Brooklyn Nets' Taurean Prince tests positive for coronavirus, will miss NBA restart
Yet another NBA player has tested positive for coronavirus in the lead-up to the season resumption in Orlando, Florida. This time, it's yet another Brooklyn Nets player in Taurean Prince.
The news comes just a few hours after teammate Spencer Dinwiddie also confirmed that he had tested positive and would not be traveling to Disney World Resorts. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski took to Twitter to confirm Taurean Prince's status for the NBA restart:
Prince was essentially ruled out and had no choice as the late nature of his positive test put the possibility of his NBA return in jeopardy.
Brooklyn Nets lose another key player
Prince is now the fourth Brooklyn Nets player to have contracted the virus and it certainly leaves the franchise in a hole. He, along with DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Wilson Chandler, have all tested positive and will subsequently miss the NBA resumption.
While the Nets have the option of signing four substitutes, there's little chance that those players will be able to match the dexterity of the aforementioned gentlemen.
Taurean Prince's 2019-20 NBA season so far
The Nets received Taurean Prince from the Atlanta Hawks via a trade at the beginning of the 2019-20 NBA season. While Prince hasn't been the most accurate shooter in the team, he certainly is a reliable volume scorer.
The forward has averaged 12 points per game for the Nets this season while making 33.9% of his attempts from downtown. He has also been a physical presence for the Brooklyn Nets this season, grabbing a career-high six rebounds per game.
Prince's best performance this season came on the road against the Houston Rockets back in November last year. He dropped 27 points with the help of six treys while also grabbing 12 boards to lead his side to victory. The Nets will certainly miss his services in the remainder of the NBA season.
Brooklyn Nets' troubled NBA campaign worsens further
The Brooklyn Nets made a lot of waves by securing the signatures of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the NBA offseason. Things have mostly gone south for the franchise since. Durant has missed the entire season due to injury while Irving himself has barely featured due to knee issues.
The Nets were in the ascendancy when the NBA season was suspended in March 2020. They had racked up three consecutive wins and looked set to finish the regular season on a high. Brooklyn Nets' first two games in the NBA restart will be against the likes of Orlando Magic and the Washington Wizards respectively.
Holding on to the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, the Nets have a rather easy strength of schedule as far as the eight seeding games as concerned. However, having lost almost half of their preferred players, the future doesn't look bright for Kenny Atkinson's side.