Warriors confirm Wiggins is now vaccinated, will play on Monday
Golden State Warriors swingman Andrew Wiggins, who initially said he did not want to get vaccinated against COVID-19, now has received the vaccine, coach Steve Kerr said Sunday.
Due to a local health order in San Francisco that prevents unvaccinated people from entering certain large indoor spaces, Wiggins had been in danger of being held out of Warriors home games.
The Canadian from Vaughan, Ont., also would have forfeited salary for those missed games, under the NBA'S current COVID policy. Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, another prominent NBA anti-vaxxer, faces a similar health order in New York City.
Wiggins, 26, applied for a religious exemption with the NBA but was denied, with the San Francisco Department of Public Health adding it would not consider exemptions of any kind.
“I'm confident in my beliefs and what I think is right, what I think is wrong,” Wiggins said at the Warriors' pre-season media day Monday. “I'm just going to keep doing what I believe.”
But Kerr told reporters Sunday that Wiggins is now inoculated and will play in Golden State's pre-season opener Monday against the host Portland Trail Blazers.
Wiggins, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2014, is entering his eighth NBA season. He has played for Golden State since a February 2020 trade with Minnesota, where he played the first five-plus seasons of his career and won 2014-15 Rookie of the Year honours.
The San Antonio Spurs won't get to see new forward Zach Collins in action for a couple of months, coach Gregg Popovich said, per the San Antonio Express-news.
Collins is still recovering from a third surgery on his left ankle on June 29.
Popovich said Saturday that the latest information from the team's medical staff pointed to a return some time “after Christmas.”
Collins, who can also play centre, agreed to a three-year, Us$22-million deal with San Antonio after injuries marred his final two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The 23-year-old played only 11 games over the past two seasons, and did not play at all in 202021, after a series of injuries to his shoulder and ankle. Originally the 10th overall pick in the 2017 draft by Sacramento and traded to Portland on draft night, Collins has averaged 5.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 17.5 minutes per game in 154 games (12 starts) with the Trail Blazers.
Collins was not tendered a qualifying offer by Portland, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
Argentine point guard Luca Vildoza, signed by the New York Knicks amid fanfare in May, was waived Sunday by the team.
Vildoza signed a four-year, non-guaranteed deal worth a reported US$13.6 million on May 6. One of Europe's premier playmakers, the Vildoza, 26, was expected to be one of the top free agents available after the 2020-21 season.
ESPN reported then that the Knicks had both the salary-cap room and the open roster space needed to get a jump on the competition and sign him.
New York reportedly negotiated a buyout with his team, Baskonia, to acquire the 6-foot-3 Vildoza. He led the team to a championship and was named MVP of the 2020 Spanish ACB finals.
He appeared in two summer league games in Las Vegas and was held scoreless.
In the 2020-21 season, he averaged 10.1 points per game on 41 per cent shooting in 25.2 minutes per game. He shot 38 per cent from beyond the arc.
Internationally, Vildoza helped Argentina win a gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games and silver medals at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and 2017 FIBA Americup. He also played for Argentina at the 2020 Olympics.