The NBA’s roster rules are in flux as the league grapples with the widespread effects of the omicron variant of COVID-19.
Whether quarantine for vaccinated players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols is six days or 10 days, it looks like the right time to promote Jordan Bell from the Santa Cruz Warriors. Golden State was already thin in the frontcourt and took a big hit when Draymond Green landed in protocols on Sunday.
Green was the team’s top center, despite being listed at 6-foot-6, and was consistently the team’s best interior defender this year. Now the Warriors will have to rely on more undersized players like Juan Toscano-Anderson or finesse players like Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr. to get more minutes on the low block.
Given the way Bell has played with the Sea Dubs this season and his familiarity with coach Steve Kerr’s system, the 26-year-old seems like a prime candidate to sign a 10-day hardship deal with the Warriors. Golden State has some bruising matchups down low in the upcoming days, as it faces Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets over the next two games before facing Rudy Gobert and Utah Jazz on Jan. 1.
Bell has put up some eye-popping stat lines with Santa Cruz this season, en route to averaging 10.8 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 55.1 percent from the field. In Santa Cruz’s game against the G League Ignite on Dec. 17, Bell put up 15 points, 16 boards, nine assists, and three blocks in 31 minutes. He's listed at 6-foot-7, 216 pounds but would be able to body up bigger opposing players.
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Bell appeared in one game with Golden State last year and took part in training camp before being waived before the start of the season. He played in 125 games with 16 starts in two seasons from 2017-19, helping the Warriors win the 2018 NBA title. For his NBA career, Bell is averaging 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 160 games across four seasons with four franchises. He can be an explosive player but also shown some mental lapses during his NBA tenure.
Last week, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that two players in protocols would require a hardship signing, three players in protocols would require two hardship signings, four players in protocols would require three hardship signings, etc. However, the Warriors have only made one hardship signing (Quinndary Weatherspoon) despite having five players in protocols. Golden State currently has 10 healthy players, two above the minimum eight needed to play a game. Hardship contracts do not count against a team's salary cap.
