Holmes second player to ‘break’ Orlando bubble

The Kings player acknowledged that he surpassed the limits of the NBA campus to go pick up a food order he had made abroad. Sacramento Kings center Richaun Holmes has become the second player to skip the rules in Orlando’s ‘NBA bubble’. Bruno Caboclo, forward of the Houston Rockets, was the first transgressor yesterday.

Holmes is in quarantine once again after leaving the NBA bubble to pick up a food delivery he had ordered outside the compound where the 22 NBA teams are concentrated as they prepare to start the league competition after the break. Over four months, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The player of the Kings acknowledged tonight, in a statement offered by the player himself, that he accidentally crossed the line of the NBA campus at the Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, which cost him to initiate an additional 10-day quarantine in his hotel room. “I apologize for my actions and look forward to meeting my teammates for our playoff campaign,” said Holmes, who has eight days left in his new quarantine period.

After players entered the league bubble last week, anyone caught leaving for an unauthorized reason or breaking the initial quarantine period (which included being confined in a hotel room to passing multiple tests for coronavirus in a period of more than 24 hours) was subject to the re-entry protocols of the league. There is no way to get “free spins” out of this situation. All must follow pandemic procedures without exception.

That means undergoing improved coronavirus tests such as long-nose swab tests, rather than the less invasive tests players receive during their bubble time, plus a 10-day quarantine period in their room. Caboclo is also quarantined again after unintentionally leaving the bubble.

These quarantines are the result of separate circumstances in which players had interactions with members of the public outside Disney’s front door, and are in accordance with health and safety protocols agreed upon by the NBA and the Players Association.

There will be a financial penalty if a player interrupts quarantine once the season opener games start on July 30. Each lost game will mean a reduction of approximately one percent of the salary, which means that Holmes will run out of $ 50,000 for each match that he does not dispute.

NBA players sympathized with what happened to Caboclo and Holmes, saying it is a learning experience. “Boys make mistakes. Setbacks are what make you learn,” Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside said Monday, referring to the popular online delivery service. “I think more mistakes are made as we go, but the boys are learning what you can and cannot do. This is new for everyone. So it is a learning lesson.” Holmes’s mother was less understanding and turned to Twitter to admonish her son for leaving the bubble for something other than his kitchen.

Holmes, 26, played 33 games with the Kings before the league closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic and is averaging 12.8 points and 8.3 rebounds after playing 28.8 minutes per game in that goes in season.