The Wizards are requesting permission to add a 16th player to their roster via the hardship provision, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. According to Katz (Twitter link), the team is readying its application now and would have 48 hours to make a move if the request is granted.
The NBA can grant a team a hardship exception when that team has at least four players who have missed three or more games due to injury or illness and are expected to miss at least two more weeks. A hardship exception allows the club to add an extra player to its 15-man roster, increasing its roster limit to 16.
In Washington’s case, John Wall and C.J. Miles are expected to be out for the season and Thomas Bryant and Jordan McRae are also on the shelf with multi-week injuries. Isaiah Thomas has also missed the Wizards’ last four games due to a calf injury, though he appears slightly closer to a return than the team’s other injured players.
The extra roster spot would be a temporary measure, allowing the Wizards to add a 16th man on a non-guaranteed contract. The exception would expire and Washington would have to make a roster move to get back down to 15 players once its injured players start to return. It’s not yet clear which player the team will sign if and when its request is granted by the NBA.