Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press
The NBA is reportedly investigating the activities of Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard Lou Williams during his excused absence from the bubble near Orlando, Florida, as the league seeks to determine how long he needs to be quarantined again, according to Ramona Shelburne and Bobby Marks from ESPN.
Shelburne offered more details on the situation:
Ramona Shelburne @ @ramonashelburne
Sources told ESPN that Williams had been interviewed by NBA security about his whereabouts while he was off campus, and were told that he went to the Magic City gentlemen’s club for a short time Thursday night.
As ESPN’s Bobby marks He noted that a four-day quarantine would mean Williams could join the Clippers in time for their first restart game on July 30 against the Lakers. However, if you are forced to quarantine for 10 days, you will lose the team’s first two games and you will lose $ 150,000 in salary.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times Williams was back with the team in Orlando, but the organization was not happy to see those images online.
“Obviously those came out and that’s something we obviously don’t enjoy seeing or liking.” he said.
Based on a Williams Live Instagram post, it looks like he left the bubble to attend a funeral:
With Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell also leaving the bubble for personal reasons, and Landry Shamet and Ivica Zubac will not be traveling with the team to Orlando earlier this month, and all will need to quarantine upon arrival, the Clippers may begin a resumption of the quite short season- delivered:
That shouldn’t matter much beyond the possible planting repercussions. At 44-20, the Clippers have secured a playoff spot and currently sit as the No. 2 team in the Western Conference. They’re unlikely to make up the 5.5 games the Lakers follow, leaving them to stop the Denver Nuggets (1.5 games behind the Clippers) and the Utah Jazz (2.5 games behind) for second place.
However, where it could affect them is to get back to a rhythm by playing together before the postseason. Few teams are heading to the restart with more key players potentially forced to waste time than the Clippers.
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