60WinTim wrote:longstrangetrip wrote:60WinTim wrote:Although Trent Tucker mentioned that 14 spots is more likely, because teams like to have that 15th spot open if needed down the road...
Yeah, I heard him say that. But they have to have 15 paid roster spots before the season starts, so I think TT was just saying Flip might want to keep that 15th spot open until October to see what he needs to target in free agency.
I know there is a minimum salary requirement, and while there might be a minimum # of roster spots, I did not think it was 15. Or is that something new?
The short story is it looks like you can have as few at 13 healthy players with no restrictions.
"79. What roster size limits exist? What is the Inactive List? What is Injured Reserve? Do any other such lists exist?
Normally an NBA team can have a maximum of 15 players on its roster during a season (and up to 20 during the offseason). A team normally has 12 or 13 players on its Active List, who are eligible to play in games, and can have as few as 11 for up to two weeks at a time. Any remaining players must be on the team's Inactive List, and are ineligible to play in games. Teams temporarily can have four players on their Inactive List (bringing their roster size to 16) with league approval in the event of a hardship1. Teams must suit-up at least eight players for every game. The following table summarizes the allowable compositions of team Active and Inactive Lists:
Total Players Active Inactive Notes
16 12 4 With league approval in the event of a hardship
15 13 2
15 12 3
14 13 1
14 12 2
14 11 3 Two week limit
13 13 0
13 12 1
13 11 2 Two week limit
12 12 0 Two week limit
12 11 1 Two week limit
11 11 0 Two week limit
The composition of the Inactive List can change on a game-by-game basis -- no less than 60 minutes prior to tipoff, the team must present to the official scorer a list of the players who will be active for that game. A player can be inactive for as little as one game. While individual teams are only required to carry a minimum of 13 players, (12 active and one inactive), the NBA also guarantees a league-wide average of at least 14 players per team. The league is surcharged if it does not meet this obligation.
In addition to the Active and Inactive Lists, the following lists exist:
Suspended List: Any player who is suspended by his team for four or more games may be transferred to the team's Suspended List following the third game of his suspension (and may be placed on the team's Active List or Inactive List for the first three game). Any player who is suspended by the league for six or more games may be transferred to the team's Suspended List following the fifth game of his suspension (and must remain on the team's Active List for the first five games).
NBA Draft List: The NBA Draft List contains the players with whom the team holds exclusive negotiating rights.
Voluntarily Retired List: A player who wishes to retire while under contract may be placed on his team's Voluntarily Retired List if both the team and player agree. Such players cannot return to active status for one year without the unanimous consent of the NBA Board of Governors (see question number 63), and cannot be traded. By utilizing the Voluntarily Retired List rather than agreeing to a buyout (see question number 67), the team is left with some ongoing rights -- for example, the player is not able to sign with another team.
Armed Services List: Used for players who are on active duty in their country's armed services.
Injured Reserve is the former name of the Inactive List. It was originally intended for players who were injured and unable to play, however teams often used it as a convenient place to stash extra players. While a medical reason was required for players to be put on Injured Reserve, the league did not insist on an independent physician confirming the diagnosis. Thus it was common for a seemingly healthy player to suddenly develop "back spasms" right before rosters were cut to 12 players, and spend the entire season on Injured Reserve as a result. With the 1995 CBA they gave up the ghost, dropped the medical requirement, and changed the designation to "Inactive List." (The cynic will note that marginal NBA players seem to have a lot fewer back spasms nowadays.)
Players assigned to the NBA Developmental League (see question number 81) are automatically placed on their team's Inactive List.
Since players who are on the Suspended, NBA Draft, Volunarily Retired and Armed Services lists are on neither the Active nor Inactive List, these players are ignored for roster size limitations. For example, in early 2015 the Sixers had 15 players on its roster, and had placed Andrei Kirilenko on its Suspended List. This freed up a roster spot for the team to acquire Jared Cunningham from the Clippers.
1 A hardship can be deemed to exist when a team has four players who are sick or injured and have missed at least three games, and will continue to be unable to play. If a hardship is granted, the hardship ends when one of the sick or injured players is physically able to resume playing. The team must then release player(s) to get back to the roster limit, although teams have the option to retain the hardship player and release a different player to get back to the limit."
http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q79