NBA Hardship Exception: Memphis Grizzlies zero in on 6-foot-10 forward As Roster Struggles With Injuries

The Memphis Grizzlies are making use of the NBA Hardship Exception as the roster struggles to stay healthy at the start of the 2025-26 season. ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Sunday that the Grizzlies are signing free agent center Charles Bassey to a 10-day hardship deal.

The Memphis team reportedly has four players out of the lineup for extended periods.

"The Memphis Grizzlies are planning to sign center Charles Bassey via hardship exception, sources tell ESPN. Grizzlies currently have Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr., Brandon Clarke and Zach Edey sidelined for extended periods, clearing way for a 10-day hardship signing," Charania reported on X (formerly Twitter).

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Despite the injuries to their roster, the Grizzlies have a 2-1 record to start their year. The team had a 128-122 win over the New Orleans Pelicans in their season opener. They followed it up with a 146-114 defeat against the Miami Heat.

Fortunately for the team, they bounced back with a 128-103 win against the Indiana Pacers.

Although the team has suffered injuries to some of its role players, All-Stars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. have been healthy and available. The star duo has worked together to start the season. Morant has averaged 22 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the first three games of the campaign. Jackson, on the other hand, has put up 18 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.

Fortunately, the Grizzlies can stay competitive in the challenging Western Conference thanks to the NBA Hardship Exception. It will help the team have another player in service, as the others use the time they need to recover from their injuries.

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What is the NBA Hardship Exception?

The NBA Hardship Exception is distinct from other league exceptions, such as the minimum-salary, mid-level, and bi-annual ones. The latter is made available to all teams each season so that a franchise can have spending flexibility. This allows the team to make certain roster moves depending on their current situation.

The wage cap has nothing to do with the hardship exception. Nonetheless, it enables a team to temporarily expand its squad by adding one or more players. To be eligible for the exemption, a team must fulfill three requirements.

The first is that a team needs four players to be unavailable due to injury or illness. The second is that all four injured players would have missed at least three consecutive games. The last criterion is that all four players are expected to remain sidelined for at least two more weeks.

The Grizzlies check all the boxes, which is why they were able to exercise the NBA Hardship Exception. It's early in the season, and Memphis has already started to utilize the exception.

Edited by Reign Amurao