Tag: Alfonzo McKinnie

NBA hardship contracts: Top performances by 10-day signees

Rookie Wire took a look at the top performances by players on 10-day hardship contracts.

The month of December proved to be a rather difficult time for teams and players alike in the NBA after dealing with the latest outbreak of the coronavirus.

Over 200 players entered the health and safety protocol in December and 11 games were postponed as a result of the outbreak. Teams have called up nearly 100 players from the NBA G League to replace those in the protocol, creating opportunities for under-the-radar guys.

With several roster players sidelined in the protocol, teams relied on those call-ups to field teams and avoid further postponements. Several players signed via hardship exception took advantage of the opportunity and made a name for themselves.

The performances by those players will go a long way in securing long-term contracts in the NBA. The latest obstacle surrounding the coronavirus certainly proved to be difficult but one uplifting consequence is seeing several players realizing the opportunity of a lifetime.

With most teams through the worst of the latest coronavirus outbreak, Rookie Wire took a look at some of the top performances by players signed via hardship contracts. We will continue to update this list with each notable outing.

Note: List current through games played on Jan. 4

Lonzo Ball among three Bulls to enter health and safety protocols

Chicago loses three more players to the league’s health and safety protocols.

The Chicago Bulls, like a lot of the NBA, can’t seem to dodge the health and safety protocols.

After DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and company have made their way out of the league’s protocols over the last two weeks, the Bulls have a handful of new protocol members.

On Sunday, Bulls guard Lonzo Ball was placed in the league’s health and safety protocol, first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Center Tony Bradley and newly signed Alfonzo McKinnie joined Ball in the league’s protocols on Sunday.

The three join head coach Billy Donovan in protocols, who was placed there on Christmas Eve.

Stay tuned to Lonzo Wire for updates on all things Lonzo Ball and the Bulls.

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Explaining the NBA’s hardship exception and the free agents who signed as replacement players

Explaining what hardship exceptions and replacement players mean as COVID-19 protocols hit the NBA.

As the omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to spread, the NBA has required a large share of “replacement players” to fill in for the players who are in health and safety protocols. And so far, more than 100 players have reportedly entered the league’s health and safety protocols so far this month, per ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.

But how exactly do the “replacement players” work?

Essentially, the NBA’s hardship exception allows teams to exceed the 15-man roster limit if more than three players on the roster are each going to miss extended time due to illness or injury. Typically, teams weren’t allowed to apply for the hardship exception before Jan. 5.

But starting last season, the league changed the policy to allow earlier exceptions. And as of earlier this week, effective Dec. 19 until Jan. 19, the NBA is allowing teams to sign one replacement player for each player on their roster who tests positive for COVID-19.

While there are some big names (e.g. Isaiah Thomas, Lance Stephenson, CJ Miles) who have signed as replacement players, there are lots of promising young NBA hopefuls who are hoping to use this opportunity as a chance to stick around the league.

Not all of the players below were signed through hardship exceptions and some transactions (e.g. DeMarcus Cousins and Wesley Matthews to the Milwaukee Bucks) may have happened anyway during a normal season.

But below, based on the NBA’s transaction log and reporting from the league’s top insiders, you can find a live tracker of all the players who have signed new deals with NBA teams over the course of the past month.