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NEW YORK – Kevin Durant will miss the next three games for the Nets before being eligible to join the team on Friday, coach Steve Nash said ahead of Saturday’s game against the 76ers.
Durant drove with a team employee who tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of Friday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors, sources told ESPN. NBA health and safety protocols state that any player who has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 must be quarantined for six days.
The Nets will be without Durant on Saturday against the Sixers and Tuesday and Wednesday against the Pistons and Pacers.
If Durant continues to test negative for COVID-19, he will be eligible to come back against his former team, the Golden State Warriors, on February 13.
Durant was maskless in a car on Friday with the team employee on three occasions, sources told ESPN. The Nets star drove with the employee to the training center for testing, home after testing and to the game. NBA COVID-19 guidelines prohibit players and staff from traveling together without wearing face masks.
The employee returned an inconclusive test result and the Nets informed the league office of the results on Friday afternoon. Minutes before the start of the game, the Nets were ordered to remove Durant from pre-game warm-ups. Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks was on the phone with the league office and informed the court.
Durant returned in the middle of the first quarter and helped the Nets come back from a once double-digit deficit.
“Durant was initially excluded from the game while this result was under review,” said a league statement released Friday night. “Under league health and safety protocols, we do not require a player to be quarantined until close contact has a confirmed positive test.”
The Nets staff member returned a positive test during the game and Durant was taken out in the third quarter after playing 19 minutes.
“I just don’t understand what he couldn’t play, then he came on the field and then they took him back,” Nets goalie James Harden said after the game. “There’s just a lot going on. Too much going on. It’s a bit overwhelming. We’re in the middle of a tough game, and these games are going to add up, especially if we’re talking about the playoff standings. … catching a rhythm It’s overwhelming. It’s frustrating.
“[Durant] feels the same. Especially with him who already has it and we are tested every day. He was negative. So I don’t understand what the problem is. The game should have been postponed, I feel like. If we are talking about contact tracing. He was around all of us. So I don’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to play, then allowed to play, then kicked off the pitch. If that was the case, we should have postponed the game. “
All other Nets players and staff continue to test negative for the coronavirus, sources told ESPN. The Raptors did not return any positive tests, sources said.
This is the second time Durant has to miss an extended period this season as part of the league’s contact tracing. In early January, Durant missed six days and three games after being exposed to another person who tested positive for COVID-19.
Durant, who had COVID-19 in March, has continued to record antibodies against the coronavirus and has tested negative for the virus seven times in the past three days, sources said.
NBA’s COVID-19 protocols don’t differentiate between players who have antibodies and those who don’t.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, antibodies are “proteins that help fight infections and may provide protection against relapse of this disease.” Scientists still do not know how much immunity the antibodies provide against reinfection. Durant is averaging 29.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 34.6 minutes of playing time for the Nets this season.
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