Joe Root believes England would have achieved something "phenomenal" if they win the final Test against India.

Although the possibility of winning the series, or reaching the final of the World Test Championship, has gone, Root is adamant that winning in Ahmedabad - and therefore securing a 2-2 draw in the series - would "be a brilliant achievement" and leaves his team with "loads to play for" going into the fourth Test.

While Root's ambition may, on the surface, appear relatively modest, it is worth viewing in context of India's long-term home record. India have not lost two Tests in a home series since 2012 - when England won 1-2; the last time they were beaten at home in a series - and have only lost that many twice (once in 2000, when South Africa defeated them 0-2) since the end of 1984. To draw the series 2-2, therefore, and complete a six-game run in Asia with four victories might reasonably be seen as a significant achievement.

That achievement might be deemed even more impressive given the margin of defeat in the previous couple of games. India won the second Test by 317 runs and the third by 10 wickets meaning England will have to demonstrate impressive powers of resilience to respond with a win.

"You look at India's record at home in recent times and it's incredible," Root said. "So, for us to come away with a drawn series would be a really good achievement, especially off the back of the last two games.

"We've had two challenging weeks but that doesn't define us as a team. We need to look at this as a real opportunity to do something special.

"It would be a brilliant achievement to leave here two-all. It would be a monumental effort from this group of players. So there's loads to play for."

While Root is keeping his options open in terms of selection, he did hint that off-spinning all-rounder Dom Bess was likely to return. England have accepted they "got it wrong" in terms of going into the previous Test with four seamers and only one specialist spinner and, although Root claimed 5-8 in India's first innings, he retains few pretensions as a bowler. With another turning track anticipated in the final Test, Bess might both boost the spin attack and add a little solidity to a tail that stretched beyond the horizon in the previous game.

"If the pitch looks anything like the last one, he'll be licking his lips at the opportunity," Root said. "He is certainly in contention for selection. He is a very skilful young player that is very ambitious and will be desperate to make his mark.

"You look at the side for last match: we got that wrong in terms of the way we selected the team; we read the pitch wrong. We looked at the conditions and how the ball had behaved and the previous pink ball Test in India and we got it wrong. We didn't envisage it to spin as much.

"If the pitch is anything like the last one, of course Dom would be a fantastic option. His skill levels are far above mine. He will be very much looking forward to bowling on it. We're definitely expecting this pitch to spin. That's been a big part of our focus in training so we're as prepared as we can be going into this game.

"There is not a comparison between me and Dom: he is a far more talented bowler than me. He's got 17 wickets already this winter and definitely, if he is in the side, he is above me in the pecking order. It was nice to contribute last time, but if we play two spinners they'll be doing the bulk of the bowling, they are far more skilled than I am."

While Root is confident he will have an entire squad from which to select his side, he did admit there had been some illness in the England camp in recent days. Everyone was able to train on Tuesday, however, boosting Root's hopes that England can achieve the victory that would draw the series; a result that might, perhaps, provoke comparison to the 2019 result at The Oval when England won the final Test to draw the series against Australia.

"At the minute, everyone's seems to be okay," Root said. "We managed to draw that 2019 series so it would be great for us to again come out of this one in a similar fashion. To leave here with a drawn series would be a really fine achievement for a relatively inexperienced side.

"It would certainly be up there [with my greatest achievements as captain]. The progress we've made over the last couple of years has been really pleasing, especially away from home. If we end up winning this game it'd be four wins out of six Tests on this tour.

"It would be a phenomenal achievement from the players to have found a way in some very foreign and difficult conditions. So it's a great motivator for us as a side and I'd be extremely proud of everyone involved if we managed to do that."

Zak Crawley admits that England may need to be more proactive as a batting unit to overcome another spin-friendly surface in Ahmedabad this week, but he's confident that a reversion to red-ball cricket may remove some of the challenges associated with last week's pink-ball Test - particularly those posed by the left-arm spinner, Axar Patel.

Patel, who now has 18 wickets at 9.44 in his two-Test career, dismissed Crawley twice in the third Test, including with the first ball of England's second innings, to set in motion a collapse to 81 all out and an eventual two-day defeat.

Nine of Patel's 11 wickets were lbw or bowled - and 20 out of 30 in the whole match - as batsmen on both sides were consistently beaten for pace off the pitch, as if the shiny lacquer of the pink ball was helping it to skid through more quickly than a conventional red ball might have done.

