How Jayson Tatum helped lobby for a rule change in new CBA
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How Jayson Tatum helped lobby for a rule change in new CBA originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
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Jayson Tatum isn't one of the several Boston Celtics players directly involved with the NBA Players Association, but that didn't stop him from using his influence during collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
The Celtics star told Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes he contacted the league to voice his support for a proposed rule change in the NBA's new CBA informally dubbed "The Harry Giles III Rule" after the former Sacramento Kings and Duke big man.
"I reached out in support," said Tatum, who was teammates with Giles during his lone season at Duke in 2016-17. "Just trying help my guy. He deserves this shot."
The rule change would allow players who missed an entire season due to injury not have that season count toward the three-year maximum of service time for those on two-way contracts. Under the previous CBA, only players in Year 1, 2 or 3 could sign two-way deals, even if they missed one of those years due to injury. That's what happened to Giles, who technically has accrued four years of NBA service time despite sitting out his entire rookie season.
Giles would have been ineligible to sign a two-way contract in 2023-24, but his agent challenged the rule, and thanks to an assist from Tatum, it passed, giving Giles one more chance to latch on with an NBA team on a two-way deal this season.
That's a pretty cool gesture from Tatum, who went out of his way to help his former college teammate by advocating for a rule change that ultimately was adopted. Giles hasn't played since suffering a season-ending injury for the Los Angeles Clippers' G-League affiliate in January 2022, but if he's healthy enough to take the court this season, perhaps Tatum would lobby for the Celtics to bring his close friend to Boston.
