Until a few days ago I had never heard about 10-day contracts in the National Basketball Association, I was at a NHL game and the sportswire scrolled thru some players who had signed a 10-day contract. I had no idea they could sign a player for 3 games.
[ul]
[li]So what is the purpose of them? [/li][li]How do they work? [/li][li]What players would sign one? [/li][li]What is the advantage for the team? [/li][li]the player?[/li][li]Have any good players benefited from one?[/li][/ul]
I am sure there are other questions, but since I don’t know enough about the 10-day’ers I don’t know what more to ask, so assume I don’t know anything and start from the beginning (well cause I really don’t know anything).
Usually just to fill a roster spot if a regular starter or backup is out for an extended period of time because of injury or some other reason (usually it’s an injury).
NBA teams are required to have at least 12 active players at all times unless there are extenuating circumstances e.g. they participated in a big trade and the players they traded away are gone but the players they traded for have not arrived or cannot play for some other reason. In any case, whatever the reason, teams are allowed to have less than 12 active players only for a maximum of 2 weeks but then they have to have somebody fill any vacant roster spots, hence 10-day contracts.
Players who would sign one are typically hoping to get in the league somehow, to get noticed and, hopefully, to stick with the team (it happens) or get noticed by another team. It beats playing in some shoestring minor league or on the playground, even if the pay rate is lower than for a regular, doesn’t it?
To keep teams from abusing the system (keeping a guy on a series of 10-days instead of a regular contract), they’re limited to 2 consecutive ones, after which the player has to be either released or given a contract.
The advantage for the team is cost flexibility - a 10-day guy is cheap and can be dumped quickly and painlessly when the guy he’s replacing is recovered from his injury or whatever.
The NBA Development League is the official minor league of the NBA, but for all intents and purposes the “true” minor league is the NCAA. While there are a few name players who came out of the D-League to prove themselves and stick around at the NBA level, for the most part the D-League is the dregs of the NBA and make up most of the 10-day-contract fodder. A lot of 2nd round draft picks end up there, never to be seen again.