Lusty RaRue

Moderator, if this is better suited for the "Legal" forum please transfer it.

Does the apparently artificial limiting of the latest Grant Hill comeback to10 games represent fraud? Maybe it's not the right word but if he's ready to prior to 10 games left and the Magic hold him out to save money, isn't there something wrong with that?

On a similar note but here in the hypothetical, what if the Magic held him out all this year so that the clock kept running on the 2 years needed for a players contract to come off the books for cap purposes? In other words the Magic influence him to not play this season and keep open the chance he might not ever come back. He then practices this summer when it doesn't count and if he gets re-injured the clock issue is still favorable to the Magic and if he stays healthy so much the better. Wouldn't this be considered circumvention of the CBA?

The question in both cases is don't they have an obligation to play him once he's medically cleared?

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The above post is just my stupid opinion(JMSO). Corrections requested/ comments welcomed.
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''I told Jamal the situation is totally different,'' Paxson said. ''When Jay was selected with the second pick of the draft, all expectations were that he was going to be the starter.
''That's not the case this time around. Kirk's a complimentary player, although I do believe he'll be a starter eventually in this league.''

Storyteller

Good questions!

As for the first situation, yeah, it's probably "fraud" in the broadest sense of the word. But no more so than the "fraud" that occurs every year when teams put players on the IR list that everyone knows aren't really injured. I don't think that the league would make that big a deal out of it. If anything, the Magic might have more of an issue with the insurance company that pays most of Hill's contract if he plays less than 10 games....

As for the second, it's my understanding that in order to apply for permanent salary cap relief as the result of injury, not only would Hill have to announce his retirement, but he would have to submit to a league-appointed physician for a physical. If the physician felt that Hill COULD play, the league wouldn't give the cap relief to Orlando.

Lusty RaRue

Thank you for your response.

I should've made it more clear but the first question was about the insurance and the second about the league.

Specifically on the second: Is there an obligation to play Hill if he's cleared medically? The Magic risk having the clock moved back if he plays this season and gets injured relative to if he gets injured this summer(at least that's my understanding of it). Does this manuever to delay exposure qualify as circumvention? The issue at this time is strictly limited to this and not whether he's eventually declared unable to play by the league.

Maybe it's just a superficial look from an outsider but it seems like a desperate team testing the limits.

__________________
The above post is just my stupid opinion(JMSO). Corrections requested/ comments welcomed.
=============================
''I told Jamal the situation is totally different,'' Paxson said. ''When Jay was selected with the second pick of the draft, all expectations were that he was going to be the starter.
''That's not the case this time around. Kirk's a complimentary player, although I do believe he'll be a starter eventually in this league.''