NBA Roster Situations To Watch

NBA training camps are still several weeks away, but rosters for many teams are starting to take shape. Teams like the Pacers, for example, don’t have much work to do in the way of setting their regular season roster. Indiana already has 15 players signed to standard contracts and three more on two-way pacts. Other teams, however, have much more work left to be done.

For most teams, it’s simply a matter of deciding which players are attending an organization’s camp roster or are getting a two-way contract. The Suns, for example, have 15 players signed to standard deals (two of which are not fully guaranteed) but have one open two-way roster spot.

We previously took a look at some teams that are facing roster crunches in late July. Here are other teams who have roster battles worth monitoring and either have to, or seem likely to, make moves to their standard contracts, in the coming weeks:

Dallas Mavericks

While their roster does abide by offseason roster limits — 15 players signed to standard contracts (Derrick Jones Jr.‘s signing is not yet official but is included here) and three signed to two-way deals — the Mavericks still appear likely to make another roster move before the season.

Of course, this is all speculation, but Marc Stein at Substack reported that Dallas is likely to offload JaVale McGee before the start of the regular season. Such a move hasn’t happened yet, so it’s possible he may stick around. However, McGee didn’t pan out last year after signing a three-year, $17.2MM deal in 2022. With Dallas bringing in Richaun Holmes and Dereck Lively II this offseason, it appears there won’t be any playing time available for McGee anyway.

Miami Heat

Like the Mavericks, the Heat have a full offseason roster of 21 players signed to their team. Unlike the Mavericks, however, the Heat don’t follow the NBA’s rules for a regular season roster. Miami has just 13 players signed to standard deals, three two-way contract players and five others signed to training camp contracts.

As The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang notes, the Heat still need to add at least one standard contract player to its 15-man roster. Starting this season, teams can have fewer than 14 standard contract players for no more than 28 total days or 14 consecutive days at a time.

The Heat could always look to promote one of their two-way players, such as Jamal Cain, who reportedly sought a standard contract before re-upping his two-way pact with Miami. Cole Swider, who just signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Heat, is also reportedly going to be given a chance to compete for a standard deal. They could also look to add a player outside their system, like Christian Wood or Kelly Oubre.

Chiang also notes that the Heat could make changes to their two-way deals. Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea currently accompany Cain on two-way contracts. Barry Jackson reported that Summer League standout Chase Audige agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract with another team (Twitter link), but it’s possible they look to bring him back on a two-way at a later time.

Toronto Raptors

Barring a Pascal Siakam trade, Toronto’s roster looks relatively set. However, a classic roster battle is set to take place between Jeff Dowtin and Garrett Temple. Dowtin spent last season with the Raptors, impressing in stints and averaging 2.4 points and 1.2 assists. The organization signed him to a non-guaranteed deal that becomes guaranteed for $900K if he’s included on the opening day roster.

Temple, a 13-year NBA veteran, signed with the Raptors this summer. Temple averaged 4.3 points across two seasons with the Pelicans. His one-year, minimum-salary deal is fully guaranteed.

There’s always a chance that the Raptors make an additional move outside of those two, but Dowtin and Temple appear to be the most likely to duke it out for a spot on the 15-man roster as of now.

Others

Several other NBA teams have standard roster moves yet to make. The Rockets, Trail Blazers, Warriors, Lakers, Cavaliers and Celtics are among the teams who have 13 or fewer players signed to standard deals.

Houston signed several players to their training camp roster and could be auditioning some for standard spots. Jeenathan Williams, in particular, impressed in limited time with the Blazers last year after averaging 10.6 points in five games.

There’s tons of uncertainty left with the Blazers due to the situation with Damian Lillard. It appears as of now that Portland is keeping its options open in case the team takes in more players than it sends out in a Lillard deal. If Lillard isn’t traded before the season begins, players like Justise Winslow, Kevin Knox and Skylar Mays, who all spent time in Portland last year, could make some amount of sense.

Golden State has a number of different directions it could go in. There are seemingly no reports regarding what the team plans to do with Anthony Lamb, whom Steve Kerr played 19.3 minutes per game. Andre Iguodala hasn’t officially announced his retirement, so it’s technically possible he returns, though that seems unlikely at this point. Lester Quinones or another training camp player could impress enough to earn a standard spot. The Warriors also continue to work out several veterans, including Glenn Robinson III.

The Lakers’ interest in adding another big man to their roster, such as Wood, is no secret. It seems likely that the Lakers will go in this direction sometime before the season. Wood was recently reported to be waiting on a resolution on the Lillard situation before deciding his next steps.

Cleveland is a curious case. Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor reported that the Cavaliers could swoop in on P.J. Washington like they did with Lauri Markkanen two summers ago. It’s also possible they promote a two-way player to a standard deal or bring in a different veteran.

Stein reports the Celtics are interested in re-signing Blake Griffin, which would give Boston 14 players on standard deals. Griffin is Boston’s only remaining free agent after Mfiondu Kabengele signed in Greece.

As mentioned, there are also several teams who have more than 15 players signed to standard deals. The Clippers, Grizzlies, Wizards, Spurs and Thunder are among those teams.