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Checking In On NBA Roster Openings, Deadlines

January 12th, 2024 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NBA’s league-wide salary guarantee date for 2023/24 behind us, it’s worth checking in once again on which teams have open spots on their 18-man rosters.

As our roster count tracker shows, these are the teams that don’t currently have full rosters consisting of 15 players on standard rest-of-season contracts and three on two-way deals:

Teams with standard roster openings:

Boston Celtics
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers (2)
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Portland Trail Blazers (2)
Sacramento Kings *
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards *

The Cavaliers and Trail Blazers each face a deadline to add a 14th man, since NBA teams aren’t permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for more than two weeks at a time. Cleveland has to make a move by January 18, while Portland has until January 20.

The Kings and Wizards, meanwhile, technically have full 15-man standard rosters at the moment, but they’re each only carrying 14 players on full-season contracts, with one player on a 10-day deal. Those 10-day deals run through next Thursday, at which time each club could open up a roster spot.

Most teams in this group likely won’t sign a player to a rest-of-season or multiyear contract until sometime after the trade deadline, when they know they won’t need to use that 15th roster spot to accommodate a trade in which they acquire more players than they send out. In between now and the trade deadline, however, some of these clubs could join Sacramento and Washington in signing free agents to 10-day contracts.

Teams with two-way openings:

Brooklyn Nets
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks (2)

The deadline to sign a player to a two-way contract won’t arrive until March 4, so there’s no urgency for these clubs to fill their openings right away. But the prorated portion of a two-way salary is such a minor financial commitment for an NBA franchise that we may see these teams bring in a new two-way player sooner rather than later, even if they’re not certain he’ll hold that spot for the rest of the season.

Cavs’ Garland Aiming To Return Before End Of January

January 12th, 2024 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland, who has been out since December 14 due to a broken jaw, is hoping to return before the end of the month, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Garland has missed 12 games so far.

When the Cavaliers first announced the injury, they said Garland would be reevaluated in approximately four weeks. That was exactly four weeks ago, on December 15.

Although the team has yet to issue a formal update on the former All-Star, sources tell Fedor that Garland is on track to have the wiring removed from his mouth on Monday. He’ll be examined at that time, and if everything looks good, he’ll be able to resume basketball activities.

As Fedor explains, Garland hasn’t been able to work out at all over the past few weeks, since Cavs doctors didn’t want him to get his heart rate up. He has also been on an all-liquid diet due to the nature of the injury, so he’ll need some time to get back into game shape once he resumes practicing.

Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has taken a conservative approach to bringing players back from injuries this season, so the Cavaliers certainly won’t rush Garland back to the court, Fedor notes. It helps that the club has responded so well in his absence — Cleveland is 9-3 since Garland and Evan Mobley went down in mid-December and has moved into a tie for No. 4 in the Eastern Conference.

With Garland and Ty Jerome on the shelf and Ricky Rubio bought out, the Cavaliers have been leaning on players like Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert for increased ball-handling duties in recent weeks, with two-way rookie Craig Porter Jr. also playing a regular role.

The club has two open spots on its 15-man roster and has enough financial flexibility below the luxury tax line following Rubio’s buyout agreement to fill both openings, but hasn’t yet felt any urgency to sign a free agent point guard.

There’s no update yet on Mobley’s recovery timeline — the Cavs announced that he was expected to miss approximately six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery on Dec. 18.

Hoops Rumors’ 2024 NBA 10-Day Contract Tracker

January 12th, 2024 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

On January 5, NBA teams became eligible to sign players to 10-day contracts, and many of the signings that take place between now and the end of the regular season in April will be of the 10-day variety. Hoops Rumors has created a database that allows you to keep on top of those deals, tracking every 10-day signing all season long.

Besides featuring all of this year’s 10-day deals, our 10-Day Contract Tracker includes information on all 10-day contracts signed since the 2006/07 season. The search filters in the database make it easy to sort by team, player, and/or year. For instance, if you want to see all the 10-day contracts that the Kings have signed in the last 15-plus years, you can do so here. If you want to view Shaquille Harrison‘s history of 10-day deals, that list is here.

You can also see whether a player and team signed a second 10-day contract, or if those short-term deals led to an agreement that covered the rest of the season. Additionally, our tracker notes which 10-day deals remain active, saving you the hassle of having to figure out whether a particular contract ends on Wednesday or Thursday.

A link to our 10-Day Contract Tracker can be found at any time in the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site. On our mobile site, you can find it on our “Features” page. We’ll be keeping it up to date for the rest of the season, so be sure to check back to keep tabs on the latest signings as they become official.

