Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has been pulled out of the NBA restart due to caution regarding his positive COVID-19 test.
A number of NBA players (and Brooklyn Nets) have opted out of the league’s resumption operation in Orlando later this month. It goes without saying that most of these players are on teams that have no chance at competing for a championship and therefore don’t find it necessary to risk their health to compete in a handful of meaningless games.
According to insider Shams Charania of The Athletic, Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie joined that growing list of absentees on Tuesday after adhering to the advice of team doctors.
The Nets’ team doctors decided to have guard Spencer Dinwiddie sit the NBA restart out of an abundance of caution, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2020
Dinwiddie tested positive for COVID-19 last week, so this news is hardly surprising. The 27-year-old revealed on Twitter yesterday that he would be cleared to return to the hardwood if he wasn’t displaying any symptoms.
However, as recently as this past weekend, Dinwiddie was still experiencing morning headaches and would have random spells of dizziness and weakness. The former second-round pick responded to the disheartening news with an emotional tweet in which he asserted that he would support his Nets teammates once the season resumes, and agreed with the doctors’ decision.
After another positive test yesterday and considering the symptoms, @BrooklynNets, team doctors and I have decided that it would be in the best interest for me and the team that I do not play in Orlando. I will be supporting the guys every step of the way! #AudienceOfOne
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) July 7, 2020
Considering that Dinwiddie was still showing symptoms exactly a week after testing positive, him sitting out was a no-brainer decision. As for the Nets, his absence doesn’t bode well for their chances to advance beyond the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, though Bradley Beal’s absence will make it easy enough for them to hold off the Wizards and advance to the postseason. The team will already be without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, who are recovering from injury. Additionally, DeAndre Jordan and Wilson Chandler both recently opted out due to health and safety concerns.
Now, you have to think that Brooklyn’s offense will run entirely through Caris LeVert, who was posting 17.7 points per game when play was halted.