The Los Angeles Lakers will, in fact, have Russell Westbrook available to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, as Westbrook has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
On Thursday, Westbrook and Avery Bradley joined their Lakers teammates Dwight Howard, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Malik Monk in COVID-19 protocols. However, Westbrook has already been released from protocols — indicating that they each produced two negative PCR tests 24 hours apart.
Two weeks earlier, LeBron James was placed in isolation for two days after producing what turned out to be a false positive COVID-19 test.
The Lakers signed Isaiah Thomas on Thursday using the hardship exemption, which enables teams to exceed the 15-player roster limit to sign a player on a 10-day contract if they have four or more players out with injury or illness for three or more games.
Los Angeles is also listing Trevor Ariza — who hasn’t played all season following ankle surgery — as questionable for the Wolves matchup, presumably to have an extra body in case of emergency. Ariza is not expected to play. With Westbrook and Monk’s surprise availability, it seems unlikely that Ariza nor Thomas will make their Lakers debut in Minnesota.
Beyond the aforementioned players, Los Angeles has had multiple members of their traveling party placed in league protocols on their current three-game road trip, including assistant coach Phil Handy and broadcasters Bill Macdonald and Mychal Thompson.
The Lakers are 100% vaccinated against COVID-19. Frank Vogel said the organization is encouraging booster shots, though it’s unknown how many Lakers players have received a booster.
Follow Us
Subscribe