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Hornets’ LaMelo Ball Expected To Return Friday

January 12th, 2024 at 11:57am CST by Tristan Tucker

JANUARY 12: Ball participated in this morning’s shootaround and is expected to return tonight, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

JANUARY 11: Hornets guard LaMelo Ball could return to action on Friday against the Spurs after missing over a month and a half due to a sprained ankle, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Ball has been upgraded to questionable for the contest. He hasn’t appeared in a game since Nov. 26 against the Magic, when he left action after just 14 minutes.

Having Ball back is undoubtedly a major boost for a struggling Hornets team who sits at 8-27, 13th in the Eastern Conference. In the 14 games Ball was healthy for, the Hornets were 5-9 compared to 3-18 without him. Charlotte sits 9.5 games back on a play-in spot though, so they’d have to quickly catch up in the standings to have a shot at the postseason.

In his 14 healthy games this season, Ball averaged 25.9 points, 8.6 assists and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 38.9% from three on 9.4 attempts per game. His 15th game is the one in which he left due to his injury.

Additionally, guard Frank Ntilikina, who has missed the entire season with a leg injury, could make his season debut on Friday. Like Ball, Ntilikina was upgraded to questionable ahead of the contest against San Antonio, according to The Charlotte Observer’s Rod Boone (Twitter link).

The Hornets signed Ntilikina, the former eighth overall pick, to a minimum contract in the offseason. Ntilikina spent the first four seasons of his career with the Knicks before signing with the Mavericks in 2021. In six NBA seasons, the 25-year-old guard holds career averages of 4.8 points and 2.2 assists.

With both Ball and Ntilikina sidelined for a portion of the season, the Hornets primarily turned to Terry Rozier to take over primary point guard duties, often playing him alongside other guards like Bryce McGowens. Ball and Ntilikina both returning may spell fewer minutes for backup point guard veteran Ish Smith, along with McGowens or Nick Smith, with Rozier playing alongside Ball in the starting lineup.

Scotto’s Latest: Gafford, Knicks, Mavs, Dinwiddie, Markkanen

January 12th, 2024 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks inquired earlier this season on Wizards big man Daniel Gafford, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype told ESPN’s Bobby Marks in the latest episode of the HoopsHype podcast.

While Scotto doesn’t say exactly when that inquiry occurred, it was presumably sometime after New York lost Mitchell Robinson to the left ankle injury that is expected to sideline him for most or all of the season. It seems safe to assume, Scotto continues, that whatever level of interest the Knicks had in Gafford decreased after the club acquired Precious Achiuwa from Toronto in the OG Anunoby deal.

Here are a few more items of interest from the HoopsHype podcast:

The Mavericks are interested in upgrading at the forward position, according to Scotto, who suggests the team would be looking at either the three or the four. Scotto’s comment on the Mavs came during a more general conversation about Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant as a potential trade candidate — while Scotto views Dallas as a fit for Grant, he doesn’t explicitly say that the Mavs have expressed interest.
The Nets and Spencer Dinwiddie, who is on track for unrestricted free agency this summer, had brief extension discussions prior to the season when he became eligible to sign a new deal, per Scotto. The two sides reportedly explored a one- or two-year deal, but Dinwiddie wanted something longer. During their discussion, Scotto and Marks wondered if Dinwiddie’s days in Brooklyn may be numbered, which is a topic that Collin Helwig of NetsDaily also explored after the veteran guard didn’t play in crunch time on Sunday and barely saw any action in the second half on Thursday.
The trade speculation about Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen earlier this season seemed more like something other teams were trying to speak into existence rather than anything real, says Scotto, adding that Markkanen will be eligible for a contract renegotiation and extension with Utah next summer and seems interested in pursuing that.

And-Ones: IST, Load Management, Collier, 2024 Draft, All-Star Votes

January 12th, 2024 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

Unsurprisingly, NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed this week during a news conference in Paris that the in-season tournament will “no doubt be back” next season, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

According to Silver, the league will probably make “a couple tweaks” to the way the tournament works, but it’s not likely to undergo a significant overhaul. The commissioner mentioned the tiebreaker rules, the appearance of the courts, and the name of the tournament itself as some things worth looking at.

“Beyond that, as we’re talking to television partners and maybe figuring out exactly when the best time of year is to (hold the tournament), maybe it will make sense to make some other modifications to the format,” Silver said.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

After announcing in October that its data doesn’t support the idea that load management reduces a player’s injury risk, the NBA sent out a more in-depth report supporting that thesis to teams and select media members this week, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Bontemps, who outlines the findings in more detail, notes that the study doesn’t suggest load management increases a player’s injury risk — it simply concludes there’s no discernible correlation one way or the other.
USC point guard Isaiah Collier, a candidate to be a top-five or top-10 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, will miss the next four-to-six weeks due to a hand injury, the school announced on Thursday night (Twitter link). As Chris Mannix of SI.com observes (via Twitter), Collier’s absence could open up more minutes for another one of the Trojans’ NBA prospects: Bronny James.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) polled 20 NBA executives and scouts to get their thoughts on the 2024 draft class and the idea of a two-day draft. According to Woo, 12 of his 20 respondents expect Alexandre Sarr to be the No. 1 overall pick this June, while 13 respondents predicted that the 2013 draft class – considered one of the worst in the couple decades – will end up with more All-Stars (three) than the 2024 class.
The NBA issued an update on All-Star voting on Thursday, announcing that Lakers forward LeBron James and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo are the leading vote-getters to date. The tightest race is in the Eastern Conference backcourt, where Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has a comfortable lead, with Trae Young (Hawks) narrowly edging Damian Lillard (Bucks) and Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers) for the No. 2 spot.

