Hawks' Trae Young, Lakers Coach Frank Vogel Enter Protocols As NBA Numbers Rise

Hawks guard Trae Young was placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols Sunday, as was Lakers coach Frank Vogel, as coronavirus numbers around the league continued to rise.

Atlanta's game against Cleveland was postponed Sunday, as the Cavaliers are dealing with an outbreak, and the Nuggets–Nets and Pelicans–76ers games have also been postponed.

The Cavaliers had five players test positive Sunday, according to a person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not released a list announcing who has entered the league’s health and safety protocols. Those positive tests came almost simultaneously to the Hawks putting Young in the protocols, though Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said no other members of his team were on the list.

ESPN first reported the Cavaliers–Hawks postponement.

Meanwhile, Vogel won’t be on the bench when the Lakers play at Chicago on Sunday. David Fizdale will coach the Lakers in Vogel’s place, the team said.

The Bulls are returning to the court after having two games postponed last week. Through Saturday’s games, those were the only games the NBA had pushed back during this outbreak—with more than 50 players placed on the protocols list in recent days.

“It is what it is. Just trying to stay safe as possible and that’s all you can do,” Lakers guard Russell Westbrook said of the NBA’s rising numbers. Westbrook was briefly in the protocols late last week, before returning at least three negative tests and being cleared to return to play without missing a game.

The league and the National Basketball Players Association have been discussing a plan in which teams in desperate need of players would be able to sign reinforcements to 10-day contracts but without those deals impacting salary cap and luxury tax figures. That deal has not yet been finalized, though talks are continuing.

Brooklyn has a league-high 10 players currently in the league’s health and safety protocols, including Kevin Durant, James Harden and—even though he’s still not yet able to play—Kyrie Irving, who has sat out all season for not complying with New York City’s vaccine mandate. The team reversed course Friday and said Irving would be welcomed back “for games and practices in which he is eligible to participate,” meaning road games except for those in San Francisco, which also mandates vaccines.

The Nets had eight players available Saturday for their game against Orlando; the Magic had nine players available for that game.