The Sacramento Kings canceled practice Thursday and there is internal concern about the number of players who will be available for Friday's game due to COVID-19 cases.
The team shut down the team's practice facility inside Golden 1 Center after "substantial" positive COVID-19 tests within the roster and staff, according to sources, speaking to ABC10's Sean Cunningham on the condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The Kings then added De'Aaron Fox, Alex Len and Louis King to the NBA's COVID health & safety protocols on Thursday night.
Those players join Marvin Bagley III and Terence Davis on that list and all but Fox and Len have been ruled out for Friday's game against Memphis. Fox and Len are listed as doubtful for Friday's game, as there is a possibility that each player could produce a negative test.
Interim head coach Alvin Gentry, along with Bagley and Davis, were added to the health & safety protocols list on Wednesday night, before the Kings faced the Washington Wizards.
Assistant coach Doug Christie replaced Gentry as head coach and picked up a 119-105 victory over the Wizards in his head coaching debut.
The Kings are scheduled to face the Memphis Grizzlies Friday at 7 p.m. The Kings are 12-17.
A team must have a minimum of eight players available to play to avoid the postponement of a game.
A total of 22 players have entered the NBA's health and safety protocols over the past two days.
It underscores what league officials have been saying for weeks: The pandemic is still very much a problem and that’s why Friday is such a priority. Friday is Booster Day, when the latest NBA guidelines will be implemented.
The NBA has seen a rash of COVID-19 outbreaks lately, leading even to the league's first postponement of games. The Chicago Bulls had to postpone two games as 10 players entered the league’s health and safety protocols.
In order to return to the team, an individual must quarantine for a minimum of 10 days under the NBA's COVID-19 protocols, or produce two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
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