After testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, Coby White and Javonte Green have exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan told reporters on Thursday.
White, who entered protocols on Dec. 1, and Green, who entered protocols on Dec. 3, have each re-entered the Bulls’ facility to undergo cardiac screening – the final stage before being cleared to play – and begin ramping their conditioning up towards game-readiness.
“Coby has been back maybe a day or two more than Javonte. He seems to be responding fine in terms of what he’s been able to do with the screening and on-court activity,” Donovan said. “Javonte, like anything else, was winded being away from it for a period of time.”
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Green first re-entered the facility on Wednesday, Dec. 15, according to Donovan. White had a couple-day head start.
Donovan didn’t comment directly on either player’s status for Sunday’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers, saying he’d have more information in the coming days. The Bulls’ Tuesday and Thursday games, against the Pistons and Raptors respectively, were postponed in light of the team’s recent COVID-19 outbreak.
As of now, White and Green are the only two players from the Bulls’ outbreak to exit protocols, Donovan said. DeMar DeRozan, Matt Thomas, Derrick Jones Jr., Ayo Dosunmu, Stanley Johnson, Zach LaVine, Troy Brown Jr. and Alize Johnson are all still awaiting clearance, which can come after 10 days in protocols and/or returning two negative PCR tests in a 24-hour span.
LaVine, Dosunmu, Brown Jr. and Alize Johnson, specifically, aren't expected back until after Christmas, according to Donovan.
