Aside From Zhaire Smith, 76ers Should Have Full Roster in Orlando

In just a couple of weeks, the Philadelphia 76ers will travel to Orlando, Florida, as the NBA intends on restarting the 2019-2020 season. As the COVID-19 pandemic is still very much a factor -- especially in Florida at the moment -- the NBA has made it a point that players are permitted to opt-out of the season's restart without punishment.

Knowing the 76ers were guaranteed to get a ticket to the bubble city in Orlando, there was a chance some players could back out to avoid any possibility of potentially contracting the virus or any other injury. Fortunately for Philly, that won't be the case. As of Wednesday, Sixers head coach Brett Brown indicated that he's under the belief he will have a full roster in Orlando, excluding one player.

On Tuesday night, word got out that second-year guard Zhaire Smith suffered a bone bruise on his knee during individual workouts recently. As the second-year guard already had a minimal role with the Sixers, he will elect to stay back and rehabilitate his injury as the team wraps up the season over the next few months.

As far as other members of the team go, Brown expects full attendance. "Nobody has tested positive, and nobody has elected not to go," Brown told the media on Wednesday via a Zoom press conference. "We're figuring out this restriction that we have as far as staffing and players who ultimately will end up going to Orlando — we're pretty close to knowing 100-percent."

"In relation to people that have had the virus or feel a little unsafe going there," Brown continued. "Nobody has tested positive, and certainly nobody has put their hand up feeling like they don't want to go." The 76ers are set to travel to Orlando on July 9th to ramp up a multi-week training camp before restarting the regular season on August 1st against the Indiana Pacers. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_