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NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

December 21st, 2018 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams are allowed to carry up to 15 players on their regular season rosters, plus two more on two-way contracts, for a total of 17 players. However, approximately half of the league’s clubs aren’t currently taking advantage of all their roster spots and have at least one open 15-man or two-way contract slot.

[RELATED: 2018/19 NBA Roster Counts]

There will likely be more roster movement starting next month, since January features plenty of important roster dates and deadlines. Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts on January 5. Every player on a non-guaranteed contract will have his salary guaranteed if he’s not waived by January 7. And two-way contracts can’t be signed after January 15.

For now though, there are 11 NBA teams with openings on their 15-man rosters and three more with at least one open two-way contract slot.

Here’s a breakdown of those teams with open roster spots:

Teams with an opening on their 15-man roster:

  • Charlotte Hornets
  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Houston Rockets
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Miami Heat
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Philadelphia 76ers
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Toronto Raptors
  • Washington Wizards

Of the 11 teams with an open roster spot, six are projected taxpayers — the Warriors, Rockets, Heat, Thunder, Raptors, and Wizards are all over the luxury tax threshold and will be in no rush to fill the 15th spot on their respective rosters, since doing so would increase that year-end tax bill.

The other clubs are more likely to add a 15th man sooner or later, though the Hornets also aren’t far off from the tax threshold and may exercise some caution with that final roster spot. Teams like the Cavaliers and Suns figure to prioritize developmental players when they eventually fill their rosters, while potential contenders the Sixers and Pacers may focus on finding a immediate contributor.

Teams with an open two-way contract slot:

  • Boston Celtics
  • New York Knicks
  • Portland Trail Blazers (2)

The Trail Blazers have yet to add a two-way player to their roster this season, which is somewhat unusual, even given the club’s uncertain ownership situation. It’s not as if a two-way player requires a significant investment, so that seems like a signing Jody Allen would sign off on if the front office asked.

Portland doesn’t have its own G League affiliate, so maybe the club believes its ability to develop a young player on a two-way deal would be limited. Still, the other two teams without G League affiliates of their own – the Nuggets and Pelicans – have filled both of their two-way contract slots. Perhaps if the Blazers are plagued with injuries at some point this season, they’ll use those two-way openings to add a player or two who can help out immediately at the NBA level.

[RELATED: 2018/19 NBA Two-Way Contract Tracker]

Meanwhile, the Knicks recently promoted Allonzo Trier to their 15-man roster and haven’t yet filled his old two-way spot. The Celtics are in the same boat, having waived two-way player Walt Lemon Jr. at the end of November. Both teams will likely fill those openings before the January 15 deadline.

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Examining Why Thunder Picked Up Option Billy Donovan's Option

December 20th, 2018 at 7:00pm CST by JD Shaw
  • Brett Dawson of The Athletic breaks down the Thunder‘s decision to pick up coach Billy Donovan‘s option for next season, detailing why the front office is happy with the direction Donovan is guiding the team. Oklahoma City holds the league’s fourth-best record at 20-10, including a stellar 12-3 home record, and has played with great enthusiasm and effort so far this season.
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Fallout From Bulls/Thunder Scrum

December 19th, 2018 at 5:12pm CST by clarkcrum

On Monday night, the Thunder defeated the Bulls in Oklahoma City by 25 points in a game between two teams from different conferences, one with playoff aspirations and the other in the midst of a rebuild.

However, the otherwise relatively meaningless regular season contest took an interesting turn when a scrum broke out late in the third quarter after Bulls’ guard Cameron Payne was called for a foul, followed by a shoving match between Thunder’ guard Russell Westbrook and Bulls’ guard Kris Dunn.

Chaos then broke out as Jerami Grant approached Dunn before being confronted by Robin Lopez, resulting in both Grant and Lopez falling into the lap of some fans sitting in courtside seats.

The NBA announced discipline this afternoon, with non-participants and Thunder guards Raymond Felton and Dennis Schroder both receiving one-game suspensions for leaving the bench. Meanwhile, Dunn was fined $15K for “instigating,” while Grant and Lopez were fined $20K and $25K, respectively, for “escalating.”

