A ninth Net had the coronavirus
Justin Anderson finally rejoined the Nets for Tuesday’s practice in Orlando, Fla., a journey that seemed winding and interminably long. Now the burly forward revealed why: He’d been the ninth Net to have positive for COVID-19.
Kevin Durant and three others tested positive in March, Michael Beasley, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan and Taurean Prince in recent weeks. Anderson had multiple positive tests during the shutdown, before finally clearing quarantine just in time for the Nets’ first scrimmage Wednesday against New Orleans.
“It’s something we wanted to try and keep in-house because we weren’t quite sure when we’d be able to pass the protocols,” Anderson said on a Zoom call. “Battling between negative and positive tests, battling between trying to make sure I got here in a car service rather than a plane to make sure I continue to follow protocol. It was just a long journey.”
It’s been an odyssey that’s taken months.
After a January cameo with Brooklyn on a 10-day deal, Anderson had been with G-League Long Island when play was suspended. He eventually went home to Atlanta, expected to use the hiatus to recharge and wait for the return. Instead he tested positive for coronavirus.
“That’s when I got the call that I’d quarantine there once I got tested in Atlanta,” Anderson said. “First positive, then a negative, then a positive, followed up with more back-and-forth results.”
Anderson wasn’t symptomatic, just stressed because he wanted to get signed.
“Then I realized there were some positive tests and things before that,” Anderson said. “It was just a really weird and unfortunate situation. But credit to [agent] Mark Bartelstein: He kept me positive and optimistic and kept my mental really good to prepare me to get here. We worked together and I’m glad it finally happened.”
It didn’t happen until a long road trip to Orlando, and another quarantine that started July 13 outside the NBA bubble.
“[I] spent time here in Orlando outside of the bubble, about five days to get everything situated and past the protocol with two negative tests,” Anderson, 27, said. “It was a process, and I’m just glad that I’m finally here.”