Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Five Notable NBA Veterans Not On Camp Rosters

October 1st 2019 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Training camps have begun for teams around the NBA, and while there will still be some roster shakeups to come, particularly if injuries start to pile up, most clubs have a pretty good sense of what their 14- or 15-man rosters will look like for the start of the regular season.

For veteran free agents, that means there are far fewer viable landing spots than there were earlier in the offseason. Still, whether it happens before or after opening night, there are a number of unsigned players who seem like realistic candidates to eventually sign with an NBA team.

Here are five of the most notable veterans who are without an NBA home for training camps this week:

  1. Carmelo Anthony, F: It has now been nearly a year since Anthony played in an NBA game — his last appearance with the Rockets took place on November 8, 2018. The 10-time All-Star has said he wants another shot and has insisted he’s comfortable playing a reduced role, but it’s not clear which team will be willing to take a chance on him. As of two weeks ago, several Nets players remained strongly in favor of adding Carmelo, but so far it doesn’t appear the front office is on board.
  2. Iman Shumpert, G/F: Shumpert is still just 29 years old and played postseason minutes for Houston in the spring, so it’s somewhat surprising that he hasn’t been scooped up by a contender. He and the Rockets reportedly engaged in contract discussions for much of the offseason before Shumpert decided to pass on the team’s offer — at the time, I speculated it might have been an incentive-heavy deal similar to the one Nene signed.
  3. Joakim Noah, C: After a disastrous stint in New York, Noah’s NBA career appeared to be on life support. However, a productive run as the Grizzlies‘ backup center last season (7.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 16.5 MPG) showed that the big man still has something left in the tank. He has reportedly generated some level of interest from both the Lakers and Clippers, though nothing has materialized yet.
  4. Kenneth Faried, F/C: Like Noah, Faried was gradually seeing his minutes reduced further and further before he got his release and bounced back with a new team. In Faried’s case, he joined the Rockets after being cut by Brooklyn, averaging 12.9 PPG and 8.2 RPG in 25 games (24.4 MPG) down the stretch. He didn’t play much in the postseason and his three-point shot is still a work in progress, but it’s a little surprising that the 29-year-old remains on the market.
  5. J.R. Smith, SG: Just three days after he was released by Cleveland and one day after he cleared waivers, Smith reportedly lined up a workout with the Bucks. That quick turnaround suggested it might not be long before the veteran sharpshooter found a new team. But Milwaukee opted to sign Kyle Korver instead, and there has been little chatter on Smith since then. He apparently turned down an offer from a Chinese team in August, signaling that he still wants to play in the NBA.

Here are a dozen more noteworthy veterans who remain unsigned:

  1. Michael Beasley, F
  2. Corey Brewer, G/F
  3. Jose Calderon, PG
  4. Jamal Crawford, G
  5. Dante Cunningham, F
  6. Luol Deng, F
  7. Devin Harris, G
  8. Amir Johnson, F/C
  9. Luc Mbah a Moute, F
  10. Jodie Meeks, SG
  11. Salah Mejri, C
  12. Jonathon Simmons, G/F

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Retweet 2 Share 0 Send via email0
View Comments (12)