With the NBA regular season underway, most teams are taking full advantage of their ability to carry up to 17 players, including 15 on standard contracts and a pair on two-way deals. As our roster counts page shows, 23 of the league’s 30 teams have full 17-man squads.
Most of the teams not carrying a 15th player on a standard contract are either over the luxury tax line or are bumping up against it, and have opted for financial savings for now. Those clubs are all decent bets to add a 15th man by season’s end, but likely won’t be in any rush to do so unless they face depth issues.
Here are the teams that are currently carrying just 14 players on their standard rosters:
- Miami Heat
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Phoenix Suns
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Utah Jazz
Of these six teams, three – the Bucks, Blazers, and Jazz – project to be taxpayers, while the Heat and Wolves would go over the tax line if they were to add a 15th man. The Suns are the only team in this group with no pressing tax concerns.
Meanwhile, there are two teams with an open two-way contract slot:
- Orlando Magic
- Phoenix Suns
The Magic’s inclusion here is a little surprising. They’re a rebuilding team with their own G League affiliate — it seems as if they’d benefit from taking a shot on a young prospect with that spot, and perhaps they will soon.
It’s less surprising that Phoenix is on this list. The Suns sold their G League affiliate last year, so they don’t have their own NBAGL team where they could send two-way players. Phoenix’s lone two-way player, Chandler Hutchison, will essentially serve as the team’s de facto 15th man for the time being.
Did no one notice the spanish at the end. lol
please tell me you’re not talking about “de facto”
Not to mention that it’s from Latin…
Means like: in actuality, if not the official line. “in fact”
Spanish is the primary language in most of Latin America.
Omg u can’t be serious rn that you think Latin is from Latin America originally
Look up the Roman Empire
Of course Latin isn’t from Latin America, but you understand why it’s called that don’t you? I know Latin was spoken in ancient Rome, duh. But Spanish and the rest of the romance languages (French, Italian, Portuguese, etc) are all derived from so-called Vulgar Latin.
Take a chance? No 2-way guy is ever going to make a big difference.
If they show enough promise in camp then they’ll be on the 14 man
Any 2 way guy either has a lot of holes in his game or lacks size
Maybe things will change in the future , but if you’re not top-20 in your class, the odds are against a long tenure in the NBA
I wouldn’t say 6’2 210 pounds is “big”. Maybe latter of the two as the reasoning to players getting two way contracts. “Lack of size” means nothing in this “small ball” era of the NBA. There are players barely 6 foot starting in the NBA right now. 7 ft players are nearly extinct in the NBA these days. They are overlooked because the 6 ft guard shooting 3s is more appealing. Where have you been the last decade?
42% of NBA players last year were not first rounders. So much for your long tenure theory. The Bucks alone have had a couple of All Stars who weren’t first rounders inKris Middleton (Detroit) and Michael Redd.
No two way player will make a difference….Duncan Robinson would like a word