On the 21st, the NBA already knew that all teams have signed "temporary workers"
The management of the NBA teams has been very busy recently, busy signing people, which is the effect of the league in response to the spread of the epidemic to introduce new rules for reinforcements, the teams have operated, all kinds of rumors emerge in an endless stream, not only G League (development league) players have become the key targets of the league's strong forces, overseas league stars have also been included in the "radar" of the team's supplementary lineup, such as the news that the Lakers and other teams are very interested in Zhou Qi, who plays in the Australian league.
Why did the NBA suddenly set off a wave of signings, in the context of the scramble to take action, who else in the current player market can relieve the worries of the team that is in the predicament of insufficient manpower?
On Sunday, local time, the NBA reached an agreement with the players' union to allow multiple players to trigger a health and safety agreement for the team to sign a replacement.
The introduction of this agreement is in response to the current increasing epidemic situation in the league, and the number of people triggering health and safety agreements is increasing day by day, resulting in the team falling into a military shortage and many games being postponed.
The postponement of the game is a very troublesome thing, because it will touch the interests of all sides, so the team owners strongly demanded at last week's league board meeting that the game should not be postponed as much as possible, and the basic premise for achieving this goal is that the minimum number of players can be reached, and the agreement between the league and the players' union is for this matter.
The agreement has taken effect on Sunday evening local time and will continue until January 19, local time. The agreement stipulates that for each positive case that a team has, it can sign a replacement player, and so on. It is not mandatory to sign one person in one case, but there are also basic requirements, such as two positive cases in the team, at least one substitute player must be introduced, 3 positive cases must be signed at least two, 4 positive cases must have at least 3 substitutes, and so on.
In the past, the team's supplementary manpower was to be included in the salary statistics, which may bring luxury taxes, and due to the special circumstances of this time, the NBA and the players' union agreed that during the implementation of this agreement, the salaries of substitute players will not be included in the team's salary, nor will the team's luxury tax be increased. However, the replacement players signed by the team must be able to play immediately after signing, because the introduction of this agreement is to reduce the pressure of the team's lack of manpower and meet the needs of the game.
As part of the agreement, the NBA and players' unions also removed the limit on the number of games played by players on two-way contracts, who previously held that type of contract can play up to 50 games, and during the implementation of the new agreement, the 50-game cap is no longer there.
Of course, not any team can sign under the new agreement, and if the number of players that can play is 13, or if there are less than 4 players absent from the game, a replacement cannot be introduced through the terms of the new agreement.
As the new agreement begins to execute, eligible teams begin the signing process. From the perspective of the operation of the team, the introduction of substitutes has two more important criteria to consider, one is that it is best to have the experience of playing in the NBA, and the other is to play games before signing, and the players who have reached the standard can provide immediate combat power relatively quickly, so the teams first focus on the G League, because it is a subsidiary league of the NBA, and it is relatively easy to find reinforcements that meet the requirements, such as the Lakers signing Jamilio Jones and Mason Jones.
The NBA's robbery wars are in full swing, and players who have a history of playing in the NBA and have performed well in the G League have become the target of competition for many teams, such as Stauskas, who last played in the NBA two years ago, and this season averaged 21.3 points per game in the G League, averaging 2.7 three-pointers per game, attracting the interest of several NBA teams, and Stauskas from Canada chose the Raptors.
As the talent pool of the NBA, the G League has played an important role in this response to the epidemic, after the first round of competition between the teams, what other NBA players in the G League have both experience and combat strength?
Remember Brandon Knight? Former America's No. 1 high school student, the 2011 No. 8 show, averaged double-figures per game in the NBA for six consecutive seasons, and was originally promising but trapped by injuries. Knight has played for the Heat's G-League affiliate, Sioux Falls Sky Power, averaging 20.9 points per game and averaging 3.1 three-pointers per game.
Remember the "blowing brother" Lance Stephenson? He has played in the G League Grand Rapids Gold this season, averaging 19.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and Thomas Jr., who recently signed with the Lakers, played for Grand Rapids Gold during his time in the G League.
Remember Jordan Bell? The Warriors' 2018 championship team member is also currently playing in the G League, playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors. Bale has averaged 11 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.6 blocks in the G-League this season, shooting 60 percent from the field, and teams in desperate need of reinforcing the interior may wish to consider.
Remember Kyle Guy? 2019 NCAA championship winner, Semifinalist MOP (Most Prominent Player), who played for the Kings for two seasons, played in the G League Cleveland Charge this season, averaging 21.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, and averaging 3.4 three-pointers per game.
The G-League is the closest material to the NBA, and the teams are also looking at overseas leagues, which is also the customary operation of NBA teams. According to reports, the Lakers and other teams have asked about Zhou Qi, this news has aroused heated discussion, considering the situation of the NBA, now Zhou Qi is indeed more attractive to NBA teams.
Zhou Qi has played in the NBA, performed well in the Australian League this season, and he is now the fifth player in many teams in the league, especially the Lakers, and it is reasonable to get the attention of the NBA.
However, the agreement launched by the NBA this time is basically for emergency use, and the current reinforcements of various teams are mostly short-term, and it is difficult to say whether this contract type is attractive enough for players such as Zhou Qi who have played well in other leagues.