Amid thinning rosters in the darkest days of the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA is progressing toward an expansion of regular-season rosters, sources told ESPN.
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association must still agree on the details of granting teams an additional two-way roster spot for the balance of the regular season, but those talks are expected to soon culminate with an agreement and deeper roster options for teams struggling with COVID-19 issues, sources said.
The NBA has had to postpone 13 games this season, the bulk of which have come in the last week.
NBA general managers have been enthusiastic in support of additional roster options this season, a broad sentiment that was shared with league office executives in a virtual meeting of NBA general managers Friday, sources said.
In this shortened, 72-game season, two-way roster spots allow players to be active for 50 games -- and players' eligibility is based upon three years or less of playing service.
The NBA was already allowing two slots for two-way contracts this season, paying players a flat salary of $450,000. The NBA allows for 15 roster spots for traditional league contracts, and adding another full roster spot instead of a two-way would cause teams to run into salary-cap issues.