The NBA has seen a ton of player movement in recent weeks with a spike in positive COVID-19 results that the league has not been able to avoid. Players are entering the league’s health and safety protocols daily and teams are scrambling to fill those open roster spots.
The league has made some adjustments to its rules, which has certainly helped. Normally, 10-day contracts cannot be handed out before January 5th, but teams have been able to sign players using that as part of the hardship waiver.
As a result, there has been a wave of signings coming from the G League. Thus far there have been 40 call-ups from the G League this season. The previous record for call-ups is 50, which was set during the 2017-18 season.
That number is likely to be shattered this season. It would not be a surprise if the league approaches it by Christmas and surpasses it by the New Year. While the circumstances in which these players are getting a chance is not ideal, it is great to see so many people getting the chance to live out their dream of playing in the NBA.
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In most cases, this isn’t just a cup of coffee for a player either. These guys are being signed with the intention of teams playing them right away, which is normally not the case for players who sign 10-day contracts.
In addition to players looking to break into the league, some veterans are being afforded the chance to get back onto an NBA roster. Isaiah Thomas signed with the Los Angeles Lakers last week and immediately received minutes, even starting one game. Another former Laker, Lance Stephenson, was signed by the Atlanta Hawks and will likely receive playing time right away as the Hawks have been hit hard by positive COVID-19 tests.
Thomas and Stephenson were both playing for the Grand Rapids Gold upon being signed. Other veterans are making returns to the NBA that have been away for a few seasons, such as Joe Johnson and C.J. Miles, who both signed with the Boston Celtics and have been out of the NBA since 2018 and 2020 respectively. Ersan Ilyasova, who played 17 games with the Utah Jazz last season, is back with the Chicago Bulls.
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Seeing a path back to the NBA open up, there have been veteran players inking G League deals as a way back. Thon Maker, Marcus Thornton and Jordan Crawford. Maker appeared in eight games with the Cavaliers last season, while Thornton hasn’t made an NBA appearance since 2017 with the Washington Wizards. Crawford has not played since 2018 when he was with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Could we see other fan-favorite veterans get offers to return soon as well? It would be great to see guys such as Jamal Crawford, J.R. Smith and Michael Beasley get signed and play significant minutes in the NBA one more time before riding off into the sunset.