Southeast Notes: Ingles, Magic, Butler, Dragic, Hornets

January 12th, 2024 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

The Magic will get some reinforcements on Friday, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel, who says that forward Joe Ingles is no longer listed on the injury report after missing the team’s past 13 games due to a sprained left ankle.

Ingles had been a key reserve off Orlando’s bench early in the season, averaging 5.1 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per night across 23 healthy appearances before being injured in his 24th game.

The Magic are still relatively banged up, with Franz Wagner (right ankle sprain) and Gary Harris (right calf strain) set to sit out for a fourth straight game on Friday, while Jonathan Isaac will be unavailable for a 10th consecutive contest.

Isaac is being listed as out due to an illness after being sidelined for nine games due to a hamstring strain, Beede notes — we’ll see once that illness passes whether the forward is ready to return from his hamstring injury. As for Wagner, he went through a light workout on Thursday, but isn’t taking contact yet, per head coach Jamahl Mosley.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Jimmy Butler (right toe MP joint sprain) has been upgraded on the Heat‘s injury report, but he’s still considered doubtful to play on Friday vs. Orlando, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. There’s a sense that Butler could make his return on Sunday vs. Charlotte or Monday in Brooklyn, Chiang adds.
Veteran guard Goran Dragic, who recently announced his retirement as a player, spoke to Chiang about why he had hoped to finish his career with the Heat, as well as his favorite memories of his time in Miami. Dragic also stated that he “definitely” has interest in joining the organization in some capacity during the next phase of his career. “I don’t know if I want to be a coach,” Dragic said. “My main thing right now is I would like to stay in Miami to be with my kids, to be a dad. But definitely, that’s my dream, to work for the Heat some day. You know, the goals change every year. And maybe in one year, it’s going to be, ‘I want to be a coach.’ You never know.”
The Hornets officially unveiled plans on Friday for $215MM in renovations to the Spectrum Center. Chase Jordan of The Charlotte Observer takes a closer look at what fans can expect from the renovation project, which is being funded by the city. Work is scheduled to begin in May 2024 and conclude before the start of the 2025/26 season.

Former Wizard Ryan Rollins Accused Of Repeated Shoplifting

January 12th, 2024 at 8:14am CST by Luke Adams

Former Wizards guard Ryan Rollins, who is now a free agent after being waived by the team on Monday, has been accused of repeatedly shoplifting from a Target store in Virginia, reports Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

As Robbins details, police alleged in documents on file at Alexandria General District Court that Rollins stole small household items on seven different occasions between September and November.

The items stolen in each case – including groceries, body wash, and candles – were valued at less than $1,000, and the second-year guard has been charged with seven counts of petit larceny, Robbins adds. That’s considered a Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia.

Rollins, who was sent from Golden State to Washington in last summer’s Chris Paul/Jordan Poole trade, appeared in only 12 games for the Warriors as a rookie and wasn’t playing much for the Wizards either. The 2022 second-rounder averaged 4.1 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 6.6 minutes per game across 10 appearances for Washington, while also playing in nine games for the Capital City Go-Go.

Still, Rollins was viewed as a solid defender and was only 21 years old, with a guaranteed minimum salary ($1,719,864) this season and a $600K partial guarantee on his 2024/25 salary. The timing of his release raised some eyebrows, especially given the fact that the 6-31 Wizards can afford to be patient with their young players.

While it’s logical to assume the allegations against Rollins factored into his release, Robbins doesn’t explicitly say as much, and team president Michael Winger declined to confirm that.

“We just recently learned of the charges against Ryan. We cannot comment on that matter, or the basis for our roster decisions,” Winger said, before adding: “We do take our role very seriously as citizens of the DMV, representatives of our fans and a team our community can be proud of. These are expectations, not aspirations. We’re eager to move forward with our team as constituted and pursue excellence on and off the court.”

According to Robbins, a February court hearing has been scheduled for Rollins, who has yet to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Although he’s free to sign with any NBA team besides Golden State, the former Toledo standout may not get his next opportunity until his legal situation is resolved.