And while Crawley expects few changes to the prevailing conditions at Ahmedabad - where anything other than an England win will secure India's progression to the World Test Championship final - he believes that England must keep faith in the gameplans that earned them a memorable victory in the first Test in Chennai, even if they have then to adapt them as the match progresses.

"I think it will be a very similar pitch this week. Why wouldn't it be?" Crawley said. "It wasn't easy to score, for sure. But it was the same for both sides and they played very well. We had our chance, we batted first and started well, but unfortunately we didn't play as well as we needed to.

"But if it's the same pitch, I do think it will be slightly easier [this time]," he added. "I felt like the pink ball was a bit harder and therefore skidded on quite quickly, which is why both sides got so many wickets lbw and bowled.

"[Axar] still has that ball in his armoury for sure and he'll still be a massive threat with that one, but it might not skid on with the same pace as the pink ball, in which case we don't need to change too much.

"But if it looks like it's going to be just as tricky, and it plays the same way with one skidding and one turning, then we may need to be more proactive, [otherwise] just play your natural game."

Crawley himself provided some of England's most proactive batting of the winter on the first morning of the third Test, as he raced to a 68-ball half-century with ten fours, before England lost their last eight wickets for 38 to be bowled out for 112 midway through the afternoon session.

And while he acknowledged that his strong start was made possible, in part, by an early diet of seam bowling, he said he would still take great confidence from that performance, particularly after making a top score of 13 in four innings on the Sri Lanka leg of the tour, prior to the wrist injury that caused him to miss the two Tests in Chennai.

"I had the best of it facing the seamers but it was nice to score some runs nonetheless," he said. "In these conditions, you need to have a clear gameplan before going in there, and you also need a lot of luck. But just spending time in the middle, and getting a sighter for their bowlers, I feel like I've got better gameplans now, and I feel confident going into this game for sure."

Patel's left-arm approach, however, has been a consistent issue for Crawley all winter long. He was removed by left-armer Lasith Embuldeniya in all four of his innings in Sri Lanka, and has scored just 30 runs from the 73 balls he's faced from both bowlers, for six times out.

But, just as Patel's offspinning partner, R Ashwin, has proven a particular challenge for England's left-handers - not least Ben Stokes, whom he has now dismissed on 11 occasions in Tests - Crawley dismissed the suggestion that he is unusually vulnerable to the challenge of left-arm spin.

"I don't think it's a big issue," he said. "I've been bowled some good balls and faced a lot of left-arm spin. If I'm facing spin pretty much from both ends all the time, I'm going to get out to one of the spinners, unless I get 200 not out.

"You have to get out some way, and one of them is going to be an offspinner and the other a left-armer. And for a right-handed batsman, the left-armer is going to be more of a challenge.

"One ball is going to skid on and attack the stumps, and if I miss it I'm going to be out, whereas with Ashwin - unbelievable bowler as we all know - if one goes straight on, I'm going to miss it. Those are just the difficulties right-handers face and that's why left-handers find it so hard against Ashwin."

It was a measure of the challenge that England faced in Ahmedabad that even their most accomplished player of spin, Joe Root, struggled to assert himself, making scores of 17 and 19 after opening the series with a matchwinning 218 in Chennai.

Root was also England's most effective bowler in the third Test, claiming the remarkable figures of 5 for 8 in 6.2 overs, but Crawley insisted that his captain was not feeling any burden of "carrying" his team-mates.

"He's an unbelievable player, but he loves all that," he said. "I don't think he feels like he's carrying us at all. He's loving being the best player in our side, and one of the best in the world, and contributing with the ball and as captain.

"We all know how tough it's been," he added. "They've got great players in their side and they've struggled for runs as well, so it's not like they're scoring millions and we're scoring none. It's been a pretty low-scoring encounter, especially the last game. So, we've still got loads of confidence in our ability, and it's all a learning curve.

"There's definitely a way back [into the series]. We're only one game down, we won a great first Test match. It's going to require us to get a good first-innings lead, and that's going to require us to bat very well. Our bowlers have been doing nicely, getting them out for 145, so if we can replicate that, then get a nice lead, that will put them under a lot of pressure.

"They would be very disappointed with a drawn series for sure, and we would be very happy with that. It'll be unbelievable if we can pull off four out of six Test matches."

