maybe i missed something here, and if i did im sorry to bring it up again. i was just wondering... we have: cato-yao-collier moT-griff-Tmo rice-kt-nachbar cat-tito steve-mooch thats 13 roster spots taken. 12 active and collier on ir. please correct me if im wrong, but we are allowed 3 players on ir. so why do i hear that torres, tierre, and mickeal are fighting for the last remaining spot? there should be 2 spots left. is this a new nba rule? or did rudy/cd decide this themselves?
The limit is really 12 but you are allowed to have 3 on IR. The NBA tried to change it to make it legit to have 3 inactive instead of the fooling around that is going on right now. The Players Association did not like the idea. Given the Rockets injury history I can easily see them justifying 15. If that is the case then there are two spots left which should belong to OT and Brown.
That change to the Inactive Reserve is now in effect. I don't think the players union has too much of a problem with that rule, seeing as how it essentially increases the number of NBA players who make salaries, even if it's just by being on the IR. As far as the Rockets go, they usually prefer to carry no more than 14 players. Having a 15th player only increases payroll while the team is looking to avoid the luxury tax.
-Sorry, I did not know where to include this Q&A Session but here it is: http://dynamic.espn.go.com/espn/chat/chatESPN?event_id=2515#bottom Ron (Houston): Do the Houston Rockets have what it takes to become a competitive squad in the Western Conference for years to come? Marc Stein: (3:57 PM ET ) If Yao does as much as Rik Smits did at his best, and Franchise and Mobley stay the course, they've got a nice core. Of course, in the West, just getting in the playoff party is a chore and, as others have noted here, Yao is a serious candidate to hit the wall early since he hasn't had a summer off in, well, forever.