Fortunately for the Kings, both Felton and Schroder will miss the Thunder’s game later tonight in Sacramento.

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Thunder Pick Up Billy Donovan’s 2019/20 Option

December 17th, 2018 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have exercised the fifth-year option on head coach Billy Donovan‘s contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The move will ensure that Donovan is locked up for the 2019/20 season.

Since being hired by the Thunder in 2015, Donovan has put together a 168-106 regular season record, leading the club to three consecutive playoff appearances. Oklahoma City reached the Western Conference Finals in Donovan’s first season, but has been eliminated in the first round in each of the two years since then.

As Wojnarowski notes (via Twitter), only three other NBA head coaches have more wins with a single team than Donovan since he entered the league in 2015 — Steve Kerr (Warriors), Gregg Popovich (Spurs), and Brad Stevens (Celtics). Dwane Casey won 166 games with the Raptors and 14 so far with the Pistons.

Reports at the time of Donovan’s hiring indicated that his five-year contract with the Thunder was worth approximately $30MM, so he’s in position to earn that entire amount.

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Community Shootaround: Second-Best Team In The West?

December 16th, 2018 at 9:22pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

The 2018/19 NBA season is now over a quarter of the way through, with many teams having played at least 30 games. At this point, the Western Conference is still extremely crowded, with 12 teams that are .500 or better fighting for playoff spots. Even the top of the conference is tough to figure out, with teams like the Nuggets, Thunder and Lakers battling to distinguish themselves as the second-best team in the conference (behind a healthy and engaged Warriors team).

The Nuggets have continued to impress after a fast start, as they have withstood several injuries to key players such as Paul Millsap, Will Barton and Gary Harris. They currently own the league’s 8th ranked offense and 5th ranked defense while posting a 19-9 record, good for first in the conference.

The Thunder have used the league’s best defense to carry them to a 20-10 start. Paul George is having the best season of his career as the Thunder continue to stifle opposing offenses. The addition of Dennis Schroder has stabilized the team’s bench units, something previous Thunder teams couldn’t rely on.

Finally, the Lakers have rebounded from their slow 0-4 start to find themselves at 18-12. LeBron James has been his usual terrific self while several of the team’s young players have continued to settle in around him. Of course, it’s also possible that the Lakers make a trade to further improve their team as a result of the crowded playoff picture in the West.

When fully healthy and engaged, the Warriors are still regarded as the clear favorites in the Western Conference. However, the battle for second-best in the conference will likely continue throughout the season and early rounds of the playoffs.

With all that being said, who do you think is the second-best team in the Western Conference? Perhaps you believe that it could be a team that hasn’t been mentioned here. Share your thoughts in the comments section!

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NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Northwest Division

December 5th, 2018 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the course of the 2018/19 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.

When we last checked in on the Northwest, the Timberwolves held the NBA’s top trade candidate in Jimmy Butler. Now that Butler has been moved, there are far fewer obvious trade chips in the division, where teams like the Jazz, Trail Blazers, and Nuggets have doubled down on their current cores within the last year or two.

Here’s our latest look at a few possible trade candidates from the Northwest…

Jerryd Bayless, G
Minnesota Timberwolves
$8.58MM cap hit; unrestricted free agent in 2019

Bayless was traded by the Sixers before we could profile him as an Atlantic division trade candidate, but the same traits that made him a useful trade chip for Philadelphia will give him some value for the Timberwolves.

Whether or not Bayless will be able to contribute anything on the court in 2018/19 is somewhat irrelevant — it’s his $8.58MM salary and his expiring contract that make him useful in trade talks. That cap hit makes him ideal for matching mid-level type contracts, or packaging him with other pieces (after January 12), as the Sixers did. And the fact that he’ll be a free agent at season’s end could appeal more to a team looking to create 2019 cap space than it will to the Wolves, who will likely remain over the cap even after clearing Bayless from their books.

It’s possible that Minnesota is done dealing for now, in which case Bayless could become a buyout candidate, rather than a trade candidate, assuming he gets healthy later in the season.

