UPDATE: ESPN has some more details about why Lou Williams went to Magic City. According to Ramona Shelburne, Williams told NBA investigators that he attended a viewing for a loved one and made a pit stop to grab a bite to eat.
Lou Williams tweeted a photo Friday of a man named, Paul G. Willams, with the caption "Long Live Pops,." Sources said Williams told NBA investigators that he attended a viewing for Williams which ended around 6 p.m. on Thursday, then went to Magic City to pick up dinner.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 25, 2020
EARLIER: Lou Williams has found himself in some hot water with the NBA. The Los Angeles Clippers’ high-scoring guard left the NBA’s Orlando bubble earlier this week for an excused absence, but an image of him popped up on social media that appeared to show him at a club with Jack Harlow, with both wearing faces masks.
Questions popped up about what Williams was doing, and on Saturday afternoon, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the league has decided to respond to this by opening an investigation into what Williams — who has since returned to the bubble — did while he was away from the team.
The NBA is investigating Clippers guard Lou Williams’ activities while on excused absence to assess the length of his re-quarantining process, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 25, 2020
The news of the investigation, which is being done to determined how long Williams will need to quarantine now that he’s back, was confirmed by Ramona Shelburne and Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Reporting with @BobbyMarks42: The NBA is investigating what Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams did while on an excused absence from the Orlando campus, so it can assess the length of his re-quarantining process, multiple sources told ESPN on Saturday.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 25, 2020
Shelburne reported that as part of the investigation, Williams admitted that he went to Magic City, a gentleman’s club in Atlanta.
Sources told ESPN that Williams has been interviewed by NBA security about his whereabouts while he was away from campus, and told them he did go to the Magic City gentleman’s club for a short time on Thursday night
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 25, 2020
The good news for Williams is that he was tested every day that he was away from the Clippers, which means that his quarantine could be as few as four days, as we saw with Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans. The issue, though, is he may be held out for longer based on what is determined.
However, as @ZachLowe_NBA recently noted, that re-quarantining time could be extended up to 10 days if the league's outside infectious disease specialists recommends it.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 25, 2020
In the case of the Lakers Alex Caruso, who was weighing whether to attend his sister's 100-person wedding in Texas, sources said the re-quarantining process would likely have been 10 or even 14 days due to the high-risk nature of the event.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 25, 2020
There is no word on whether there would be any additional punishment from the league or if Williams would just need to quarantine for an extended period. The Clippers begin their bubble schedule on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
