Hoops Rumors Glossary: Hardship Provision
The ability for NBA teams to surpass the 15-man regular season roster limit has come into focus this week, with the Pelicans and Grizzlies applying for hardship provisions. Both teams are dealing with multiple injuries that have made it difficult for them to field competitive lineups, but the league provides relief, in certain circumstances.
The term “hardship” used to be a common part of the league’s vernacular in reference to players who entered the draft before exhausting their college eligibility, but it has a completely different meaning in regard to the size of NBA rosters. The NBA’s Constitution and By-Laws, in their definition of hardship, give the board of governors the power to approve special provisions counter to the NBA’s roster limits with a majority vote. It’s rare for the board of governors to get involved, but the rule also spells out circumstances in which injury and illness would allow teams to receive extra roster spots without board of governors approval, instead leaving the matter at the commissioner’s discretion. This is the more well-traveled route.
In these cases, a team must have three players who have missed at least three straight games because of injury or illness, plus a fourth player who is also unable to perform. The team can apply for the hardship, and it’s up to the commissioner’s office to determine, using an independent doctor if it so chooses, that all four of those players will continue to be unable to play for at least two weeks. If so, the commissioner can grant the hardship and the team can acquire an extra player.
The rules are vague about the mechanics of the hardship provision, but reports about the several instances in which teams have expanded their rosters beyond 15 players in the past couple of seasons have shed light on its parameters. Each provision lasts 10 days, regardless of whether it comes before or after January 5th, the first day each season that teams can sign players to 10-day contracts. Players who go into extra roster spots don’t necessarily have to be on 10-day contracts, and they may stick around past the expiration of the hardship as long as the team offloads someone else. That was the case when the Thunder waived Sebastian Telfair last season instead of hardship signee Ish Smith to reduce their roster to 15 players. Teams are also allowed to reapply for provisions as they expire, meaning they can carry a roster of more than 15 players for longer than 10 days if the league allows it. The NBA doesn’t limit the number of provisions a team may apply for at any one time, allowing teams to have as many players as they need, at the league’s discretion, though it’s rare for any roster to go beyond 16.
A sharply limited amount of time exists for teams to take action when the league grants a hardship. They have two days to acquire an extra player, giving front offices motivation to have deals lined up in advance. Still, complications sometimes arise. The Pacers scuttled their deal with Gal Mekel last season when a visa issue would have kept him from signing until a day after the Pacers were ready to put pen to paper. That extra day would have pushed the Pacers past the two-day window, so they signed A.J. Price instead.
The hardship isn’t the only mechanism by which a team can acquire an extra player. Lengthy suspensions also give teams the ability to do so, and that happened twice last season, when the Grizzlies signed Kalin Lucas and Hassan Whiteside to move to 16 men while Nick Calathes was serving a league suspension, and when the Sixers traded for Jared Cunningham, who was briefly their 16th man while Andrei Kirilenko was on a team suspension. The rules are slightly different for a league suspension, which requires that the player have served at least five games of the suspension before a team can add an extra player, and a team suspension, in which case the player has to have missed only three games. The ability to carry an extra man goes away once the suspended player returns.
The NBA takes a careful approach to granting teams permission to expand their rosters. Not every team with four or more injuries receives a hardship provision, since making an accurate prognosis about whether an injured player might return to action within a two-week window is a tricky enterprise. The Pelicans received a hardship and used it to sign Orlando Johnson this week, but it’s unclear whether the Grizzlies got one, given the confusion over the time at which they signed Briante Weber. Thursday’s release of Mario Chalmers suggests the league didn’t give the OK, or at least hasn’t yet, because his season-ending torn Achilles would otherwise count toward the number of injuries necessary for the provision. The league doesn’t “hand those things out like candy,” as the late Flip Saunders observed.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (or in this case, the NBA’s Constitution and By-Laws). Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.
Reports from Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times and Marc Stein of ESPN.com provided background information for this post. An earlier version appeared on November 28th, 2014.
