM during the upcoming season and $36MM in 2021/22. He has a $37.7MM option for the 2022/23 season.

However, Ainge believes Walker’s won’t miss too much time, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston tweets. Ainge talked about Walker on the Toucher and Rich radio show.

“I’m not worried about Kemba. He’ll be back,” Ainge said. “It’s an opportunity for Marcus (Smart), Jeff Teague, Payton Pritchard.”

Ainge feels the team has plenty of depth at that spot and doesn’t plan to pursue former Boston All-Star and current free agent Isaiah Thomas.

The press release also revealed that center Tristan Thompson suffered a minor hamstring strain during an offseason workout prior to arriving in Boston, and his availability during the first week of camp will be limited. Boston officially signed the former Cleveland big man on Monday.

Guard Romeo Langford‘s rehab from right wrist is going according to plan, the release adds. He underwent surgery on September 22nd to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in the wrist and the projected recovery time remains 4-5 months.

Celtics Sign Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard To Rookie Contracts

November 24th, 2020 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have officially signed their two 2020 first-round picks, Vanderbilt’s Aaron Nesmith and Oregon’s Payton Pritchard, to rookie scale contracts, the team announced today in a press release.

After playing a part-time role as a freshman, Nesmith was in the midst of a breakout sophomore year in 2019/20 before a stress fracture in his right foot brought his season to an early end in January. In 14 games (35.7 MPG), he averaged 23.0 PPG and 4.9 RPG with an impressive .512/.522/.825 shooting line. He said today that his foot is 100% healthy and that he’ll be ready for camp, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

As for Pritchard, he tested the draft waters in 2019 before returning to the Ducks for his senior season, which was the best of his college career. He averaged 20.5 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 4.3 RPG, while shooting 41.5% on three-pointers in 31 games (36.6 MPG) in 2019/20.

Nesmith, the No. 14 pick, projects to earn $16.5MM on his four-year contract, assuming he signs for the full allowable 120% of the rookie scale. The No. 26 pick, Pritchard will make $10.45MM on his four-year rookie deal.

Eastern Notes: Giannis, Hawks, Finch, Knicks

November 14th, 2020 at 3:48pm CST by JD Shaw

Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo briefly discussed his future with the team in a recent interview, explaining that his plans largely depend on whether Milwaukee is willing to make the necessary moves to contend.

“There are a lot of rumors. Everyone has opinions. But at the end of the day, I will do what is best for my family,” Antetokounmpo said in an interview with Swedish outlet Aftonbladet, as relayed by CBS Sports’ Jack Maloney. “I do not see why I could not be in Milwaukee for several years. As long as Milwaukee and I are on the same page when it comes to being one of the best teams in the league and winning championships, that’s fine. When it changes, it will not be good.

“It’s easy, I want to be a winner. I do not care about the money. My family is fine and I can take care of my children and grandchildren so that’s not the most important thing right now, it’s winning. As long as we can win and create a winning culture, it will be good.”

Antetokounmpo is eligible to sign a five-year, $228MM super-max extension with the Bucks this offseason, but the Most Valuable Player could also opt to bypass the extension and test free agency next offseason. He’s coming off a campaign which saw him average a career-high 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 30.4 minutes per game.

“I do not know what the plan is. It depends on what decisions they make,” Antetokounmpo continued. “If they make the right decision, I’ll be there for many years. If they do not, we’ll see. The NBA is business and we take it day by day. Hopefully we can succeed together.”

There’s more out of the Eastern Conference today:

The Hawks are expected to be “aggressive but smart” in free agency, a source tells Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Atlanta will seemingly prioritize the draft and adding more than one player in free agency, rather than spend for a star such as Fred VanVleet (unrestricted free agent) or Brandon Ingram (restricted free agent). “We’re not just going to pay a guy so we can look good on paper,” the source said.
Chris Finch is finalizing a deal to join Nick Nurse‘s coaching staff with the Raptors as an assistant, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Finch has a storied history with Nurse, Wojnarowski notes, with the veteran coach most recently spending time in Denver and New Orleans.
The Knicks are considering drafting Oregon’s Payton Pritchard with the No. 27 pick, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News tweets. Pritchard averaged 20.5 points, 5.5 assists and 36.6 minutes per game last season, shooting 47% from the floor and 42% from deep. New York also has the No. 8 and No. 38 selections in the draft, which is set to be held on November 18.

O’Connor’s Latest: Bucks, Mavs, LaVine, Gordon, More

November 12th, 2020 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks are active in trade discussions and have offered point guard Eric Bledsoe to multiple teams, league sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. As the Bucks look to upgrade their roster around reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and standout forward Khris Middleton, it sounds like they’re focusing on two-way forwards with defensive versatility — according to O’Connor, the club is pursuing Rockets veterans Robert Covington and P.J. Tucker.

O’Connor’s latest mock draft at The Ringer includes plenty of interesting tidbits, including a couple we’ve already passed along. Here are a few more highlights:

Multiple teams, including the Mavericks, have contacted the Bulls this offseason to inquire on Zach LaVine‘s availability, says O’Connor. It’s not clear if Chicago would have any interest in moving its leading scorer.
League sources tell The Ringer that the Magic have made efforts to move up into the lottery by attaching Aaron Gordon to their No. 15 selection.
O’Connor writes that the Suns are “hoping” to use their No. 10 pick in a trade for Chris Paul. That would seemingly contradict an earlier report that suggested Phoenix probably wouldn’t that pick in an offer for the Thunder point guard.
Executives around the NBA are fairly confident that Deni Avdija won’t fall past Cleveland at No. 5, according to O’Connor, who is the latest to report that the Cavaliers are high on the Israeli wing.
There has been increasing buzz surrounding Serbian forward Aleksej Pokusevski, with execs around the league increasingly believing that he’ll be a lottery pick, per O’Connor.
Oregon guard Payton Pritchard is receiving interest from multiple teams near the end of the first round, sources tell O’Connor. One of those sources thinks Pritchard may even have a promise.