Dwight Howard in, Bradley Beal out of NBA’s restart
As teams prepare to travel into the NBA’s restart bubble this week, it’s expected to hear more about players that are elected to opt-out (and in) of the playing bubble. Over the course of the last couple of weeks, we’ve already heard of a handful of players – headlined by Victor Oladipo – elected to sit out the league’s restart.
Monday night, it was reported that Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard, who was reportedly on the fence about the idea, had elected to participate in the restart.
Lakers center Dwight Howard tells @TheAthletic @Stadium: “My NBA salary and platform, while in the bubble, will be used to ignite a breath of fresh air into the community.” Full statement: pic.twitter.com/u4JlQ7q1ud
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2020
Dwight will head into the bubble on a mission. In addition, to bring social issues into light while playing in Orlando, Dwight plans on donating his remaining game checks to charity, as per the tweet above.
The Lakers will be entering the NBA’s restart as one of the favorites to win the 2020 NBA Championship, and at the very least one of the two favorites to make it out of the Western Conference bracket.
Even though Dwight wasn’t a starter for the Lakers this season, he did provide importnat and impactful depth in the frontcourt for the team.
In addition to Dwight stating that he will participate in the NBA’s restart, Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie have elected to sit out the league’s restart.
After another positive test yesterday and considering the symptoms, @BrooklynNets, team doctors and I have decided that it would be in the best interest for me and the team that I do not play in Orlando. I will be supporting the guys every step of the way! #AudienceOfOne
— Spencer Dinwiddie (@SDinwiddie_25) July 7, 2020
Beal reportedly will sit out due to a shoulder injury. With both Beal and Davis Bertans sitting out for their reasons, it leaves the Wizards in a bad spot if they had any hopes of competing in the eight seeding games and all but eliminates their shot at making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
As far as the Nets, the loss of Dinwiddie will certainly hurt. However, they might still make the playoffs by default in the East.
The expectation is that more players will come forward with their respective decisions. At this point, it’s unclear if any other big names will elect to sit out of the league’s restart. Then again, that could all change when teams begin to enter the bubble (with COVID-19 testing).