Participation vs. playing hurt

The Player Participation Policy's unintended consequences.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Young Girl at a Window; Mary Cassatt; 1883-84

Tyrese Haliburton has certainly been one of the top six guards in the NBA this season. He was voted an All-Star starter in the competitive Eastern Conference, becoming the top vote-getter among fans, players and the media. In fact, only three of the 100 media voters didn’t have him as an All-Star starter.

Haliburton has also been struggling with a hamstring injury of late. After missing just three games in the Pacers’ first 36, Haliburton has sat in 10 of the last 12. He played a game in Portland in January 19, a debut alongside Pascal Siakam. That game aggravated Haliburton’s hamstring. He just returned again last night, playing 22 minutes. He didn’t play at all in the fourth of a close game against a top team.

Haliburton is in the final season of his rookie contract. He signed a maximum value extension last summer. That max is set at 25% of the salary cap next season and goes up from there, with one caveat: if Haliburton qualifies for a Rose Rule designated rookie contract, the contract will start at 30% of the cap. In starting salary for 2024-25, that’s the difference between $35 million and $42 million. Over the life of the 5-year contract, it’s about a $40 million difference.

How does Haliburton qualify for a Rose Rule contract? The easiest path: make All-NBA. We already declared that Haliburton has clearly been one of the six best guards in the NBA this season, and while positionality has gone by the wayside in All-NBA voting, that should get him in …

… but for the NBA’s new rules around player participation, one of which requires players to play at least 20 minutes in at least 65 games to be eligible for certain postseason awards including MVP and All-NBA.

Haliburton has played 35 games, but only 13 minutes in one of those games (the game in which he was initially injured). So technically, by the letter of the law, he’s played just 34 games. The Pacers have 34 games remaining. Haliburton would need to play at least 20 minutes in 31 of them to be eligible for All-NBA. He’s recovering from injury, and basically has a $40 million mandate to play through it. The medical staff in Indiana knows this. The coaching staff and front office know this. It’s quite possible this all factored into Hali’s decision to play in Portland. It could be influencing where medical staff sets minutes limits. The unintended consequences abound.