Islamabad United 157 for 4 (Stirling 56, Nazir 34, Mahmood 2-29) beat Quetta Gladiators 156 for 7 (Sarfaraz 54, Ashraf 3-11, Ali 2-23) by six wickets

Islamabad United won the toss, and, yes, Islamabad United won the game. While that continues to be the story of this year's Pakistan Super League, reducing the contest to that dynamic would take away from a spellbinding performance from a side racked by off-field complications, with Covid-related absences meaning the two-time champions could field only two overseas players.

One of them, was Paul Stirling whose knock in the powerplay blew the Quetta Gladiators away before they had a chance to try and defend a below-par 156. Stirling brought up his half-century in just the fifth over of the chase - off just 21 balls - with his side plundering 76 off the powerplay. That left the chasing side with less than a run-a-ball for the remainder of the innings, and despite slowing down, Shadab Khan's side got there with three overs to spare.

The longer sides batting first remain winless, the greater the psychological burden becomes. For the Gladiators, who have yet to win a toss, the mental hurdles are particularly heavy, but losing four wickets in the powerplay is unlikely to put a side in a strong position in any league. Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf both struck in the powerplay, before returning at the death to stifle the scoring and rip through the lower order. The only resistance came in the form of Sarfaraz Ahmed whose 41-ball 54 helped ensure that the Gladiators could get to a total they'd have a flickering hope of defending.

Two overs through the middle saw Ahmed at his best power-hitting ability for years. Against Khan, who looked especially dangerous as he flighted a ball that gripped on the surface, he would manipulate the field to pick up three boundaries that kept the scoreboard ticking, before taking Iftikhar Ahmed to the cleaners the following over. The allrounder was smashed for four successive sixes, all through the offside, with the United missing a trick and playing into Ahmed's strength: right-arm off spin. When pace was introduced, the scoring dried up again, and the Gladiators ended up with a total that looked significantly below par.

Ashraf's bowling form
Ashraf has been in scrutiny of late over his indifferent performances with the ball, even as he has sizzled with the bat, both for the national side and his franchise. But the man who recently said he would consider himself a bowling allrounder "till the day I retire" demonstrated today why he retains such self-belief in that discipline. Relentlessly accurate when he went for the yorkers and judicious in the way he mixed up his length and pace, he prised out Cameron Delport with his first ball, before a short delivery brought the priceless scalp of Azam Khan.

With Ahmed threatening to help the Gladiators post closer to 180, Khan turned once more to Ashraf, who promptly brought the scoring rate down, and even trapped the Gladiators captain with his penultimate delivery. Figures of 4-0-11-3 are tribute enough, but the impact of each wicket demonstrated his enduring value as a bowler for his side.

Nawaz's nightmare
Mohammad Nawaz hasn't missed a game for Quetta Gladiators in the best part of half-a-decade, and several priceless contributions explain why he's such a nailed-on player for the side. As recently as last week, it was his cameo with the bat that took Quetta to 178 against Lahore Qalandars. But when his side needed a huge contribution with both bat and ball after a poor start on Tuesday, Nawaz struggled to effectively complement his captain through a 63-run sixth wicket partnership, contributing just 18 to it himself. The whole innings was a stop-start, constrained affair; in the final four overs, while he was the senior batsman, only a single boundary was hit. Nawaz himself would finish with 31 off 29.

And it was about to get worse. Unwilling to give Alex Hales and Stirling pace on the ball, he was tasked with opening the bowling. He would catch Stirling in sizzling form, though, being smashed for three boundaries in the first over in which he leaked 17, and the tone for a thumping United victory was set. Two further overs produced 24 more runs against him, and if this was a forgettable day for the Gladiators in general, Nawaz in particular would want to put it out of his mind.

How things stand
United joined Peshawar Zalmi and Qalandars at the top of the points table with just the net run-rate separating the three teams. The Gladiators, meanwhile, remained pointless and winless, having lost all their four matches.

Ben Cox has agreed terms to keep him at Worcestershire until the end of the 2023 County season.

Cox initially rejected an offer to stay with the club beyond the 2021 season, but Worcestershire announced on Tuesday that he had agreed a two-year contract extension.

Cox, who made his debut for Worcestershire as a 17-year-old schoolboy in 2009, has also been awarded a Benefit Year in 2021, recognising his "lengthy and outstanding service", the club said.

"This club means the world to me, being a Worcestershire boy, and it means a hell of a lot to commit for another three years to the club," Cox told the Worcestershire website. "If you had asked me when I made my debut that you would have had a 15-year career, and the club had offered you a Benefit Year, I would have snapped your hand off.

