Well, that didn’t take very long.
Less than a week into Bulls training camp, the team revealed on Sunday that veteran free-agent guard Garrett Temple has been in isolation since Nov. 28, after testing positive for the coronavirus.
The good news? It seems to be contained, with Temple the only key member of the organization currently under the protocol.
“I tested positive for the coronavirus last Saturday [Nov.28], so about nine days ago,’’ Temple said in a Zoom call. “Since then, I’ve been quarantined here in the hotel. I am in Chicago. I’ve done the contact tracing. I’m pretty sure I know I got it from a family member. I was in Louisiana during Thanksgiving. My family got together, and I believe I got it from a family member. Most of my family did not get it, which was good. My dad, my mom, nobody over 60, nobody with underlying conditions has it, which is great. My wife and my son are both negative, which is great. That’s where we are today.’’
Where Temple will be in a few days?
That remains to be seen.
The NBA protocol demands that a player may only return to action after 10 days since their last positive test. According to Temple, he’s hoping to be back Wednesday.
He’s been negative and said he was past “most of the symptomatic stages.’’
That doesn’t mean the virus didn’t take a toll on him.
“I don’t usually get headaches,’’ Temple said. “So a headache, I was like, ‘This is not normal.’ And then I talked to other people. And the headache, that was the biggest thing for me at first. There was some fatigue. The worst was the day I tested positive. I just had a lot of fatigue.’’
So while the rest of his teammates started group practices and scrimmages this weekend, what has Temple been doing to get ready for the season?
The nice thing for Temple, 34, is this is his 10th NBA training camp. In other words, this isn’t his first rodeo.
“It’s unfortunate for Garrett, but I think being a veteran guy and as much film as we can kind of send him and get him up to speed on what we’re doing, I think will be helpful,’’ coach Billy Donovan said.
There was a reason Donovan was knocking on wood Sunday, as the coach knew a major bullet was dodged with just one positive result coming up with his players.
Yes, in signing Temple for $4.7 million this offseason as one of their few roster additions, it would have been nice to have him in camp and getting acclimated to his new team, but Donovan was confident that cramming won’t be an issue for his guard. The bigger picture is how fragile this season can be.
“The thing that was interesting is even though we’re testing every single day, that test is just a very short window and snapshot of where you’re at that moment in time,’’ Donovan said. “Two hours later, you can pick up the virus.
“And it’s going to be hard. I think when you see the number of cases spiking around the country like you do now, I think these guys are trying to do the best job they can to keep themselves safe and healthy. I think every team understands that if it goes through your organization, it’s going to be really hard. You’re talking about missing weeks.
“It’s going to be a challenging year with travel and practice and games. It’s going to be really hard. There’s no bubble. The Orlando situation was really a confined, restricted venue where I think everybody felt like, ‘OK, we’re really in a good spot here. The virus is not inside this bubble.’ But right now, we’re back in the real world and you don’t know what can potentially happen.’’
