He will unlikely be the last, but the NBA now has the third player who tested positive for COVID 19. Christian Wood of the Detroit Pistons joined Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz, whose infection last week led to the suspension of Season 2019-20. It was believed the Pistons center contracted the virus during the Jazz-Pistons game.
When Detroit last played against Utah, the two big men duked it out during the game in which Wood connected 30 points and hauled down 11 rebounds. Inevitably, he was hounded by Gobert all the time on the floor.
By the next game that saw Detroit going up against the Sixers, Wood complained of flu-like symptoms, and team officials ordered him tested for the virus. According to Yahoo Sports, the test returned positive for the novel coronavirus.
Of note, it was on the same day, which is March 11, that the NBA halted the games and ordered the season is suspended. It was thought to be a 30-day hiatus at first, but it is now expected that as the virus continues to spread in the United States and other parts of the world, the game suspension could last for an extended period.
Wood testing positive for COVID-19 came at a time that he is deemed having a breakout season for the Pistons. His surged was largely brought by the recent trade of Andre Drummond that led to the four-year veteran moving to the starting crew of Detroit, according to CBS Sports.
Since taking the spot left behind by Drummond, Wood has been turning impressive figures as he averaged 22.8 points and 9.9 rebounds. The expectation is Wood will be getting considerable attention when he enters free agency in July.
CBS said the Pistons inside operator would likely see his value increase, likely attracting a better offer if not from Detroit then for interested rivals.
However, things have changed for now, not only for Wood and the other affected players but also for the league. As the authorities struggle to contain the spread of the deadly bug, facts are now emerging that the games will not resume as planned. The U.S. government has discouraged the holding of events that will gather 50 or more people.
It doesn't look like that the NBA will be able to bring normalcy to the league soon, which certainly will redound to financial difficulties for personnel that only get paid when games are held.
To help ease the burden of the suspension of work, key NBA players have promised to donate $100,000 each that will go to the stadium workers while the league remains in hiatus. Gobert himself had pledged that he would add $500,000 to the pot.
In doing his share, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he would continue paying workers as if the games are continuing, Yahoo said.