"I'm over the moon to get things sorted for another three years, and I will still have more to give at the end of this contract, which excites me in itself. Fitness is always something I hold a high regard too, so, as I get older, I don't see that changing, and I just want to keep doing the best I can be every time I go onto the field."

Cox believed that the club had taken "a big step in the right direction" last year in finishing second in the Central group of the Bob Willis Trophy.

"There are some excellent keepers in the country," he added. "If I can finish my career and people are saying 'he was pretty good', that is how I want to leave it."

Cox reached 500 career dismissals last year, including including 343 in first-class cricket, and he has scored 4764 first-class runs. He played a pivotal role in Worcestershire Rapids' 2018 Vitality Blast triumph with Man-of-the-Match performances in the semi-final and final at Edgbaston.

Worcestershire CCC Chairman Fanos Hira said: "It is pleasing that Ben will be with us until at least 2023. He is an impressive, popular player who has performed at a high level as a wicketkeeper since making his debut as a local schoolboy. He has ability, ambition, desire and potential to improve further.

"I'm delighted he has reflected on and accepted our contract extension. Members will be able to support him in his richly deserved Benefit Year during his contract. We wish him well."

DAVIE, Fla. -- The Miami Dolphins are moving on from linebacker Kyle Van Noy just one year after he signed a four-year, $51 million deal in free agency.

Van Noy released a statement Tuesday afternoon through NFL Network that he was informed of his release and was "surprised and disappointed" with the Dolphins' decision. He mentioned he gave his all to Miami in his one season there as a captain and fought through a painful hip injury.

Van Noy, 29, has not officially been released yet while the team explores the trade market, a source told ESPN, although if a trade isn't found his release will happen in the coming days. Van Noy's departure will save Miami $9.75 million in cap space, raising their total to more than $36 million.

Talks have been ongoing for days about Van Noy, and a source told ESPN that the Dolphins discussed a pay cut scenario with his representatives. That isn't happening.

Van Noy has a $12.5 million salary in 2021 that was guaranteed for injury only, so the Dolphins would save that full amount and leave $4.125 million in dead cap on the books. His deal will end up being for one year, $15 million in Miami.

There has already been some player interest in the news, with New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty tweeting at Van Noy, suggesting he return back home to Foxborough, where he spent the previous four seasons before signing with the Dolphins.

Van Noy, who played both inside linebacker and edge rusher for the Dolphins, had 69 tackles and six sacks in an up-and-down 2020 season.

Second-year linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who burst onto the scene for Miami, notching 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles, should assume a larger role in place of Van Noy.

The Dolphins are also likely to explore both free agency and the draft for versatile linebackers and edge rushers to help what was the NFL's No. 6-ranked defense last season.

Trevor Lawrence, the former star Clemson quarterback and projected No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL draft, says rehab from surgery last month on his left (non-throwing) shoulder is going better than he expected.

"As you know, this is really the first serious thing that I've dealt with, but I'm doing great," Lawrence told ESPN's Stephania Bell on Tuesday. "I actually feel way better than I thought I would at this point."

Lawrence had surgery Feb. 16 to repair damage to the labrum in his left shoulder. The procedure was performed by renowned surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Lawrence has remained in California since the surgery, rehabbing the shoulder at MOTUS Specialists Physical Therapy in Orange County.

His physical therapist, Drew Morcos, told Bell that the focus of Lawrence's rehab right now is working within pain-free ranges of motion and strengthening the scapular (shoulder blade) muscles along with the core.

According to Morcos, the star QB is expected to remain in a brace for about two more weeks and if the rehab goes as planned, to begin throwing in about six to eight weeks, likely with a modified version, such as throwing from his knees.

The Jaguars have the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft on April 29, and both Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay of ESPN project Jacksonville as taking Lawrence with the top selection.

Lawrence threw for NFL teams last month, moving up his pro day because of the surgery. He measured 6-foot-5 5/8 and 213 pounds with 10-inch hands, 34½-inch arms, and a 78¼-inch wingspan.

The Houston Texans restructured running back David Johnson's contract, which now will be worth up to $6 million in 2021, including $4.25 million fully guaranteed at signing, a source told ESPN.

Johnson might have been a salary-cap casualty if he had not restructured his contract.

