Brooklyn Nets forward Taurean Prince has tested positive for the coronavirus and has been ruled out of the NBA's restart in Orlando, sources tell ESPN.
Prince is the fourth Nets player -- including DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie and Wilson Chandler -- who won't participate in the league's restart due to the virus.
Jordan and Dinwiddie tested positive for the coronavirus, and Chandler's decision was centered around family considerations. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are sitting out the restart as they rehabilitate injuries.
The late-timing of Prince's positive test for the coronavirus caused him to be announced out of the restart, with the necessary protocols in place ultimately placing in jeopardy his body's build up back to basketball.
Prince's ability to recover and reach optimum playing shape became a more difficult intention given the time he would be losing with protocols needed to return to the floor in Orlando. The ramp-up in practice time needed once he had satisfied testing protocols on negative tests, traveled separately to Florida, quarantined for several days and only then resumed workouts made his participation even prohibitive for a July 30 tip-off on a roster already decimated with injuries.
The Nets have four roster spots unfilled to sign substitute players for the restart.
Prince, 26, started 61 of 64 matches with the Nets after arriving in a trade from Atlanta last summer. He averaged 12 points and six rebounds. Prince signed a two-year, $29 million extension in October.
In addition, Justin Anderson, who has agreed to join the Nets as a replacement for Wilson Chandler, has yet to officially sign. Bringing players to the “bubble” after the team arrives is more cumbersome, demanding longer quarantines, meaning less practice time for the re-opening which for the Nets is July 31.
Marc Stein reported earlier Tuesday that the Nets had veteran big Amir Johnson on their radar as a replacement back-up in the front court. Johnson, a 33-year-old veteran of the NBA, didn’t play at all this season. He last played for the 76ers in 2018-19.
