Several Rockets players facing seven-day quarantine due to positive COVID test
By Scott Rogust
The Houston Rockets are dealing with yet another positive COVID-19 test, forcing many close contacts to enter quarantine.
The Houston Rockets were supposed to being their season on Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, that game was postponed due to Houston not having the minimum eight players required to play, as the team received several positive or inconclusive tests. Unfortunately, the news only got worse for the Rockets 24 hours later.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Rockets are undergoing contact tracing after a staff member received a positive COVID-19 result. The tracing includes guard Eric Gordon and other players, per Charania.
Additionally, Charania reports that John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and several others are facing a seven-day quarantine due to the NBA’s contact tracing protocol.
Due to a separate positive test for a Houston Rockets staff member, there is additional contact tracing being performed that involves guard Eric Gordon and others, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 25, 2020
The Rockets have several players — including John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and possibly more — currently facing seven-day quarantine per NBA contact tracing protocol, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 25, 2020
Houston’s bad week continues
Wall and Cousins were sent home on Wednesday morning after being listed as close contacts to Rockets rookie K.J. Martin. Those three, along with other players, gathered at a teammate’s apartment away from the team facility on Tuesday night to get haircuts. Afterwards, three of the seven players either tested positive or received an inconclusive test. One of those players was Martin, but he received a negative result on his next test. He’s currently waiting for a test to confirm his original positive yielding.
The news only got worse later in the day, as Rockets star James Harden was fined $50,000 for violating the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols. After an investigation, the league determined that Harden was at a “private indoor event” with more than15 people in attendance. Harden was not wearing a mask at the party.
During an appearance on ESPN’s “The Jump,” commissioner Adam Silver revealed he opted against suspending Harden because “it’s Christmas” and that it “was his first offense.”
With this latest news, it’s unknown whether Houston’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers will go on as scheduled for Saturday. The NBA wanted to run the 2020-21 season outside of a bubbled environment, and they received their first official test one day in.
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