Guard D'Angelo Russell became the eighth Timberwolves player added to the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols, a source confirmed Saturday.
D'Angelo Russell is latest Timberwolves player on COVID-19 protocols
The coronavirus continued it sweep through the team, with the veteran point guard now joining several teammates on the sidelines.
December 25, 2021 at 6:59PM
With Russell's addition, the entire Wolves starting lineup is in the protocols — Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Patrick Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt — in addition to Taurean Prince, Josh Okogie and McKinley Wright.
The Wolves don't play again until Monday at home against Boston, and they could get Edwards and Prince back, who will have spent the NBA-mandated 10 days in quarantine since their initial positive test.
Other players can return if they record two negative tests at least 24 hours apart. Russell scored 19 points and had 14 assists as a makeshift Wolves lineup lost at Utah on Thursday.
The NBA is considering shortening the amount of time players have to sit out under the protocols from 10 to potentially six days, according to multiple reports.
The Wolves have said they are fully vaccinated, and recently coach Chris Finch said most of the players had received booster shots against COVID-19.
The players communicated through a group text chain to pull themselves out of a four-game losing streak. But the thread is used for other ways to bond and build camaraderie.
