Brooklyn Nets roster down by seven members after Taurean Prince tests COVID-19 positive

With the NBA restart around the corner, Brooklyn Nets are at risk of sending a seriously thin roster to Orlando. Even before the plans of the NBA bubble in Orlando, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were ruled out for the season due to injury. Meanwhile, amid the recent coronavirus outbreak within the Nets roster, with every passing day, the list of Nets players not going to Orlando keeps on increasing.

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Thinning Nets roster: Taurean Prince coronavirus test comes back positive

Forward Taurean Prince is the latest player in the Nets roster to test positive for the virus and subsequently ruled himself out for the NBA restart. Prince is the seventh Nets player not going to Orlando after Kevin Durant (Achilles), Kyrie Irving (shoulder), rookie Nic Claxton (shoulder surgery), Spencer Dinwiddie (coronavirus), DeAndre Jordan (coronavirus) and Wilson Chandler (opted out). 

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Nets Roster: Nets players with coronavirus

DeAndre Jordan announced his decision to sit out the rest of the NBA season after he tested positive for the virus.

Point guard Spencer Dinwiddie confirmed that he had tested positive for the virus along with Jordan. Dinwiddie initially said he was unclear about his participation in the NBA season at Disney World and would be re-evaluating his condition before making a decision. 

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However, after testing positive for a second time, Dinwiddie announced his decision to opt out of the season which he said "is in the best interest" for the player and the team.

With most of the starters in the Nets roster ruled out for the season, the onus will lie on the likes of Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen to step up for Eastern Conference side. Nets are seventh in the conference standings with a 30-34 (win-loss) record. While they are favourites to qualify for the playoffs, with such a thin roster, the Nets could fall to eighth if results don't go their way. This would mean that the Nets would face the daunting task of playing the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. 

NBA players to sit out restart

Houston Rockets' Thomas Stefalosha, Dallas Mavericks' Willie Cauley-Stein, Los Angeles Lakers' Avery Bradley, Washington Wizards' Davis Bertans, are among the NBA players to sit out of the season.

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(Image Credits: NBA Website)