Jazz guard Mike Conley is in quarantine, but has not tested positive for COVID-19

SALT LAKE CITY – Mike Conley is in quarantine again.

When the Utah Jazz opened team practices on Friday for the first time at training camp, their starting point goalie was not with them. Instead, Conley was alone in a room, one day closer to testing himself.

With this, the Jazz got a glimpse of what should be an odd season.

Conley has not tested positive for COVID-19 – in fact, he has had a lot of negative tests – but he has had close contact with someone (a family friend) who tested positive. According to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, that was enough to quarantine him. He was one of two jazz players to be missed on Friday due to COVID protocols. The team did not announce who the second player was or whether he had tested positive for the virus.

As for Conley, he arrived in Salt Lake City last Saturday. He has been alone in a room ever since.

“Unfortunately, today I couldn’t make it to the first day of camp due to close contact,” said Conley. “A relative of my family has COVID, so I’ve been in quarantine for a while trying to get around NBA protocols so I can get back to it.”

Conley said he is due to have seven negative tests in a row, a mark he expects to achieve on Monday.

Conley’s quarantine period will be long at the start of the season – the Jazz open their campaign on December 23 in Portland – but it should serve as an early reminder of how just contact with someone can have a big impact on l ‘team. Conley doesn’t have COVID-19, but he’s still running out of time.

“I’m living it right now firsthand. It’ll be a different year for sure, because in my situation right now – like I’m not positive for COVID at all, but I’m actually going to miss eight to ten. days, ”Conley said.

In season, it would be a lot of games.

“It’s not football where you play once a week; we play two, three, maybe four times a week,” Donovan Mitchell said last week.

Although Conley’s quarantine arrived early, it is likely that the Jazz will have to play games this season without some players due to the COVID protocol. Conley said Utah’s depth and resilience would be key to getting through these times. It should be noted, however, that the Jazz does not have much depth at the guard line. Mitchell and Conley are expected to stagger the playmaker’s minutes, with a few Joe Ingles thrown in there. The only other point guard on the list is Nigel Williams-Goss.

“We’re going to take it as it takes it, and roll with the punches, and make the most of a situation that isn’t that ideal,” Conley said.

He said quarantine hasn’t been easy, being confined to a room while his teammates prepare for the season. He stuck with an exercise bike for training and video calls with his team to stay in the know. And staying in touch, he said, was key to making this odd season work. The semi-good news for Conley: he’s a bit used to it. He had to quarantine himself after leaving the Disney bubble to be his wife for the birth of the couple’s son in August.

So at least he knows how to get by. But he hopes he doesn’t have to go back.

“Our team, our coaches and our players really got me involved,” said Conley. “I think that’s the most important part, it’s just trying not to stray too far from your routine – which is hanging out with these guys every day and working out every day and having a ball in it. hand every day. And try not to go crazy while you are locked in a room. “

The Jazz may not have had Conley on Friday, but Bojan Bogdanovic is back.

Head jazz coach Quin Snyder said Bogdanovic “was able to do anything” in his first team training session since his wrist surgery in May.

“He was excited, as much as Bojan can show his excitement,” Snyder joked. “He sounded pretty excited.”

Friday also marked the return of Derrick Favors to a jazz practice environment – something everyone was happy to see. While Favors said it was initially a bit strange to be back where he spent part of nine seasons, it all came back pretty quickly.

“Coming back and just seeing the coaches and the players, getting to know the system and just being in the gym – that was normal again,” Favors said. “I was happy and excited to resume training.