#Nets will look unrecognizable in Orlando as more players opt out

The already-depleted squad departed for Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday without Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince, who both won’t participate in the restart to the NBA season after each recorded positive tests for COVID-19.

In addition to the absences of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Nic Claxton due to injury, the Nets will also be without DeAndre Jordan and Wilson Chandler, who have opted to sit out due to the coronavirus, which Durant and Jordan each previously contracted.

Dinwiddie, the team’s second-leading scorer and leader in assists, first announced he tested positive on June 29 and had been bedridden, suffering from fever, headaches, chest tightness and dizziness. Unlike Jordan, Dinwiddie was hoping to return to the court, but ultimately agreed with team doctors that he should remain home.

Prince was unexpectedly ruled out, according to an ESPN report, shortly before the team traveled to Florida. In his first year with the Nets, the 26-year-old started 61 of 64 games, but often struggled, averaging 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds, while shooting a career-worst 37.6 percent from the field.

Dinwiddie, though, has been the biggest star in the first year of the Durant-Irving era, averaging a career-high 20.6 points, 6.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds.

“After another positive test yesterday and considering the symptoms, @BrooklynNets, team doctors and I have decided that it would be in the best interest for me and the team that I do not play in Orlando,” Dinwiddie tweeted. “I will be supporting the guys every step of the way!”

Without Dinwiddie and Irving, the Nets will be without their two leaders in scoring and assists, leaving Caris LeVert to shoulder much of the playmaking responsibilities. Two-way player Chris Chiozza, 24, will also likely be given the biggest opportunity of his young career. Chiozza, a 5-foot-11 guard, appeared in 11 games with Brooklyn this season, averaging 5.2 points and 1.8 assists in 11.5 minutes.

After the Nets recently signed guard Tyler Johnson, then added wingman Justin Anderson to replace Chandler, the New York Times reported Tuesday that the Nets have targeted signing center Amir Johnson to bolster a depleted front line, which is without Jordan and Claxton. Johnson, 33, most recently appeared in 56 games with the 76ers last season, when the 6-9 veteran averaged 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. A substitute for a player sidelined by COVID-19 doesn’t count against the salary cap and would become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Even before Dinwiddie and Prince were ruled out, interim coach Jacque Vaughn wasn’t sure what to expect of the makeshift roster. Now, the Nets (30-34) will return to action on July 31 without three starters — including Jordan and Chandler — from their March 10 road win against the Lakers, which was the Nets’ last game before the season was suspended.

“We don’t know what the starting five will look like,” Vaughn recently said. “I still have to wait and see how guys are looking once we get to Orlando and make that adjustment, and that’s the challenge.

“Whether it’s adjusting the way we play offensively and defensively, that could happen in two weeks leading up to our first game. That’s not your normal preparation, but we might bend a little bit. But we’re not going to break.”

Though the newest absence increases the chances the Nets could fall short of the playoffs, the ninth-place Wizards (24-40) sit six games behind Brooklyn — needing to get within four games of the No. 8 seed to force a play-in series, with only eight regular-season games remaining — and will also be without their top-three players (Bradley Beal, John Wall and Davis Bertans).

Should the Nets miss the postseason, they would retain their own first-round pick in the 2020 draft — otherwise, held by Minnesota — in addition to the 76ers’ first-round pick.