Report: NBA to Expand Roster Capacity for Resumed Season
Details are continuing to come out regarding the NBA restart in Orlando, Florida, next month, and the latest piece of information is a big one.
According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the league is planning to expand team rosters from 15 to include up to 17 players. Additionally, Charania reported that players who have signed an NBA/G League deal "this year or a previous year" will be available to sign as well — meaning the LA Clippers could bring back someone like Jamal Crawford if they wanted to.
Not only will the change allow teams to bring a few extra players along for the ride, but it could end up giving core players spare time to rest.
Each team will play eight regular-season games beginning as early as July 30, but if a team is already locked into a playoff seed (something that will become prevalent near the end of the schedule), those two additional players could make all the difference.
So what does this mean for the LA Clippers?
The team currently has all 17 spots filled, including two-way players Amir Coffey and Johnathan Motley. It would be easy for the franchise to travel as-is to Florida, and honestly not a bad idea. Coffey and Motley have each appeared in 13 games this season, and they've been just fine in their roles. Neither will earn meaningful minutes in the postseason, but a throwaway game before the playoffs begin is as good an opportunity for development as any other. Ultimately, it would be a low-risk, low-reward situation.
On the other hand, LA could scour the market and try to fill up on as much talent as possible. Crawford isn't an ideal fit, given the Clippers' bench is already full of scoring-minded guards. But if the coaching staff doesn't plan on using whoever fills the final two roster spots, it could serve as an opportunity for someone like Crawford to finally win a well-deserved championship.
It's hard to say what the most likely option here is. The reality is that hardly any of the players available will truly be difference-makers. That said, it might not be a bad idea to turn on tweet notifications for the NBA's top reporters in the event the Clippers do make a significant transaction.
