WASHINGTON (AFP) – Two players for the Golden State Warriors and another for the Washington Wizards have tested positive for Covid-19, the NBA clubs announced Tuesday as individual 2020-21 pre-season workouts began.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said his club delayed the start of individual player workouts until Wednesday, with group sessions to start next week.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks said an unidentified player on his roster has tested positive and will be unable to participate in training camp this week.
The NBA’s health-and-safety protocol says any player who tests positive, even if not displaying symptoms of the virus, must wait 10 days or test negative twice at least 24 hours apart and then be monitored in individual workouts for two more days before he can return to the club.
Solo workouts are set through Saturday with five days of group workouts starting Sunday before NBA pre-season games begin December 11 and the regular season starts December 22.
Among those starting work Tuesday were the Brooklyn Nets, with Kyrie Irving and injured Kevin Durant set to take the court together for the first time later this month.
Durant, a two-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player and 2014 NBA MVP, has been recovering from the Achilles injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals playing for the Warriors while Irving played only 20 games last season before a right shoulder injury shut down his season.
New Nets coach Steve Nash said the pair were ”healthy, in shape and looking great” but it remains to be determined how they will be used in pre-season games.
Durant said he feels ”good” and has worked out with Irving up to five times a week to prepare for the season.
”I am excited about the first day and putting on my practice jersey again,” Durant said. ”It was a cool feeling.”
Walker gets stem
cell injection
In New York, Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker will miss the start of the 2020-21 NBA season after receiving a stem cell injection in his left knee, the team announced Tuesday.
Walker was an All-Star last season when he averaged 21.2 points, a team-high 4.9 assists and 4.1 rebounds a game for the Celtics.
The 30-year-old will be sidelined until early January as he works to strengthen his knee. The upcoming campaign begins on December 22 with pre-season contests starting next week.
Walker consulted with multiple specialists in early October and was put into a 12-week program to boost his leg strength.
While he is expected to start on-court work early in December, his status for games will not be determined until the first week of January at the earliest, the team said.
The Celtics also said second-year guard Romeo Langford, who had successful surgery in September on a torn right wrist ligament, continues rehabilitating his injury and forward Tristan Thompson suffered a hamstring strain during an off-season workout.
