Michael Porter Jr. has not played for the Denver Nuggets in the last week due to contact tracing that has put him in the league’s COVID-19 protocols that requires a player return seven straight negative tests before they can return to play after being deemed a close contact of someone who has tested positive.
Porter Jr. is far from the only player to end up in a contact tracing situation, as we’ve seen it with John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Durant, and others to start the season. However, on Thursday, word broke from The Athletic’s Shams Charania that Porter Jr., who just cleared his seven-day quarantine, has had 10-14 days added on.
Porter Jr. finished a seven-day quarantine this week due to contact tracing protocols, and now faces an additional quarantine period in the 10 to 14-day range, sources said. https://t.co/4Wc0sMjKp6
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 8, 2021
Given how the league’s COVID-19 protocols are written, the 10-plus day time frame would seem to indicate a positive test, as contact tracing calls for just a 7-day quarantine, like the one he entered last Thursday. In the four games he played at the start of this season, Porter Jr. averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game on strong efficiency, as he entered the starting lineup and performed well offensively as the Nuggets sorted things out. In his absence, Denver has gone 2-1 with both wins coming over the Timberwolves, and are in action currently against Dallas.
On the lower end of his new quarantine period, Porter Jr. would miss at least four more games for Denver (they play Utah in 10 days exactly), while the 14-day timeframe would mean he would miss six games. Will Barton has re-entered the starting lineup in Porter Jr.’s absence and may have to remain there for some more time.