February 13, 2005: NBA Pseudo Injury Solution
By Ahchie

The National Basketball Association’s injured list system is an insult to the fans. Everyone knows that not all players on the “injured” list are really hurt or unable to play. Teams have long practiced putting players there so they can remain signed with the team. While this may be a minor problem compared to other issues that the league is facing, such as players beating up fans and referees being told which teams they need to allow to win, this is one of those issues that could be easily solved. Why spend time dealing with such a minor issue? Because this is one of those issues that is indicative of how the league does things overall. To start by fixing something relatively minor in the grand scheme would be a sign that the league is ready to clean up the game.

The Problem
Each team has 12 players on its active roster with two additional players on the injured list. The two injured players will be listed with an injury, whether they have that injury or not. The most common fake injury is some form of tendinitis. Once a player from the 12 man roster is legitimately injured, he immediately goes on the injured list and one of the two players on the injured list are all of a sudden better and begin playing on the 12 man roster, often times getting immediate playing time despite just “recovering” from an injury that was supposedly bad enough to have them on the injured list. As soon as the legitimately injured player is healthy, he returns to the 12 man roster, creating a need for another player to suddenly get mysteriously hurt and go to the injured list. Sometimes this is the player who mysteriously got better, but if he is playing well someone else is the one who gets to be mysteriously injured. The only way a team can put someone on the injured list when the player is not injured is if the player agrees to the move.

The process just described happens all the time and, although it is a blatant lie, no one talks about it. Until recently, when Miami Heat forward Wesley Person filed a grievance with the players’ union because his team put him on the injured list when he wasn’t really injured. As with all players who go on the injured list, Person had to be listed with an injury, so Miami said that he had right-knee tendinitis. Person said he was healthy. Miami said that Person approved the move, while Person said the approval came when Miami called him while he was sleeping. When he woke up, he realized that he made a mistake. Now that Person has been brought back to the roster, he has stated he will not follow up on his grievance, but he has asked to be waived or traded. In the four games since returning to the roster, he has not played a single minute.

The point is not whether or not Person gave approval. The point is that the process is flawed and finally we have a player acknowledging that he is not really injured. Now is the time to put an end to the silly charade of inventing injuries to place players on the injured list.

Originally the intent may have been to have a team limited to a 12 man roster, with the injury list a place to put someone while they rehab and be able to sign someone else so the bench does not get too depleted. Obviously over time, the practice has become one of hiding players on the injured list, so that you have two extra players in the event you eventually need them. Usually these are players that would benefit from playing in games.

The examples are numerous. Orlando rookie Mario Kasun had been sitting on the end of the bench, playing a total of five minutes in the previous five games. Suddenly he needed to go on the injured list with left knee tendinitis. The move to the injured list was really just to make room for Andrew DeClercq, who was returning to the active roster from his injury. Andris Biedrins has been on Golden State’s active roster for a total of 15 games and has played in only four. Both times he has gone on the injured list it was due to a strained left hamstring. Was he really hurt, or was it only because they needed to make room for Dale Davis? Charlotte’s Theron Smith had averaged 21 minutes the previous six games, and was placed on the injured list with right knee tendinitis. Was it really the ever popular tendinitis or was it to make room for Bernard Robinson?

The NBA seems fine with this, as there is no effort to stop it or change it. But the NBA needs to decide what it wants. The current system is a farce.

The Solution
The BMTG proposes three changes. Not only would the proposed changes solve the fake injury list issue, but they would also address the maturity level problem that has been creeping into the league as more and more players are coming directly out of high school.

The first change is to rename the injured list to the inactive list. The list would have a limit of three players per team. The two players would be a part of the team in every way, except for their eligibility to play in official games. The teams could use the inactive list for injured players or for players they want to have practice with the team and be readily available in the event they are needed.

Next would be to make the NBA's development league (the NBDL) more of a minor league system. Each NBA team would have a development league team affiliated with them. The development league teams would have smaller rosters, such as 8 or 10 players. Instead of burying players on the injured list, teams would actually have a place to keep the marginal or developing players without losing the rights to them. These players could continue to play and stay ready, instead of sitting on the bench. Like in Major League Baseball, players would be able to join their parent NBA club during the season, and similar to baseball, players would need to be on the NBA roster the final three weeks of the season to be eligible for the playoffs. This would be an ideal place to play for players like Kasun, Biedrins, and Smith, who clearly are healthy, but are not good enough yet to play a significant role on their teams.

The final change would be to require every player to have a minimum of two years in either college or the development league before they could play in the NBA. Therefore a player completing his sophomore, junior or senior year of college could go directly to the NBA. A player completing his freshman year of college would need to spend one year in the development league, while a player out of high school would need to spend two years.

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