Kelan Martin tests positive for COVID-19, becomes fifth Pacers player to enter protocols

INDIANAPOLIS — The Pacers' COVID-19 outbreak continued Friday with reserve swingman Kelan Martin testing positive and entering the NBA's health and safety protocols, per Indiana coach Rick Carlisle.

Martin will not play Friday as the Pacers host the Bulls at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Martin, who practiced Thursday and spoke to the media, is the fifth Pacers player in the past three days to be sidelined due to COVID-19, joining starting point guard Malcolm Brogdon, rookies Chris Duarte and Isaiah Jackson, and reserve combo guard Jeremy Lamb. Indiana assistant Lloyd Pierce has also tested positive and is out Friday, according to Carlisle.

"We're in the process of continuing to like, I guess, fill the roster," Carlisle said. "I'm not sure how much more info I can give you right at this moment as far as anybody else (being picked up). We will likely have 11 players available (Friday)."

The NBA is allowing teams to sign additional players to 10-day hardship contracts for every player who enters the league's health and safety protocols.

Among Indiana's 11 available players Friday is Nate Hinton, who signed a 10-day hardship contract with the Pacers on Thursday morning and practiced with the team shortly after. Hinton played for Indiana's G-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, this season and was with the Pacers in the preseason. He also played under Carlisle last season on a two-way contract with the Mavericks.

The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Friday that the Pacers also signed Ahmad Caver to a 10-day hardship deal. The 6-2 guard played this season with the Memphis Hustle, which is the Memphis Grizzles' G-League squad.

The absence of four rotation players and five players overall places even more responsibility on the shoulders of Caris LeVert. The six-year NBA veteran is normally a shooting guard, but he's recently stepped in as the Pacers' point guard.

"This is a great opportunity for him. It's a great challenge for him," Carlisle said. "He's a scorer by trade, but he's showing that he's very capable of being a point guard. ... He's gotta strike that balance between his aggression to score and his ability to get places with the ball and get other guys really high quality shots."

Justin Holiday, who said he is unvaccinated, was the first Indiana player to contract COVID-19 this season. He entered the league's health and safety protocols Nov. 30 and missed five games while adhering to a 10-day isolation plus a sixth game as he regained his conditioning.

ESPN reported Friday that the NBA and NBA Players Association agreed to new COVID-19 protocols, allowing vaccinated and asymptomatic players and coaches to return in five days after a positive test if their cycle threshold (the amount of the virus they carry) reaches 30, which means they are no longer contagious.

The Bulls have five players in the league's health and safety protocols plus coach Billy Donovan. Friday marked the fourth straight game assistant Chris Fleming served as Chicago's interim coach. Fleming said he hopes to see Donovan return "in the next couple days."

As COVID-19 surges through the NBA, Fleming said the Bulls reduced the amount of people they bring on road trips.

"We just trimmed down the staff a little bit," Fleming said. "It's unfortunate but this thing is real. It's taken guys out and it's costing teams games, so we just wanted to be as cautious as we could be."

Follow IndyStar Pacers beat writer James Boyd on Twitter: @RomeovilleKid. Reach him via email: jboyd1@gannett.com.

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