Knight, Wilson On the Bubble

Contributing to the Lakers’ predicament over the final roster move is a promise by the NBA to crack down on the long-standing practice of stashing players on the injured list with bogus ailments, thus allowing teams to develop projects or what amounts to a taxi squad.

Under the new get-tough policy, players on the injured list won’t be allowed to practice. Exceptions will be given for a few workouts as the final step in rehabilitation before a player is activated, and the league is confident it can monitor such situations even though many clubs don’t allow non-team personnel into practices.

With 13 healthy players--Jerome Kersey is already out because of his fractured foot--the Lakers’ next move in another year may have been to give rookie center Travis Knight a sore back or sprained ankle, put him on the injured list and keep Trevor Wilson to add depth where it’s needed more at the moment, small forward.

But Knight, a 7-footer with post moves and a good shooting touch from outside, has shown far too much potential to suffer a setback like being prohibited from practicing, thereby greatly reducing his development.