With today’s news that Kyrie Irving will undergo a “minimally invasive” procedure to ease persistent irritation in his left knee, the Boston Celtics will petition the NBA for a Hardship Exemption per league sources.
With Kyrie Irving joining Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis and, of course, Gordon Hayward on the shelf for a while due to injury, source says the Celtics will petition with the NBA for a Hardship Exemption. If granted, Boston will be able to add an additional player to the roster.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 23, 2018
The Hardship Exemption is a tool that allows NBA teams that are hit hard by injuries to continue to field a deep enough roster to both practice and play games.