Taurean Prince tested positive for the coronavirus, which means that seven Brooklyn Nets players won’t be traveling with the team to Orlando.
The Brooklyn Nets roster continues to be decimated as we inch closer to the NBA’s resumption in Orlando later this month. Unfortunately for them, key rotational players continue to drop like flies in terms of their availability for the restart, and that narrative continued into Tuesday evening.
ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported that forward Taurean Prince tested positive for the coronavirus and will not travel with the team to Walt Disney World.
Brooklyn Nets forward Taurean Prince has tested positive for the coronavirus and will sit out the NBA’s restart in Orlando, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2020
That now makes a whopping seven Nets players that won’t be playing in the restart. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Nicolas Claxton all had pre-existing injuries and were never expected to participate. As far as the pandemic is concerned, Wilson Chandler opted out to prioritize the health and safety of his family. Additionally, both DeAndre Jordan and Spencer Dinwiddie recently contracted COVID-19, the latter of which is still experiencing symptoms, and neither joined Brooklyn on its flight on Tuesday.
Seriously, what is the NBA doing? We don’t normally come down on commissioner Adam Silver, but the Nets are dangerously close to not being able to field a competitive team. Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen and Joe Harris are nice players, but do we really expect them to ruffle any feathers once the playoffs start? Obviously not. They’d be swept in humiliating fashion. With virtually nothing to play for, competing in Orlando just wouldn’t be worth jeopardizing the health of the rest of the team. Why has nobody realized this?
https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1280634584854441984
We’re not entirely sure who holds the authority as it pertains to teams being pulled, but somebody needs to take charge — whether it be Silver or the Nets higher-ups — before the situation becomes uncontrollable.
If the NBA isn’t careful, this could be the domino that ends up derailing the restart operation, and that would be indefensible considering how easy it seems it would be to avoid that debacle.