And-Ones: Robinson, Johnson, Parsons
Nate Robinson is trying to leap from the pages of Hoops Rumors to Pro Football Rumors. The diminutive NBA veteran who began this season with the Pelicans announced in a YouTube video that he’s going to make a run at playing in the NFL. The video features testimonials from NFL players Marcedes Lewis and Brendon Ayanbadejo, former NBA teammates Jamal Crawford and Glen Davis, as well as former football coach Rick Neuheisel, all of whom insist that Robinson is perhaps the only athlete who could make the transition from professional basketball to professional football.
Robinson, who turns 32 in May, went to the University of Washington on a football scholarship in 2002 and impressed with electrifying plays on the field, but many years have passed since he played competitive football. He didn’t say which position he would like to play in the NFL, but he spoke about both offense and defense in the video, inferring that he might try to market himself as being able to play on either side of the ball.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Injured Heat point guard Tyler Johnson is aiming to play again this season after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder on February 3rd, though there is still no definitive timetable for his return to action, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. “I’m still hopeful, for sure,” Johnson said. “But, again, I’m not going to push it to a point where I can maybe damage it a little bit more or do anything to have a setback. I think every day it feels a little bit better. So I guess that’s where the optimism comes in, is that every day I wake up I can start to do a couple of new things that I wasn’t able to do before. So, I’m going to push for that. That’s a personal goal. But the doctors and the trainers, they haven’t given me a timetable. They said, ‘We’re not going to give you a date to where you can come back,’ because we could get to that time and it’s not ready.“
- Chandler Parsons, provided he remains with the Mavericks, is a solid candidate to replace Dirk Nowitzki as the face of the franchise once the German power forward calls it a career, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News opines. While Parsons certainly has the skill set to carry a franchise, the question remains whether he will put in the work required to achieve greatness, Sefko adds. The small forward is reportedly almost certain to turn down his player option for 2016/17, and Houston and Orlando are expected to pursue him.
- The Blazers assigned Cliff Alexander and Luis Montero to the D-League, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor tweets. The duo will report to the Warriors‘ affiliate as part of the NBA’s flexible assignment rule, since Portland does not have its own affiliate.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Ajinca, Dawson, Lawson
Pelicans center Alexis Ajinca, who is dealing with a fractured sternum he suffered on March 2nd, hopes to return to action this season, but he is still experiencing significant discomfort, Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com writes. “It’s still painful,” Ajinca said. “I’m still trying to catch my breath sometimes. But it’s getting better. I started shooting. I’m hoping to come back soon, but I’m still dealing with the pain, so we’ll see how far I have till I come back.”
Ajinca wants to help out his injury-depleted team by returning to the court, but he also needs to weigh his desire to play versus long-term health concerns, Eichenhofer relays. “I’m trying to come back, because sitting on the side is not really my thing. I don’t like doing that,” Ajinca said. “I’m trying to come back before the end of the season. But on the other hand, I’m also trying to be healthy and not jeopardizing my health if I’m coming back too early. I hope I can come back soon and have a pad on [the injury to protect it]. Hopefully it won’t be too painful if I get hit again.” The big man is in the first year of the four-year, $20.2MM deal he inked last July.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Clippers rookie Branden Dawson has spent the bulk of his rookie season in the D-League, only making three NBA appearances on the campaign, but the small forward believes this will help his development in the long run, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com writes. “Just a better opportunity and just playing more,” Dawson said about his D-League time. “The first time I went down, when I went to Bakersfield, it was different. I didn’t know what to expect going down for the first time. Now, I’m a lot more confident and I’m playing more. The main thing is to get better. The reason why guys go down is to get better. The first two times, I learned a lot from the coaches I played with, the different programs. The main thing is to just come down and get better.”
- A number of teams had interest in point guard Ty Lawson after he reached a buyout agreement with the Rockets, including the Bucks and the Jazz, Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports tweets. Lawson subsequently signed with the Pacers because he wanted to catch on with a new team quickly and he believed Indiana was a perfect fit for his skills, Agness adds.
- Shelvin Mack has impressed the Jazz with his solid play since arriving in a trade deadline deal from Atlanta, and he’s provided the stability the team sought after losing starter Dante Exum for the year with a torn ACL in his left knee, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. “I think he’s making a good transition,” coach Quin Snyder said. “A lot of that is a compliment to Bud [Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer] and his staff and their team … and to him, of course.”
