Postseason Eligibility And Two-Way Players

As we noted several times leading up to last Friday’s deadline, March 1 is the final day in an NBA season that a player can be waived and retain his playoff eligibility for a new club. Any player released after March 1 can still sign with another NBA team once he clears waivers, but he wouldn’t be able to participate in the postseason with his new team.

While the playoff-eligibility rules are fairly clear for players on standard NBA contracts, how exactly do they work for players on two-way contracts? Let’s take a closer look…

1. Players on two-way contracts aren’t eligible for the postseason.

We’ll start with the simplest rule — a player on a two-way contract can’t play for his team in the postseason, even if he hasn’t used up his full allotment of 45 NBA days. A two-way player can travel and practice with the team during the playoffs, but has to remain on the inactive list during games.

2. Two-way players waived after March 1 aren’t eligible to play in the postseason for a new team.

The same waiver rules that apply to players on standard NBA contracts apply to players on two-way deals when it comes to playoff eligibility. If a player on a two-way contract is waived between now and the end of the regular season, he won’t be eligible to join another team for the postseason.

Although these first two rules significantly restrict the ability of two-way players to participate in the playoffs, it’s still possible for a player who is on a two-way contract today to play in the postseason.

3. A player on a two-way contract who has his contract turned into a standard NBA deal by his current team any time up until the last day of the regular season can play in the postseason for that team.

Warriors swingman Damion Lee and Rockets wing Danuel House are two examples of players who have contributed to their respective teams’ success at various times this year and could be useful at the back end of a playoff roster.

If the Warriors and Rockets want to ensure they’ll have Lee and House available for the postseason, they could unilaterally convert those two-way deals into standard, one-year NBA contracts anytime between now and the end of the regular season. As long as the player gets moved to the 15-man roster on or before the last day of the regular season, he’s eligible to participate in the playoffs.

There are potential roadblocks in each case. The Warriors are poised to use their final open roster spot on Andrew Bogut, so they’d have to waive another player on a guaranteed contract if they want to promote Lee. The Rockets, meanwhile, have attempted to lock up House to a longer-term deal to avoid having him reach restricted free agency at season’s end, but the two sides haven’t found common ground. We examined that stalemate back in January.

Still, there’s a potential path for Lee, House, and any other player currently on a two-way contract for a contender to play in the postseason if a team wants to make it happen.

[RELATED: 2018/19 NBA Roster Counts]

While these eligibility rules for two-way players shouldn’t create problems for most of the league’s 30 teams, there are at least a handful of clubs that might have decisions to make before season’s end. In order to make a player on a two-way contract available for the postseason, a team will have to convert that player to a standard NBA deal by April 10.

For more information on how two-way contracts work, be sure to check out our full glossary entry.

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