Jusuf Nurkic, C
Portland Trail Blazers
$11.11MM cap hit; under contract through 2021/22

Nurkic just re-signed with the Trail Blazers over the summer, securing a lucrative new four-year deal from the club, so he’s not likely to be traded anytime soon — he’s not even eligible to be moved until January 15.

Still, in past years, big men like Blake Griffin and Nene Hilario have been traded just months after signing even longer-term contracts than Nurkic’s. And it’s worth noting that Zach Collins‘ ongoing development has made the idea of a Nurkic trade more viable for Portland, as ESPN’s Zach Lowe observed last month.

The Blazers have been reluctant to break up their core in recent years, and if they decide to do anything drastic, it will probably happen during the offseason rather than at the trade deadline. However, I suspect that if they do take a big swing, they’re more likely to move their veteran center than one of their star guards, given Collins’ potential to fill a similar role at a fraction of the price. If that happens, Nurkic could be the key to helping Portland acquire a much-needed impact player on the wing.

Patrick Patterson, F
Oklahoma City Thunder
$5.45MM cap hit; $5.71MM player option for 2019/20

Like Bayless, Patterson is a trade chip by virtue of his cap hit, which the Thunder might need for salary-matching purposes if they make a deal.

Patterson’s salary is more modest than Bayless’, but of the eight Oklahoma City players earning more than $2.2MM, seven are starters or important rotation players who may not be expendable. The eighth is Patterson, who has struggled mightily since arriving in OKC, making him the club’s most logical chip, even if his contract extends beyond this season and won’t be appealing to trade partners.

If Patterson’s value is too limited to make a deal work, Alex Abrines could be the Thunder trade candidate to watch — he’s earning almost exactly the same salary as Patterson and is on an expiring contract.

Previously:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/3/18

December 3rd, 2018 at 6:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Monday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

  • The Wizards recalled power forward Okaro White from the Capital City Go Go, the Wizards’ PR department tweets. White has appeared in one Go Go game, scoring six points in 25 1/2 minutes. He’s also seen action in one Washington game.
  • The Jazz assigned guard Grayson Allen and forward Georges Niang to the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s PR department tweets. Allen, the 21st overall pick out of Duke, has appeared in 14 Jazz games, averaging 4.6 PPG in 10.5 MPG. Niang has seen action in 18 games, averaging 3.2 PPG in 7.4 MPG. The Stars play the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Monday.
  • The Pacers assigned center Ike Anigbogu to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for the fifth time this season, according to a team press release. The 2017 second-round pick has seen action in three Indiana games.
  • The Thunder recalled forward Abdel Nader from the Oklahoma City Blue, according to a team press release. Nader piled up 31 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in the Blue’s game on Sunday. He’s seen action in nine Thunder games after being acquired from Boston during the summer.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/2/18

December 2nd, 2018 at 8:08pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

Here are Sunday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

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Andre Roberson Suffers Setback In Rehab

November 30th, 2018 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

Thunder swingman Andre Roberson has suffered another setback in his recovery from knee surgery, a team spokesperson said today, per Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter links). As Young relays, Roberson experienced discomfort after landing from a jump, and an MRI revealed that he had suffered a small avulsion fracture in his knee. He’ll be re-evaluated in six weeks.

While Roberson’s latest setback is discouraging, it doesn’t entirely reset his timetable, Young notes. The 26-year-old had been progressing toward a return, but was still a ways off from making his 2018/19 debut anyway. In six weeks, the Thunder should have a better sense of when exactly he might be ready get back on the court, says Young.

It has been an unfortunate run of bad luck for Roberson, who missed a good chunk of the 2017/18 campaign, including the playoffs, due to the knee injury he initially suffered back in January. Even after he underwent another procedure in May, there was a hope that he’d be ready for the start of this season, but he sustained at least one setback in the fall that pushed back his recovery timetable. Today’s news comes on the heels of a report that his rehab was on “a really good track.”

The Thunder have played well in Roberson’s absence this season, getting off to a 13-7 start. Still, they won’t be at their best until they have their top perimeter defender back in the lineup, so they’ll hope the former first-round pick is able to make it back for the second half of 2018/19.

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