Pelicans Sign Orlando Johnson To 10-Day Deal
WEDNESDAY, 1:31pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
TUESDAY, 2:00pm: The Pelicans will use their hardship exception to sign Orlando Johnson to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). He’ll occupy the 16th roster spot the hardship provides as injury relief. It’s no surprise to see Johnson, a 6’5″ shooting guard, get the nod, as Charania linked him to the Pelicans in January and Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate reported minutes ago that the team was looking for a guard.
The contract will be worth $55,722. It’s the second 10-day deal Johnson will have signed with an NBA team this season. Phoenix had him on a 10-day last month, and he saw extensive action in two games, totaling 16 points in 47 minutes, but the Suns retooled their roster at the trade deadline and through the buyout market shortly after Johnson’s deal expired.
So, he returned to the Spurs affiliate in the D-League, the team he’s been with most of the season while averaging 16.0 points in 33.1 minutes per game and draining 46.1% of his 3-point shots. Johnson, who turns 27 on Friday, has yet to display that sort of accuracy at the NBA level, where he’s a career 31.3% shooter from behind the arc in parts of two seasons since becoming the 36th overall pick in 2012.
New Orleans will nonetheless see if he can help on the wing, where Tyreke Evans, Quincy Pondexter and Bryce Dejean-Jones are all lost for the season. Eric Gordon is reportedly undergoing surgery on his broken right ring finger today and the Pelicans fear his season is also through. New Orleans would remain eligible for a 16th roster spot the rest of the way if that’s the case.
And-Ones: Anderson, Carter, Matthews
Ryan Anderson is strongly considering a change of scenery this summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, which makes the Pelicans‘ decision not to trade him prior to this season’s deadline puzzling, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. Sources tell Kennedy that Anderson seems to be leaning toward signing with a team other than New Orleans. Teams expressing interest in Anderson leading up to the deadline included the Wizards, Pistons, Cavaliers, Clippers, Kings and Suns, Kennedy notes. It’s unclear just how many of those teams will pursue Anderson this summer, with Washington acquiring Markieff Morris, Detroit landing Tobias Harris, Channing Frye ending up in Cleveland and Jeff Green now a member of the Clippers as a result of various deadline trades.
The 27-year-old says he hasn’t discussed his pending free agency with the team yet, Kennedy notes. ”No conversations at all about it,” Anderson told reporters. ”Obviously I think they are in the same boat, so many things can happen they may have multiple pieces they are thinking about. A lot of stuff that I don’t know about obviously that they talk about behind closed doors. So I haven’t communicated at all with them.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Mavericks swingman Wesley Matthews scoffs at the notion that the Dallas roster is devoid of talent and places the blame for the team’s struggles this season on porous defense, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com relays (ESPN Now link). “A talent problem? No, we don’t have a talent problem,” Matthews told MacMahon. “If we don’t have a talent problem, then what’s the problem? We’re giving up too many points in transition. I just said it. I mean, you guys can pick apart our team all you want. We’ve got talent on this team. So y’all can miss me with that.“
- Kentucky freshman center Skal Labissiere has played his way back into the lottery in the latest mock draft from Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. The young big man is currently projected to go 10th after plummeting toward the bottom of the first round in Givony’s previous projection. Labissiere is averaging 6.8 points and 3.2 rebounds on the season, and while he’s picked up his play as of late, scouts remain skeptical and want to see how well he performs in postseason tournaments before making their final judgments, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays.
- One reason for the Trail Blazers‘ surprise success this season is that the players have fully embraced coach Terry Stotts and his combination of compassion, toughness and basketball IQ, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com writes.
- Small forward Sampson Carter, who was with the Grizzlies during the preseason, has signed with the Mexican club Caballeros de Culiacan, the team announced (translation via Orazio Cauchi of Sportando).
Eric Gordon To Miss Remainder Of Season
Eric Gordon will miss the remainder of the 2015/16 season as a result of successful surgery today to repair damage to his fractured right ring finger, the Pelicans announced via press release. This was the same finger Gordon broke in January, an injury that forced him to miss approximately five weeks. Scott Agness of VigilantSports first reported Gordon was to undergo surgery.
