Report: Excused NBA Bubble Absence Requires 4 Days Quarantine, 10 for Unexcused
With 22 NBA teams set to enter a "bubble" at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, the league has instituted different policies for excused and unexcused absences.
As ESPN's Malika Andrews explained on The Jump Friday, if a player leaves with an excused absence for less than seven days and returns with a negative test, they would need to quarantine for four days before joining the rest of their team.
If a player leaves due to an unexcused absence, he will be forced to quarantine for at least 10 days regardless of his test result.
Per Andrews, the birth of a child qualifies as an excused absence, which is notable as the wives of Gordon Hayward and Mike Conley are each due to give birth in the next few months, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Hayward said he would leave his team for the birth of his child.
"It's a pretty easy decision for me on that," the Boston Celtics guard said Friday. "I've been at the birth of every one of my children, and I think there are more important things in life. So we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
"I know the NBA has a protocol for that type of thing, and hopefully I can do the quarantining and testing the appropriate amount of time and then be back with the boys."
A September due date would likely put the birth in either the second or third round of the playoffs if the Celtics are still competing.
While the NBA's protocols allow for a quicker return due to an emergency, there are also negatives attached to those who break the rules.
In addition to the longer quarantine, Shams Charania of The Athletic previously reported a player's unauthorized absence would result in "reduction in compensation for any game in which he is unable to play as a result of his absence from campus."
Players are also encouraged to report any violations of the protocols to a hotline, per Jeff Zillgitt and Mark Medina of USA Today.
Teams are set to report in Orlando from July 7-9 with games beginning on July 30.
