Tyrese Haliburton says he might not have rushed back from injury if not for 65-game rule

If Tyrese Haliburton didn't potentially have $50 million on the line and a need to play in at least 65 games this season to get it, he probably wouldn't have returned from a hamstring strain in Portland on Jan. 19.

The Pacers All-Star point guard has suggested that in the past, but he was much more direct in that assertion on the Old Man & The Three Podcast with retired NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick. A video excerpt of Redick's podcast was posted on Redick's X (formerly Twitter) account Wednesday with the full episode scheduled to come out Thursday.

Haliburton posted 21 points and 17 assists in that game in almost 35 minutes worth of action, but his hamstring didn't react well and he missed the next five games before returning Jan. 30 on a minutes restriction. He was held under 23 minutes in each of his first four games back before extending to 30, and he finally played 34 minutes on Monday night against the Hornets.

"No question," Haliburton said when asked by Redick if he felt a sense of urgency to return.

Redick asked if the "$53 million incentive" had something to do with it.

"Yeah, what?" Haliburton said. "I thought I was ready to go for the Portland game. So did our medical staff. Everybody agreed. But if this was never the case, I might have been like, 'Give it another game or two. Maybe think more through this. Let's try to be 100%.'"

The "$53-million incentive" is the money that would be added to the max contract extension Haliburton signed in the summer, which kicks in next season. The specific numbers could change depending on the salary cap, the NBA allows teams to offer players coming off their four-year rookie contract five-year deals worth up to 25% of the salary cap. They can increase that to 30%, however, if a player makes the All-NBA team before the contract starts taking effect. Haliburton's contract is worth an estimated $206 million if he doesn't make an All-NBA team, but if he does make one of the three All-NBA teams this season it rises to around $260 million. As an All-Star starter averaging 21.9 points and 11.7 assists per game, Haliburton has a chance to be All-NBA and was in very good position to make it before straining his hamstring against the Celtics on Jan. 8.

Before this season, however, the NBA instituted a rule that requires players to play in at least 65 games out of the season's 82 regular-season games to be eligible for postseason awards, including All-NBA, the MVP award and Defensive Player of the Year honors. That allows a player to miss 17 games. Haliburton has missed 13. It has been reported that Haliburton will get credit for playing in the In-Season Tournament championship, which doesn't count to the 82, but he's still close to that margin.

Haliburton was asked about that change and called it "a stupid rule." He clarified those comments slightly, understanding fans' disaffection with the idea of load management, but noted that players rushing back from injury is still a potentially problematic byproduct. It's especially an issue for players who are facing contract situations like Haliburton's.

"I've just been frustrated by it completely," Haliburton said. "I understand where the league is coming from. At the end of the day, I'm a fan of basketball like everybody is. We want the best players to play. But realistically, like we talked about earlier, there's only a couple of us this could hurt financially. ... The intent is correct. I think people misconstrued my words to say, act like I don't care about fans or I don't want to play. I want to play 82 games if I can. That's just now how the cookie crumbles right now."

It's not clear exactly when the podcast was recorded, but Haliburton was still very bothered by the minutes restriction at the time.

"I've had a minutes restriction now for the last two weeks," Haliburton said. "It's changed. It's started at 20 and it's ramped up. But it's been (expletive) terrible."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tyrese Haliburton says 65-game rule had part in his Portland return