New Orleans has been slammed with injuries this season, with Tyreke Evans, Quincy Pondexter and Bryce Dejean-Jones having also suffered season–ending maladies. The NBA granted a hardship exception allowing the Pelicans to add a 16th player to their roster, and New Orleans is poised to take advantage, having reached agreement with Orlando Johnson on a 10-day pact.
Gordon, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, averaged 15.4 points, 2.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds through 45 games. His career numbers are 16.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists to accompany a shooting line of .435/.383/.814.
Pelicans Get 16th Roster Spot, Eye Guards
1:42pm: The Pelicans are expected to use the roster spot on a guard, just as they did in December, the last time they had a hardship exception, Kushner writes. They signed Jimmer Fredette then, as Kushner points out. Fredette is once more a free agent following the expiration of his 10-day contract with the Knicks.
1:16pm: The NBA has given the Pelicans a 16th roster spot via hardship to offset their injuries, sources tell Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate (Twitter link). The team has two days from the time the league formally grants the provision to use it. The roster spot lasts 10 days, though the team can apply to renew it.
It appears the latest injury to Eric Gordon triggered the hardship. Gordon is reportedly having surgery today after breaking his right ring finger for the second time in less than two months, and the Pelicans fear the soon-to-be free agent will miss the rest of the season. Tyreke Evans, Quincy Pondexter and Bryce Dejean-Jones have already suffered season–ending injuries. The hardship comes into play when at least four players are likely to miss two or more weeks, and with Gordon under the knife, that appears to be the case for New Orleans.
Injuries have ravaged the Pelicans throughout the season, capsizing what appeared to be a team on the rise, and Coach Alvin Gentry this past weekend acknowledged the need to shift the focus to the long-term future rather than an 11th-hour bid for a playoff spot. Thus, with six and a half games separating them from a playoff spot, the Pelicans seem more likely to go after players with upside than older veterans. Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports linked the team to Orlando Johnson and Elijah Millsap in a January report that also mentioned Dejean-Jones, who eventually joined the team. Millsap just reached a buyout agreement with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, sources told Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi (Twitter link),
Western Notes: Augustin, Gordon, Barton, Varejao
Nuggets deadline trade acquisition D.J. Augustin has quickly taken to his new surroundings and says he’d love to re-sign with Denver when he hits free agency this summer, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. Coach Michael Malone is a fan of the point guard, particularly his offense, as Dempsey relays.
“I would love to be here,” Augustin said. “It’s a great city, great fans. I love the coaching staff and organization. Everything is great. So, I would love to find a home here.”
Augustin hoped for a chance to join a team that would give him more playing time as he faded from the Oklahoma City rotation this season, and while he expressed his appreciation to the Thunder for facilitating such a deal, he said he didn’t ask for a trade, Dempsey notes. See more on the Nuggets amid news from the Western Conference:
- Eric Gordon is having surgery today on his broken right ring finger, a source told Scott Agness of VigilantSports (Twitter link). No timetable exists for the soon-to-be free agent who suffered the injury Saturday, though the Pelicans reportedly fear it’s a season-ender. It’s the same finger Gordon broke in January, an injury that forced him to miss about five weeks. The final day of the regular season is five weeks from Wednesday.
- Malone knew little about Will Barton when the coach took over the Nuggets in the offseason, but the 25-year-old shooting guard is team’s second leading scorer this year, the first on a new three-year, $10.6MM deal, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee examines. “I’d be lying to you if I said I expected him to play as well as he has this year,” Malone said. “He’s a hard worker. He committed himself to getting better, coming back as an improved player and, like all players, I feel he’s taken full advantage of the opportunity given him. We play him 25, 30 minutes a night, put the ball in his hands and allow him to make plays and he’s done a great job of doing that, especially in the open court.”
- Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk acknowledged that recent signee Anderson Varejao isn’t what he used to be, but Schlenk said in a radio appearance with Matt Steinmetz on 95.7 The Game’s “NBA This Week” show that Varejao and Joakim Noah were the best centers in the NBA three years ago. The 33-year-old Varejao only twice averaged double-figures in either points or rebounds, peaking in 2012/13 at 14.1 points and 14.4 rebounds per game, though he played only 25 games that season because of injury.
