NBA teams
Malika Andrews, ESPN Staff Writer 4y

Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks says team committed to sending group to Orlando, despite holdouts

NBA, Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks says the organization is committed to sending a group to Orlando, Florida, for the NBA restart in late July, despite several players saying they will not make the trip.

"We have a job to do," Marks said during a virtual news conference Wednesday morning. "We have to bring a team to Orlando. We will bring a team to Orlando. We will go down there, and we will compete. That's our jobs here."

The Nets are expected to be without DeAndre Jordan, who tweeted that he would not travel after testing positive for the coronavirus last week. They will also be missing Wilson Chandler, who opted out to spend more time with family, and Nic Claxton, who had season-ending shoulder surgery on June 24.

Marks said Spencer Dinwiddie, who also tested positive for the coronavirus, has not made a final decision on whether he will travel to Florida.

"That would be up in the air," Marks said. "Look, I would hope these guys decide to go, but again, I hope they decide what's best for them and their health and family. So if they decide to go to Orlando, we know we will be taking the best care possible of them."

When the season paused on March 11, Jordan, Chandler and Dinwiddie were all starting for Brooklyn.

Marks added that he has "no reason to believe at this point" that more Brooklyn players will elect not to join the team. By the end of the day Wednesday, teams must submit a list of their traveling party to the league.

However, a player can still choose not to play, even if his name is on the list. Marks said Dinwiddie is currently on the Nets' traveling list.

According to the NBA's safety protocol, if a player tests positive before traveling to the Walt Disney World Resort -- like Dinwiddie has -- he must quarantine, be asymptomatic and test negative for coronavirus twice. If that player is cleared medically and still chooses not to go to Orlando, he would likely face a pay reduction.

If Jordan is left on the Nets' eligible roster and does not render services in Orlando after being medically cleared, he would face a pay reduction up to $1.2 million, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. If Brooklyn signs a replacement player for Jordan, he would be absolved of that financial penalty.

The Nets' injured star players -- Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant -- will not make the journey with the team, Sean Marks said. Marks, who said he has seen both players during the hiatus, said he had spoken with the All-Star point guard about the decision not to travel over the past two weeks.

"The best thing is for them to not attend Orlando and to rehab and to continue that process back in Brooklyn or wherever they may be right now," Marks said.

The Nets are scheduled to travel to Orlando on Tuesday.

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