BROOKLYN Nets center DeAndre Jordan is skipping the 2019-2020 National Basketball Association (NBA) restart later this month after testing positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The 31-year-old Jordan announced the news on his Twitter account on Monday night (Tuesday in Manila), making it impossible for him to participate in the restart to be held at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, United States.
“Found out last night and confirmed again today I’ve tested positive for COVID while being back in market. As a result of this, I will not be in Orlando for the resumption of the season,” he said.
Jordan’s teammate Spencer Dinwiddie, meanwhile, said during an interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic he will likely skip the league restart as he also tested positive for COVID-19.
“Over the past few months, I have been diligent about protecting myself and others from COVID-19 by following all designated protocols and quarantining,” the point guard Dinwiddie said in a statement.
He added: “I was ready to rejoin my teammates. I flew private to return to New York, passed multiple COVID-19 tests over my first several days in New York and participated in a couple practices within the first week. Originally, we were supposed to be one of the teams to enter into the Orlando bubble early, but training camp got switched back to New York and unfortunately, I am now positive.”
Jordan will be the fourth player to officially skip the NBA restart, while his teammates Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and Nicolas Claxton are also out of action due to injuries.
Also opting out for the Nets is veteran forward Wilson Chandler who wants to spend more time with his family.
In other developments, the Los Angeles Lakers is finalizing the contract details of veteran guard J.R. Smith, Cleveland Cavaliers have signed Jordan Bell to a two-year contract and converted Dean Wade’s contract to a multi-year deal while Oklahoma City Thunders inked a two-way deal with Devon Hall./PN