Johnson would have been owed nearly $9 million in 2021, of which just $2.1 million was guaranteed, before agreeing to the restructured deal.

Houston traded for Johnson in March 2020 in a deal that sent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals.

Johnson ran for 691 yards and six touchdowns last season on 147 carries. He played in only 12 games, missing three with a concussion and one while he was on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

When the Texans traded for Johnson a year ago, the deal was done by former general manager and head coach Bill O'Brien, who was fired in October. At the time, Johnson was coming off the lowest production of his career and given the keys to the Houston backfield.

Johnson's best season came in 2016, for the Cardinals, when he was selected to his only Pro Bowl and was a first-team All Pro after setting career bests in rushing yards (1,239), rushing touchdowns (16), receptions (80), receiving yards (879) and yards from scrimmage (2,118, which led the NFL).

The Texans released pass-catching running back Duke Johnson last week.

ESPN's Adam Schefter, Jeremy Fowler and Sarah Barshop contributed to this report.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- As teams continued to court J.J. Watt during his 16-day stint as a free agent, the three-time All-Pro pass-rusher said all signs kept pointing him to the Arizona Cardinals, with whom he signed a two-year deal on Tuesday.

He picked the Cardinals on Monday from a group of "four or five" finalists after an aggressive recruitment by Arizona. Watt said "it was certainly close" when making his final decision, which he described as "difficult."

"I give them credit; they attacked from all angles," Watt said of the Cardinals' recruitment during his introductory Zoom news conference on Tuesday. "There was, I think, [general manager] Steve [Keim] and [owner] Michael [Bidwill] and everybody did a great job of, I mean, there were players, there were coaches, there were non-football people whatsoever that reached out and were in my ear and trying to convince me to come down here and tell me all the great things about it, and not only on the field but sending me pictures of Paradise Valley and everything off the field as well.

"So, their recruiting pitch was strong and heavy, but, at the end of the day, I told my wife, you know all signs just kind of kept pointing back down here to Arizona, and in my short time here on the ground, I can tell you that I'm absolutely pleased and couldn't be happier with my decision."

Watt, who turns 32 on March 22, said that "there's a lot of exciting things about what's happening down here in Arizona," and he specifically mentioned the Cardinals' "young, extremely talented quarterback here who can do big things."

Kyler Murray was among the reasons Watt cited for signing with the Cardinals. Watt texted Murray on Monday: "I'm here because I believe in you."

pic.twitter.com/4Erx7aYzIW

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) March 2, 2021

Murray tweeted a photo of when the two first met in July 2015 at an event where Murray was named the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year.

"It's pretty wild now to be on the same team," Watt said. "But, yeah, I've obviously seen his career. He's had an unbelievable career. He's an incredible athlete, and what he's been able to accomplish, he's been a winner at every stage of his life, and that's not a coincidence.

"You're a winner because of the way that you work and because of the aura that you give off and because of the talent that you have, and I think that he has all those things and he's going to continue to win and continue to have success."

Watt also said reuniting with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, his teammate with the Houston Texans from the time Hopkins was drafted in 2013 until he was traded after the 2019 season, played a role in the Cardinals winning the Watt sweepstakes. As did Vance Joseph, the Cardinals defensive coordinator who was the Texans' defensive backs coach during Watt's first three years in the NFL.

Watt said Joseph runs a defensive scheme that's similar to the one Watt played in under Wade Phillips in Houston -- "which is a scheme I'm very familiar with and very comfortable with and excited to play in."

The Cardinals announced Tuesday that Watt will be wearing No. 99, the same number he had with the Texans. The number has been retired in honor of Marshall Goldberg, who played for the Chicago Cardinals from 1939 to 1943 and again from 1946 to 1948 after his career was interrupted with a stint in the Navy during World War II, but Goldberg's daughter, Ellen Goldberg Tullos, gave Watt permission Tuesday to wear the number.

Watt didn't know the number was retired when he picked the Cardinals and saw that no one was issued it during a quick rundown of the roster. One of his high school friends broke the news to him and told him about Goldberg's history, which led Watt to start looking at other numbers. But when Watt woke up Tuesday morning, he read a report from TMZ, which had talked to Tullos. Watt later called Tullos to hear for himself that he could wear her father's number.

Watt hoped a product of him wearing Goldberg's number is that his name, story and legacy become more known. Watt also offered to donate to the Marshall Goldberg Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury Research.

