Satoransky second Bulls player this week to test positive for COVID
A second Bulls player has tested positive for COVID-19.
Tomas Satoransky had a positive test, head coach Billy Donovan confirmed before Sunday's game against Dallas. Chandler Hutchison tested positive during the recent three-day road trip and remains in Washington, according to a team spokesperson.
There were two other positive tests during training camp, by Garrett Temple and Noah Vonleh. Temple has recovered and returned to game action, while Vonleh was waived shortly after his positive test.
Lauri Markkanen and Ryan Arcidiacono remain sidelined due to health and safety protocols, which likely means they were in close contact with Satoransky or Hutchison and are in quarantine based on NBA guidelines. Markkanen, Arcidiacono and Satoransky returned to Chicago separate from the rest of the team after the Bulls' second game against the Wizards.
Donovan said he thinks it's unlikely Markkanen or Arcidiacono will play on the upcoming four-game West Coast road trip.
It's likely the Bulls lead the NBA in positive COVID tests over the past month. But Donovan said he doesn't think the players are doing anything wrong.
"I think our guys have been really compliant," Donovan said on a Zoom call with reporters. "If there has been anything that they've been able to do on these road trips, it's all been league-approved as it relates to restaurants or going somewhere. I think our guys have been really, really compliant with that stuff.
"The thing I cannot speak to, we just finished up the holiday season. I think for our guys, all of them have been very, very conscientious. But a lot of times, it could be coming from family, it could be coming from outside, people getting together. Some of these guys have kids."
Temple said he believes he caught the coronavirus during a Thanksgiving gathering with family just before training camp opened. He was able to return to practice after about three weeks. Satoransky already spent 10 days in quarantine after the Vonleh positive test. He's played in just three of the Bulls' seven games.
"They had a team meal in Washington as a group and that was a good thing," Donovan said. "Obviously, it was outside, it was all league-approved, it was a restaurant that was approved by the league. So we're following all the protocols and doing all those things, but obviously here in the state of Illinois and certainly in Chicago, it's been hit pretty hard, as have a lot of other states around the country. But I think our guys have been really, really responsible so far."