Isaiah Thomas #31 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket while Patrick Beverley #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves defends in the fourth quarter of the game at Target Center on December 17, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. David Berding/Getty Images/AFP
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association have reached an agreement on rules for using additional replacement players to help COVID-strapped teams, ESPN and The Athletic reported Monday.
The amended rules went into effect Sunday night and will remain until Jan. 19, per the reports, citing a memo the league sent to every team. The sides will re-evaluate at that time, ending or extending the pact.
The amended rules come amid an outbreak within the league that has forced a bevy of postponements, including three games on Sunday alone. Also, Monday night’s Orlando-Toronto game has postponed as well as Tuesday night’s Washington-Brooklyn contest.
The amended rules now allow teams to sign a replacement player for every positive COVID-19 test on its active roster. Further, teams will be required to sign a replacement player for every two positive tests, two replacements for every three positive cases, etc.
Further, two-way players will shed the 50-game max rule, through Jan. 19, and salaries of replacement players will not count toward teams’ salary cap and luxury tax threshold, per the reports.