Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams had left the NBA’s bubble in Orlando for what was originally described as an excused absence. However, images soon surfaced of Williams at a strip club, something that sparked an NBA investigation of the situation.
Lou was literally even in the DJ's story. pic.twitter.com/lsR4JMKiuO
— not ur avg (@amlewdaf) July 24, 2020
The controversial images of Williams brought a relatively calm response from Clippers head coach Doc Rivers.
“I can't share much with his journey because I wasn't on that journey with him. But he's back here. Obviously those [photos] got out and that's something we obviously didn't enjoy seeing or liked.”
– Doc Rivers full comments on Lou Williams pic.twitter.com/prDm4UNxdL
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) July 25, 2020
Williams indicated that his departure had been related to attending his grandfather’s funeral, which took place on Thursday.
After Williams returned to Orlando, he spoke with members of NBA security and reportedly admitted that he had gone to the strip club.
Due to the stringent safety protocols in place within the bubble, Williams will have a 10-day quarantine and will miss the team’s first two seeding games, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Clippers’ Lou Williams will have 10-day quarantine on Orlando campus after picking up food at Magic City on excused absence — sidelining him through first two seeding games — NBA says.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 26, 2020
Prior to the NBA’s shutdown of the 2019-20 season, Williams was averaging 18.7 points, 5.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game.
The mild reaction from Rivers likely stems from the fact that he already has three other players who are not currently with the team.
Those absences will make it difficult for the Clippers to make up any ground on the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers. It also puts them at risk of dropping lower than their current No. 2 seed in the conference.
The Clippers and Lakers will resume their season on Thursday night.