Southwest Notes: Dekker, Parsons, Anderson
It’s mostly been a lost season for Sam Dekker, the 18th overall pick in last year’s draft who spent months on the shelf because of back surgery, notes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. The Rockets clearly could have used a greater contribution than the six minutes in three games he’s seen so far, and the inability to deliver more has left Dekker with regrets, as Brigham details.
“There are times where, I’m not going to lie about it, you can get really down on yourself when there’s long stretches where you’re not seeing the court. That’s been new to me. I’ve always played,” Dekker said. “But I’ve found myself really leaning on my vets, and that’s helped a lot. Trevor [Ariza], for one, has been great to me. He talks me through things, knows when I’m down, knows what I need to hear, and seeing a guy who works that hard makes me want to get back in the gym. It keeps me motivated. I know I’m going to have a long career in this league. I just have to stay positive.”
See more on the Rockets amid news from the Southwest Division:
- Chandler Parsons wouldn’t rule out going back to the Rockets in free agency this summer, as he said on the “Channel 33” podcast (audio link; transcription via HoopsHype). The Mavericks small forward is almost certain to turn down his player option, and Houston is expected to pursue him, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “Houston was home for me for three years,” Parsons said. “I definitely would never count that option out. I have great memories there. They have a great crowd, a great city to live in … I have nothing but respect and love for them. I would never count that out.”
- Ryan Anderson said he hasn’t talked to Pelicans management about his free agency and has yet to develop a feel for how it will go, notes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry has left him on the bench for key stretches of late, but Anderson indicated that he doesn’t lament that as much as the lack of opportunity to play with a fully healthy Pelicans team during his time in New Orleans, as Verrier chronicles.
- Gentry regretted a Wednesday comment that the Pelicans are out of the playoffs, but after two more losses Thursday and Saturday, he acknowledges it’s time to shift focus, as Verrier notes in a separate piece. “At this stage, like I said, it would be a miracle almost for us to make the playoffs,” Gentry said. “We really have to start looking at developing a culture and how we’re gonna play in the future and figuring out guys on this team, how they fit into the system and if they’re going to be able to fit in a system.”
Southwest Notes: Gordon, Holiday, Wallace, Rockets
The Pelicans fear that shooting guard Eric Gordon‘s season may be finished, according to John Reid of the Times Picayune. Gordon had to leave Saturday’s game when he fractured his right ring finger on a steal attempt. He missed 16 games after having surgery on the same finger in January. ”I don’t know for sure what happened, but it looked like he might have done the same thing again,” said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, who speculated Gordon could be out six to eight weeks. ”That would be really unfortunate because he worked so hard to get back and I really thought he was playing really good basketball.” Gordon, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, is averaging 15.4 points, 2.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds through 45 games.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Gordon’s injury will likely mean more playing time for Jrue Holiday, writes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. Holiday started the second half Saturday after Gordon was hurt, and Gentry indicated that he wants to see more of the former All-Star point guard who’s mostly come off the bench this season. “I’m happy to be playing, if you want me to be honest,” he said. “I appreciate it. I don’t take it for granted. Obviously with previous two years and what’s happening now — and I think Eric just went out with his finger — I’m happy to be on the court.”
- Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace gives the team an A-plus for how it has responded to Marc Gasol‘s season-ending injury, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Memphis has gone 7-2 since Gasol went down with a broken right foot last month. “The fans are enjoying this recent incarnation of the Grizzlies,” Wallace said. “It’s come together rather well and rather quickly. You have to give the players and coaching staff credit. They’ve embraced the challenge.”
- No team has fallen harder this season than the Rockets, writes Chris O’Leary of The Toronto Star. After winning the Southwest Division and reaching the Western Conference finals last year, Houston enters tonight’s game 30-32 and in danger of missing the playoffs. “Success in this league is fragile,” said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. “You should work every day to be better, work every day on every possession, because it is fragile and fleeting.”