Sixers Reserve Vincent Poirier Cleared NBA COVID-19 Protocol

January 7th was the last time Philadelphia 76ers reserve center Vincent Poirier has taken the court. As Poirier's teammate Seth Curry tested positive for COVID-19 on the night of the Sixers' matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, the 76ers had to remain quarantined in New York the following day.

Curry's positive test caused a domino effect. As the NBA has implemented a strict health and safety protocol due to contact tracing, several Sixers players were forced into quarantine whether they returned a positive test or not.

Poirier was one of a notable amount of players to have to sit out due to the protocol. At this point, nearly every player who was in the protocol returned to the court, including Curry himself. However, Poirier has yet to return to the bench.

Perhaps, that will change on Friday night. As of Wednesday night, Poirier has been cleared to return to action, according to a team source. Before Wednesday night's battle between the Sixers and the Los Angeles Lakers, Poirier briefly appeared on the court with several of his teammates to participate in a workout.

Although the reserve center has cleared the health and safety protocol, the Sixers didn't activate him Wednesday night. Per a source, Poirier is still ramping up the action and is currently in a reconditioning phase.

Curry, who missed a couple of weeks' worth of action, was in a similar position. Although Curry missed the first game back after getting cleared, he was on the floor for the very next matchup. Whether that will happen with Poirier or not on Friday is unclear, but at the moment, he's listed as probable for Friday's game.

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