Positive tests shred Nets starting five
Already without two stars, Brooklyn starting roster further gutted by positive tests
NEW YORK—A couple of positive tests could leave the Brooklyn Nets with a gutted starting roster going into the planned NBA restart. Already down two injured stars, the Nets lost starters Spencer Dinwiddie and Deandre Jordan after both said on Monday they had tested positive for the coronavirus. Brooklyn already is without superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving due to various injuries
NEW York—spencer Dinwiddie and Deandre Jordan said on Monday they have tested positive for the coronavirus, potentially leaving the Brooklyn Nets without two starters when the NBA season resumes.
Jordan said he won’t be in Florida with the Nets when they return from the suspension of the 2019-20 season, while Dinwiddie said he was experiencing symptoms and it was unclear if he would be at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex.
“Found out last night and confirmed again today that I’ve tested positive for COVID while being back in market. As a result of this, I will not be in Orlando for the resumption of the season,” Jordan said on Monday on Twitter.
Guard Dinwiddie told The Athletic that he had experienced symptoms “including fever and chest tightness.”
At least six players on the Nets have tested positive for the virus. The other four were back in March, when Kevin Durant said he was one of them.
Both players said they tested positive after returning to New
Found out last night and confirmed again today that I’ve tested positive for COVID while being back in market. As a result of this, I will not be in Orlando for the resumption of the season DEANDRE JORDAN Brooklyn center, on Twitter
York to rejoin the team. Some players left the city, which was a hot spot at the time, after the NBA halted play.
Dinwiddie said he tested negative for the virus multiple times after returning to Brooklyn and took part in a couple practices. But he has since tested positive.
His absence would be a significant blow to the Nets, given he has played so well this season with Kyrie Irving out of the lineup because of injuries. He is averaging 20.6 points.
Jordan signed with the Nets last summer along with Durant and Irving. The 2016 US Olympic gold medalist spent most of the season as a reserve but had moved into the starting lineup for both games after Jacque Vaughn replaced Kenny Atkinson as coach in March. Jordan, 31, is averaging 8.3 points and 10 rebounds through 56 games (six starts) this season.
Durant had been previously ruled out for the season. On Sunday, another Nets player, forward Wilson Chandler, ruled himself out of the NBA’S restarted season, citing safety fears because of the coronavirus.
Chandler told ESPN he had opted to skip the restart in Orlando in order to spend more time with his family.
The Nets have a half-game lead over Orlando for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. They are set to face the Magic on July 31 in their first game back.
Meanwhile, league organizers have agreed to paint NBA courts with the words “Black Lives Matter” when the basketball season resumes next month in Florida, US media reports said.
NBA stars have been prominent supporters of the antiracism protests that swept across the United States following the death in May of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in police custody.
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are planning to paint the slogan inside the sidelines of all three arenas at Disney World in Orlando, ESPN reported on Monday.