Milwaukee Bucks: Coach Bud, Brook Lopez discuss team’s COVID-19 case
By Adam McGee
Speaking on Tuesday, Mike Budenholzer and Brook Lopez spoke about the COVID-19 results that led to the Milwaukee Bucks shutting down their practice facility.
After reports emerged on Sunday that the latest round of COVID-19 testing had led to the Milwaukee Bucks closing their practice facility, the outlook of what comes next for the team in the days and weeks ahead became a lot more uncertain.
The Bucks were by no means the first team to have to take that step, but with responses differing from team to team, no statement was forthcoming from Milwaukee on Monday, nor did any further reports emerge to shine a light on the exact scale of the issues potentially facing the franchise.
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To be clear, it currently remains unknown outside of the organization whether it was one individual or multiple who tested positive for COVID-19, and beyond that, whether the test came from someone who is a part of Milwaukee’s roster and coaching staff; i.e. the traveling party scheduled to jet off for Orlando later this week.
At least some insight into the Bucks’ camp did arrive on Tuesday, though, as head coach Mike Budenholzer and starting center Brook Lopez spoke to the media via video call.
Unsurprisingly, specifics weren’t shared when it comes to identities or the scale of any potential Bucks outbreak, but both coach and player alike did offer up some noteworthy thoughts on the situation facing Milwaukee.
According to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, although Budenholzer didn’t give concrete details on the Bucks’ travel party and their plans in light of the test results, he did admit that it was currently up in the air as to whether everyone would be traveling and that they wouldn’t know until the day itself on Thursday.
Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel shared a more extensive quote detailing Budenholzer’s reaction to the news of a positive test, with the Bucks coach very much focused in on the personal aspect of it, as always.
"“I think the first emotion is you just want to be thoughtful and caring for whoever it is that’s in that situation and just give them support. Some of it is just emotional, that we will help in any way we can. This is probably something that was going to happen at some point to somebody in our small group and we want to be there for that person. We also want to communicate with the rest of the staff at a high level and be thoughtful and caring…and deal with this in a caring way for that particular person and for the group as a whole and just be there for them. Again, trying to stay upbeat, trying to keep the whole group positive, keep anybody positive. It’s part of what not just we’re dealing with but the whole country, the whole world is dealing with.”"
In another important detail, while most would have imagined the closure of the practice facility to be a major disruption to the Bucks’ preparations, Lopez explained that the timing meant the vast majority of the team’s workouts had already been completed.
Brook Lopez says the Bucks were relatively fortunate in that the positive test that shut down their practice facility came as they were scheduled to slow down workouts to rest up and prepare for Orlando anyway.
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) July 7, 2020
dark. Next. Another twist in a truly unique and eventful Bucks season
With the Bucks scheduled to travel to Orlando on Thursday, expect to hear more on exactly where the franchise stands in terms of COVID-19 very soon.