This could be just the first step," said one league source. "I think the players association might be afraid of this, but the next step would be to use the inactive list to put players in the developmental league."

That's not such a bad idea, at least not as long as the teams are willing to pay the guy the NBA's minimum salary.

A few frugal team owners may object to the new inactive list proposal.

These are the owners who simply carry 12 players and forget about fiddling around with the injured list to carry extra players.

With the new deal, the owners could be criticized by players for not being willing to spend money to fill a few more uniforms.