SALT LAKE CITY — Mike Conley is in quarantine — again.
When the Utah Jazz opened up team workouts on Friday for the first time in training camp, their starting point guard wasn’t with them. Instead, Conley was in a room by himself, one day closer to testing himself out.
With that, the Jazz have gotten an early look at what is expected to be one strange season.
Conley has not tested positive for COVID-19 — in fact, he’s had plenty of negative tests — but he’s had close contact with someone (a family friend) who did test positive. According to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, that was enough to put him in quarantine. He was one of two Jazz players to miss Friday due to the COVID protocols. The team did not announce who the second player was or if he had tested positive for the virus.
As for Conley, he arrived in Salt Lake City last Saturday. He’s been in a room by himself ever since.
“Unfortunately, today I wasn’t able to be a part of the first day of camp because of close contact,” Conley said. “Somebody close to my family has COVID, so I’ve been in quarantine for a while trying to get past the NBA’s protocols so I can get back to it.”
Conley said he has to have seven negative tests in a row, a mark he expects to hit on Monday.
Conley’s quarantine time will be long over by the start of the season — the Jazz open their campaign on Dec. 23 at Portland — but it should serve as an early reminder of how simply coming into contact with someone can heavily impact the team. Conley doesn’t have COVID-19, yet he still has to miss time.
“I’m going through it right now firsthand. It’s gonna be a different year, for sure, because in my situation right now — like I’m not positive for COVID at all, but I’m effectively going to miss eight to 10 days,” Conley said.
In season, that would be a lot of games.
“This isn’t football where you play once a week; we’re playing twice, three, maybe four times a week,” Donovan Mitchell said last week.
While Conley’s quarantine came early, it’s likely the Jazz will have to play games this season without some players due to COVID protocol. Conley said Utah’s depth and resiliency will be key to getting through those times. It should be noted, though, the Jazz don’t have much depth at the guard line. It’s expected that Mitchell and Conley will stagger the point guard minutes, with some Joe Ingles thrown in there. The only other point guard on the roster is Nigel Williams-Goss.
“We’re gonna take it as it goes, and roll with the punches, and make the best of a situation that isn’t so ideal,” Conley said.
He said the quarantine hasn’t been easy, being confined to a room while his teammates prepare for the season. He’s made do with an exercise bike for workouts and doing video calls with his team to stay in the loop. And staying in communication, he said, was key to making this odd season work. The semi-good news for Conley: He’s kind of used to this. He had to quarantine after he left the Disney bubble to be his wife for the birth of the couple’s son in August.
So, at least he knows how to get through it. But he’s hoping not to have to go back again.
“Our team and coaches and players have really kept me involved,” Conley said. “I think that’s the biggest parts, is just trying not to get too distant from what your routine is — which is being around those guys every day and working every day and having a ball in your hand every day. And trying to not go crazy while you’re locked up in a room.”
The Jazz may not have had Conley on Friday, but they did have Bojan Bogdanovic back.
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said Bogdanovic “was able to do everything” in his first team workout since having wrist surgery in May.
“He was excited, as much as Bojan can show his excitement,” Snyder joked. “He looked pretty enthusiastic.”
Friday also marked Derrick Favors’ return to a Jazz practice setting — something everyone was happy to see. While Favors said it was initially a little strange to be back in the place where he spent part of nine seasons, it all came back pretty quick.
“Coming back and just seeing the coaches and the players, getting back to familiar with the system, and just being in the gym: it just felt regular again,” Favors said. “I was happy and excited to be back to practice.”
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Ryan Miller
