Despite some whispers that the NBA may only permit teams to bring 15 players into the Orlando bubble this summer, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the league actually plans to allow 17 players per club.
The decision ensures that each team will be able to bring its two-way players into the bubble, even if that club has a full 15-man roster. That may lessen the need for those teams to convert players’ two-way contracts to standard deals before the postseason begins, though we still need more details on exactly how the roster rules will work.
In a typical season, two-way players are allowed to be on the bench during the playoffs but are prohibited from participating in games. It’s unclear, based on Charania’s report, whether the NBA has changed that rule for 2019/20 or whether two-way players will only be allowed to play in the eight seeding games before – as usual – becoming ineligible for the postseason.
Additionally, the wording of Charania’s report doesn’t make it clear whether teams will be permitted to bring up to 17 players to Orlando only if they’ve filled both two-way slots, or whether a team could carry, for instance, 16 players on standard contracts and one on a two-way deal. There are also no indications at this point that the NBA will be adjusting its usual limit of 13 active players per game.
Luguentz Dort (Thunder) and Chris Chiozza (Nets) are among the two-way players who were playing regular roles for their respective teams when the season was suspended in March.
Teams are expected to be restricted to traveling parties of around 35 people when they head to Orlando next month.