2 Warriors players test positive for COVID-19
Two Warriors players have tested positive for COVID-19, delaying the start of training camp one day, general manager Bob Myers told reporters Tuesday.
The team declined to name the players who tested positive. Originally planned to start individual workouts Tuesday, players will instead begin those workouts Wednesday. A maximum of four players and four coaches can be in the facility at a time before group workouts open next week.
All players on Golden State’s roster were tested, according to Myers.
Those who tested positive will quarantine until cleared to join the team, in adherence with NBA policy.
“I don’t think this is unexpected with all the people coming back in,” Myers said. “It proves that the protocols and testing is working, that was the whole point — to catch these things before we begin.”
In order to return to the team, according to a memo sent to teams obtained by The Athletic, 12 days must pass from the player’s first positive test result,
the player cannot be showing symptoms and must be cleared by both a team and league-designated physician.
The Warriors will play three preseason games beginning Dec. 12 against Denver. The NBA’s regular season opens Dec. 22. As of now, those games will be played at San Francisco’s Chase Center. Last week, Santa Clara County ruled outdoor sports could not be played, forcing the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers to relocate.
As the regular season nears, more positive coronavirus tests across the NBA should be expected. A single positive test could result in multiple games missed. Health concerns aside, a key player falling ill will have outsize impact on his team during a compressed 72-game schedule.
The Warriors have more depth than last season after an offseason that yielded James Wiseman, Kelly Oubre Jr., Kent Bazemore and Brad Wanamaker. They will have a pair of twoway players who can step up from the G League in the case of players missing games. Also, Myers can use the disabled-player exception and the remaining value of the mid-level exception to sign free agents if needed.
“Yeah, if they had a GM handbook and you looked in the appendix,” Myers said, “there’s not going to be ‘ what to do in a pandemic.’”