Williams to miss games for club trip
The NBA said Sunday that Clippers’ Lou Williams is being quarantined for 10 days because of his trip out of the league’s bubble last week to attend a family member’s funeral. He will miss at least two of the Clippers’ seeding games, including their July 30 opener against the Lakers. It’s possible he could miss more than two since his likely release will be Aug. 4, the day of the Clippers’ third seeding game.
The issue was not Williams leaving the bubble but that he also went to a club on that trip to Atlanta, and photographs of that visit — with him wearing a type of mask that the NBA distributed inside the bubble — appeared on social media.
That prompted an investigation by NBA security, and ultimately the 10-day ruling. Williams visited a club that he has often described as being his favorite restaurant, and the establishment even has chicken wings that are named for him on the menu. But by being in a group of people and potentially exposing himself to coronavirus, the NBA decided a longer quarantine was what’s required to ensure the safety of those in the bubble.
Pelicans’ Zion Williamson got only a four-day quarantine after leaving the bubble earlier this month for a family matter. Williamson received the shorter quarantine because was tested daily during his absence and continually was negative, plus satisfied other NBA requirements. The Clippers were not practicing Sunday and not expected to comment on the NBA’s ruling before Monday. They had 10 players available for their scrimmage game against the Wizards on Saturday. With Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Beverley also having left the bubble for personal reasons and now Williams gone for an extended absence, they’ll be short-handed.
“It’s a challenge, you know, because we only have 10 guys,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Saturday. “That makes it really challenging. There’s no breaks in practice, so you tend to not go as long. You feel like you don’t get half the stuff in that you want to get in. So no, it’s been a challenge. I’d love to say it hasn’t been, but it’s been a definite challenge.”