A new wrinkle in two-way contracts could pay NBA dividends this season for Heat two-way players Yante Maten (above) and Duncan Robinson.
A new wrinkle in two-way contracts could pay NBA dividends this season for Heat two-way players Yante Maten (above) and Duncan Robinson. (Brynn Anderson / AP)

For Duncan Robinson and Yante Maten, the timing could not be better when it comes to lining up this season as the Miami Heat's latest two-way players.

That's because NBA time just might be on their side.


While two-way players technically are limited to 45 days per season in the NBA, with the rest of the time coming in the G League, a subtle change this season will make the process both less awkward for the teams and more efficient for the players.

Unlike last season, when the Heat had to take the somewhat remarkable step of leaving players behind and have them fly commercial following a road game in order to save one of those 45 days, travel days no longer will count against the limit if the team does not practice on those days.

So, for example, if Heat coach Erik Spoelstra were to give his team Nov. 15 off between a game the night before in Brooklyn and one the following night in Indiana, being with the team no longer would count against the 45-day clock for a two-way player.

In fact, if a team were to hold a practice and hold out a two-way player, that day also would not count against the 45-day limit.

Last season, the Heat had to scramble at times with the travel planning and practice time with Derrick Walton Jr. and Derick Jones Jr. to maximize their NBA time amid a spate of injuries elsewhere on the roster.

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"That's great, that means they get to stay up here a lot longer than they're supposed to," said Jones, who has moved on to a standard NBA contract this season.

The caveat is that players on two-way contracts will be paid at G League scale for those non-NBA workdays, with NBA daily salary at about $5,000 for two-way players and G League daily salary at about $500.

Two-way players are allowed to practice together on off days without it counting against the 45-day limit, should Robinson and Maten find themselves with such a workout opportunity.

Jones said he appreciates the uniqueness of the two-way lifestyle, with the contracts added into the NBA mix last season.

"I really didn't count down the days," he said. "I signed my two-way kind of late. I really didn't count 'em down. I was just going out there trying to maximize every opportunity. It's always going to be different when you only can be with your team for so long. It's just a different feeling."

Robinson and Maten currently are traveling with the Heat during this season-opening trip against the Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards. The meter on their 45-day NBA limit does not begin until the Oct. 22 start of G League training camp for the Heat's Sioux Falls Skyforce affiliate. Similarly, the 45-day meter ends following the final day of the G League regular season on March 23.

That, alone, adds 23 additional NBA days without the 45-day meter running, in effect allowing for as many as 68 NBA days for 2018-19 two-way players.

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While additional days around the NBA roster are possible, such as weight-room sessions held separate from teammates on off days amid homestands, Heat management also stresses the developmental value of time in the G League and the accompanying playing time.

For his part, Jones said he could appreciate moving the limit to a set total of allowable NBA games, rather than the somewhat arbitrary limit on days.


"That would be something that would a lot better," he said. "They would be able to play 35 games instead of having 45 days. I believe they should do that, but I'm not the guy making those decisions."