Nets' James Harden, Bruce Brown now in COVID-19 protocols

The Nets suddenly have seen seven players placed into the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols within the last day. All-Star guard James Harden and versatile swingman Bruce Brown have joined five other afflicted comrades on the sidelines for Brooklyn, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

It was reported earlier that Nets role players LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap, DeAndre’ Bembry, Jevon Carter, and James Johnson are all in the NBA’s coronavirus protocols.

Brooklyn currently has just reached the league minimum for available players to stave off a cancelation of its scheduled game against the Raptors tonight. In addition to the team’s seven coronavirus-related absences, they are also still missing COVID-19 vaccine holdout Kyrie Irving and injured wing Joe Harris. Though All-Star forward Kevin Durant had been listed as questionable due to a sore ankle, he is set to suit up for the Nets now, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN (via Twitter).

Bontemps notes in a separate tweet that both Brown and Harden had been in the Nets’ home arena, the Barclays Center, ahead of the team’s game against Toronto this evening. Brown had apparently even been warming up on the hardwood before he received the bad news.

Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets that the Nets will be able to sign five players via hardship exception due to this swath of absences. Marks adds that Brooklyn will be dinged $500K towards it luxury tax payments this season per each additional player among these hardship exceptions.

The league recently postponed two games this week for the Bulls, currently missing as many as 10 players due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Should further spread of the virus among the Brooklyn locker room continue, it remains to be seen whether or not the league will take similar precautions.