There has been a spike in positive COVID-19 diagnosis and the NBA has not been immune to that spike. The league has seen several teams fall short of the mandatory eight available players to play, which has led to some games being postponed.
There would have been even more games postponed had the league not made some adjustments to their rules about 10-day contracts.
Normally, those are not allowed to be signed until January 5th, but teams have been using the hardship waiver to sign players to 10-day deals to meet the eight-player eligibility requirement.
In addition to the 10-day amendment, the league is also allowing teams to sign one player for every player that tests positive for COVID-19 on the roster. That rule is in place until at least January 19th.
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“We’re plugging holes and moving around Band-Aids,” said one high-ranking Western Conference official.
Things are not expected to slow down any time soon. Even more signings are expected to occur in the coming weeks as everyone is bracing for positive numbers to continue climbing, especially with the holidays.
Normally, when a player is signed to a 10-day contract it is on an emergency basis. More than likely, they will play a few minutes here and there, but with the current state of the NBA, these guys being signed are sometimes stepping into pretty significant roles that were opened up.
“These aren’t typical 10-days; teams need guys to come in and play 20 minutes per night,” said another player representative.
While the game schedule has been thrown for a loop for some teams, the league’s business schedule has been thrown for a loop as well. Normally, at this time of the season, trade talks are heating up as December 15th is when a large number of players become eligible for trades.
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But, with the current state of the league, it is just not possible to negotiate trades. Teams do not know who will be available to play in the coming days, let alone where they will be in the standings and whether or not they should be buyers or sellers.
“There have been so many injuries, so many players in health and safety protocols, and there are so many teams that are holding out hope they can make a run to that next goal, whether it be making the Play-In, making the playoffs, or competing for a championship,” another high-ranking Western Conference executive told B/R. “I don’t expect there to be any trade action anytime soon.”
The NBA Trade Deadline is set for February 10th. While action will likely pick up before then, it will likely take longer to get going than normally.
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While some teams have identified specific needs, finding a team willing to part ways with someone to fill that need is easier said than done. Right now, there are only two teams in the entire NBA, the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons, more than 2.5 games out of a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
