Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse admits All-Star power forward Pascal Siakam was pretty agitated with his 14-day quarantine period.
The new Raptors franchise player wanted to see his brother Christian, but Nurse said that wasn't possible since Toronto had just played Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz.
Gobert was the first player in the NBA to test positive for COVID-19.
Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, in the middle of a magical All-Star season, didn't like that answer. He was particularly agitated when Nurse explained he could not have any contact during the 14-day quarantine period — not even with his brother Christian, a former college basketball player who is Siakam's roommate, workout partner, manager and constant companion.
“Pascal was struggling with it,” Nurse said. “He's saying to me, ‘What do you mean I can't see my brother? We do everything together.' I said, ‘No, dude. You have to stay away for now. You just played Rudy Gobert.'”
The Raptors had the second-best record in the East prior to play getting suspended. Siakam is only 26. He's not used to just sitting in his house and not being active.
This COVID-19 pandemic has really affected the world in a drastic manner. NBA owners would like to resume the season in the summer, but that's only possible if the virus dies down and the CDC says it's fine to resume basketball.
Siakam was averaging 23.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists for the Raptors. He was shooting 45.9 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from beyond the arc and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line.
Despite losing both Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, the Raptors were still one of the title contenders with Siakam leading the way.