PHOENIX SUNS
Report: Suns head coach Monty Williams placed under COVID-19 protocols
Dec 27, 2021, 11:23 AM | Updated: 8:02 pm
Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams has been placed under COVID-19 protocols and will miss Monday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick added that assistant Kevin Young will take on head-coaching duties.
Wojnarowski adds that Williams is now one of three NBA head coaches currently in protocols, joining the Los Angeles Lakers’ Frank Vogel and the Chicago Bulls’ Billy Donovan.
The report comes after Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder and guard Elfrid Payton entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols over the weekend, according to Wojnarowski.
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The Golden State Warriors, who played the Suns on Christmas Day, also saw Draymond Green land in protocols on Sunday, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Crowder and Payton become the first Suns’ players to be placed in health and safety protocols during the regular season.
The Suns had been one of the only teams as of Friday that hadn’t seen a player land in protocols.
But as of Monday, the Utah Jazz stand as the only team in the league yet to be affected in the month of December.
In the month of December, over 190 players in the NBA have been placed in COVID-19 protocols.
Players in protocol must sit out six days or record two negative tests in a 24-hour span before returning to basketball activities.
The Suns host the Grizzlies on Monday night with tipoff at 7 p.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.