Grizzlies Apply For Second DPE; Spurs Granted One

January 12th, 2024 at 7:06am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies have formally applied for a disabled player exception following Ja Morant‘s shoulder injury, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The move had been anticipated since Memphis announced earlier this week that Morant would miss the rest of the season following surgery to repair a torn labrum. The Grizzlies faced a deadline of January 15 to submit their request to the league.

A disabled player exception gives an over-the-cap team some extra spending power – but not an additional 15-man roster spot – when it loses a player to an injury deemed likely to sideline him through at least June 15. As we explain in our glossary entry, the exception can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers, or to acquire a player in a trade.

The disabled player exception can only be used on a single player and can only accommodate a player on a one-year deal. A free agent signee can’t get a multiyear contract, and any trade or waiver target must be in the final year of his contract. The exception is worth either half the injured player’s salary or the value of the mid-level exception, whichever is lesser. Since Morant is earning $34MM+ this season, the Grizzlies’ DPE would be worth $12,405,000, the amount of the non-taxpayer MLE.

Memphis has already been granted one disabled player exception this season — the team was awarded a $6.3MM DPE following Steven Adams‘ season-ending knee surgery. While the Grizzlies may not end up using both exceptions (assuming their request for Morant is approved), their team salary is well below the luxury tax line, so they have some financial flexibility to explore possible uses for those DPEs on the trade market.

In other disabled player exception news, the Spurs’ request for a DPE following Charles Bassey‘s season-ending ACL tear has been approved, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter). Bassey was only earning $2.6MM this season, so that exception will be worth a modest $1.3MM, limiting its usefulness.

The deadline to use as disabled player exception this season is March 11. Any DPE that hasn’t been used by that point will expire. The full list of available disabled player exceptions can be found right here.

Raptors Notes: Siakam, Barnes, Rajakovic, Quickley, Trent

January 11th, 2024 at 10:58pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Raptors forward Pascal Siakam‘s contract is set to expire after the season and, after the trade of OG Anunoby, it looked like he would be the next Toronto forward to be on the move. That may still be the case – the Raptors engaged in Siakam trade talks with the Kings last week – but an extension for the two-time All-Star seems increasingly plausible, according to The Athletic’s Eric Koreen.

Koreen and a few other writers at The Athletic sift through six hypothetical trade packages for Siakam to consider but conclude the uncertainty surrounding his willingness to extend with a team that trades for him could complicate matters. The Pacers, for example, have been heavily tied to Siakam but it’s unlikely Indiana would want to pay a high price, like Jarace Walker, for the former NBA champion without assurances he’d re-sign, John Hollinger writes. On the other hand, any package that doesn’t include Walker and Buddy Hield may not move the needle for Toronto.

Detroit and Brooklyn are two other teams in similar positions to Indiana and all three could outright pursue him in free agency if they desired. According to Koreen, the Mavericks, Warriors and Thunder are three teams able to put together deals that make the most sense. The Mavs could offer a combination of Grant Williams, Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Olivier-Maxence Prosper in a potential deal while Luguentz Dort and Davis Bertans could headline a package from the Thunder, The Athletic’s staffers write.

For the Warriors in particular, any such deal is likely contingent on Jonathan Kuminga‘s inclusion. According to Anthony Slater, there’s been trade chatter on a substantial level between the two teams in recent weeks.

We have more from the Raptors:

Coach Darko Rajakovic made headlines this week when he blasted officiating after a loss to the Lakers, but he also turned heads when he called Scottie Barnes a “face of the league.” According to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, Barnes appreciated the comment and sentiment. “It makes me feel great,” Barnes said. “I think it makes our team feel great as well. Good to have a coach that’s gonna stand behind our back no matter what. He doesn’t care, he’s gonna tell it like it is.“
Immanuel Quickley showcased a deep appreciation for his time in New York in an essay penned for The Players’ Tribune. “These things move so fast, it’s crazy that I’m already on the road with my new family,” Quickley writes. “But it wouldn’t be right to leave without saying a little something just to let y’all know that the love is mutual.” Quickley spent the first three-plus seasons of his career with the Knicks after being drafted by New York with the 25th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. In six games with the Raptors, he’s averaging 19.2 points and 6.2 assists.
Gary Trent Jr. is unbothered by trade rumors surrounding the Raptors, he reveals in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina, and he’s energized by Toronto’s recent acquisition of RJ Barrett and Quickley. “It’s exciting. It’s been fun,” Trent said. “Obviously, we still want to continue to figure it out. That’s everybody – myself, Scottie, Pascal, — we’re all dealing with adding players to our team that can help us and all try to mesh. It’s already been cool. I’ve known RJ and Quickley since we’ve been 15 years old. It’s already transpired as a full-circle moment. It’s crazy to come back and be a part of the same team with them.” I recommend checking out the one-on-one interview in full.