The NBA is relaxing some of its health and safety protocols for individuals who are fully vaccinated – changes including fewer mandated coronavirus tests, no quarantine requirements following contact tracing issues and even the ability to visit restaurants again.

Only one team – the New Orleans Pelicans – has publicly acknowledged a team-wide vaccination effort so far, doing so this past weekend after state rules in Louisiana were amended to make it possible for the team to start the process for players, coaches and staff. No one in the NBA will be considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after receiving the final vaccine dose.

Once that happens, rules for some of those individuals will change, the NBA said in a memo sent early Thursday to teams and obtained by The Associated Press. Daily point-of-care testing will not be required for players or head coaches prior to entering team facilities, nor will testing still be required on days off.

The contact tracing part of the new rules will be a major benefit. Being flagged by contact tracing has been an issue for many players this season including Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, both of whom had to miss the All-Star Game and the start of the season’s second half because a barber that they visited tested positive – but they did not. Had they been fully vaccinated, they would not have had to miss any time even after being around someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

Other benefits for those who are vaccinated, the league said, would include the ability to have other family members and friends visit their homes without a need for testing; being able to have visitors at the team hotel on road trips; eating outdoors at restaurants at home or on the road; and being able to commute to and from team facilities with other fully vaccinated individuals.

And when a team has 85% of its personnel vaccinated, those individuals who got the shots will not be required to wear facemasks at their team’s practice facility, may eat indoors or outdoors at restaurants as local rules allow, eat on flights, leave the team hotel more freely on road trips and schedule more user-friendly testing times.

BUCKS: Milwaukee traded reserve forward Torrey Craig to the Phoenix Suns for cash.

The Bucks announced the move amid reports that they also were acquiring forward P.J. Tucker and guard Rodions Kurucs from the Houston Rockets for guard D.J. Augustin and forward D.J. Wilson in a trade that also involved draft picks. ESPN first reported both moves.

Craig, Augustin and Wilson all participated in warmups before the Bucks’ 109-105 overtime victory at Philadelphia on Wednesday but weren’t with the team during the actual game. Tucker issued an Instagram post bidding farewell to Houston on Thursday but didn’t indicate where he was going.

Craig, 30, gives Phoenix a strong defensive player with postseason experience. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 18.5 minutes last season in his third year with Denver but never found a consistent role in the Bucks’ rotation. He played just 18 games and averaged 2.5 points and 11.2 minutes. Craig missed nine early-season games with a broken nose and didn’t play due to the coach’s decision in 12 games.

THURSDAY’S GAME

WIZARDS 131, JAZZ 122: Bradley Beal scored 43 points, Russell Westbrook had 35 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists in his 13th triple-double of the season, and Washington won at home.

The Wizards broke a five-game losing streak overall and a nine-game skid against Utah.

Donovan Mitchell equaled a season high with 42 points for the Jazz, who at 29-11 still have the NBA’s best record but have lost four of six in March. Joe Ingles added a career-high 34 points, including eight 3-pointers.

HAWKS 116, THUNDER 93: Trae Young and Bogdan Bogdanovic each scored 23 points, fueling host Atlanta to its seventh straight victory.

The Hawks have put together their winning streak since Nate McMillan took charge as interim coach and have won seven in a row for the first time since Dec. 28, 2016, to Jan. 10, 2017.

KNICKS 94, MAGIC 93: Julius Randle recorded his third triple-double of the season with 18 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds to lead New York past visiting Orlando.

Evan Fournier scored 23 points but turned the ball over on Orlando’s final possession as the Magic dropped their ninth straight.