After taking a look at the roster sizes of teams in the Eastern Conference yesterday, here's the Western Conference version. There are two numbers at play for NBA teams this time of year. There's a 20-man limit for rosters during the offseason, but only 15 players can be around by the time the regular season starts. That means getting a guaranteed deal is important for the lingering free agents who want to make sure they stick around for opening day. Teams, given the choice between equals, would naturally prefer to waive someone whom they wouldn't have to pay.
We've combed reports from across the league over the summer, but teams don't officially announce the terms of their contracts, so we can't be completely sure that some of the contracts that are reportedly guaranteed actually are. In some cases, like yesterday's signings of second-round picks Darius-Johnson Odom by the Lakers and Kevin Murphy by the Jazz, there's been no indication of whether the contracts are guaranteed or not. For them, I've made reasonable assumptions — most second-rounders who've signed this year have gotten at least a partial guarantee for this season, so that's how we'll count them until we know more. The totals also include agreements that have been reached but haven't been finalized yet.
The first number is the total number of players under contract, and the number of players who have at least a partial guarantee is in parentheses.
Updated 11-1-12
Southwest Division
Grizzlies 13 (13)
Hornets 14 (13)
Mavericks 15 (14)
Rockets 15 (15)
Spurs 14 (13)
Northwest Division
Jazz 15 (14)
Nuggets 15 (15)
Thunder 13 (13)
Timberwolves 15 (15)
Trail Blazers 15 (14)
Pacific Division
Clippers 14 (14)
Kings 14 (14)
Lakers 15 (13)
Suns 15 (14)
Warriors 15 (15)