Watt thanked the Goldberg family via Twitter and also talked about what the family's blessing meant in his news conference.

I want to thank the Goldberg family for their kindness in offering me the opportunity to wear #99 in Arizona which was previously retired in honor of Marshall Goldberg.

I am humbled & honored to wear it and will do my best to make them proud and honor Marshall properly.#RedSea pic.twitter.com/zoXCHZfTP4

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 2, 2021

"We had a great conversation," Watt said. "She was super sweet. Said that she believes her father would be honored and she believes that her father, he was all about the players, and so she said that she thought he would want me to wear it.

"So, I'm very honored and touched that they thought of me in that way and that I can do that, so I told her that I would do everything in my power to honor him and to make him proud and make his legacy proud."

In an email sent to season ticket holders on Tuesday, the Oklahoma City Thunder announced they will not be hosting fans at home games at any capacity for the 2020-21 season, becoming the first NBA team to decide to go fanless for the entire season.

"The decision was based on several factors," the email said. "The ultimate one being that the overall health and safety of our fans and our community is the most important thing to us."

Prior to the beginning of the season, the Thunder intended to host fans at limited capacity, with health and safety protocols in place throughout the arena. However, with the Fall spike in COVID-19 cases across the country, and Oklahoma hit particularly hard, the team announced in late November it would begin the season without fans.

But despite a positive trendline in dropping cases and hospitalizations in the state, the Thunder made the final decision to continue the season without fans, citing that it is "too soon" and that there are "too many variables that still must be overcome" to bring thousands of fans back into the arena.

"Our long-term personal relationships with our fans are something that we value deeply, and as we look toward our future with you, it is critical for us to ensure that when you do come back, it is in a safer environment than the one we are currently in," the team said. "

With the Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Hornets announcing plans to host fans later this month, there are now 18 teams that are either welcoming fans back into arenas, or have a plan to in the near future. Teams allowing fans are doing it at reduced capacity so as to allow for physical distancing, with attendance in the 10-15% range (typically around 3,000 total fans).

The Thunder, known for their enthusiastic home fanbase, said the "limited game experience" fans would encounter "under the strict conditions that would be required" also played a factor in the decision.

"The current protocols that are necessary would not allow us to live up to our standards of a high-level and engaging entertainment experience," the team said. "We have always felt an obligation to deliver in this area for our fans, but under these circumstances, we don't feel that it is possible."

In Oklahoma, public health measures such as masking and physical distancing have been polarizing issues. And within the organization, there is an awareness of the tension that enforcing protocols at games could create between the team and fans.

The email said the Thunder want to instead focus attention on preparing to host fans for the 2021-22 season.

"We want to make sure that your experience at our games is always safe, healthy and the best it can be," the team said. "We look forward to having you back next season under those conditions."

The NBA's board of governors is expected to approve two significant changes to the rules governing two-way contracts next week, sources told ESPN: allowing players on them to be active for more than 50 games and allowing them to be eligible for the playoffs.

Although there is no official agreement in place yet between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association, there have been lengthy discussions about both proposals, sources said, and they are expected to be ratified at next week's meeting, with teams and the union in agreement that the changes should be made.

At the start of the season, sources said, the NBPA was against increasing the two-way games limit past 50 games for two reasons: not wanting NBA teams to use them as substitutes for signing players to full roster spots, and to give players currently on two-way contracts leverage to attempt to get converted to standard NBA contracts themselves.

The expected agreement, however, will address those concerns. The players currently on two-way deals will be paid at the standard NBA minimum rate once they go past the 50-game limit -- allowing them to make the same money as if they had been converted to a standard contract, sources said. And, given that the season is half over and teams are still navigating trying to complete the regular season amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the potential fears about players on two-ways being used in place of players with full roster spots have lessened.

Although two-way players will get paid at the increased rate once they pass 50 games, the two-way contracts will remain at the same lower figure they were previously -- a win for teams that are trying to navigate both the hard cap and the luxury tax over the final few months of the regular season.

The changes will be especially important for teams currently using players on two-way contracts as key parts of their rotation, including the Golden State Warriors (forward Juan Toscano-Anderson), Toronto Raptors (forward Yuta Watanabe) and Washington Wizards (guard Garrison Mathews). Previously, teams would have had to open a roster spot and convert players to standard NBA contracts for them to be eligible to play in the postseason. Now, because of this change, that won't be necessary, giving teams additional roster flexibility heading into the March 25 trade deadline.