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NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 13th, 2024 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of free agent signings have been finalized in the days since last Thursday’s trade deadline, but there are still many teams around the NBA with one or more open spots on their respective rosters.

For clubs with just a single standard or two-way opening, there’s not necessarily any urgency to fill those spots, especially ahead of the All-Star break. But the clock is ticking for teams who have two or more openings on their standard rosters to make a move, since clubs are only permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks at a time.

With the help of our roster count tracker, here’s where things stand for all 30 teams around the NBA as of Tuesday afternoon. As a reminder, teams are typically permitted to carry up to 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.

(Note: Teams marked with an asterisk have a player on a 10-day contract.)

Teams with multiple open roster spots

Brooklyn Nets
- Note: One of the Nets’ roster openings is a two-way slot.
Golden State Warriors
Milwaukee Bucks
- Note: Both of the Bucks’ roster openings are two-way slots.
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks *
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns

The Warriors, Timberwolves, and Pelicans are all currently carrying 13 players on standard, full-season contracts, with all three of their two-way slots filled. That means they’ll have to add a 14th man at some point in the not-too-distant future to adhere to the NBA’s minimum roster requirements.

Golden State and Minnesota made trades on February 8 that dropped them below 14 players, so those two teams have until Feb. 22 to add a player. New Orleans’ deadline is coming a little earlier, since the club dipped to 13 when Malcolm Hill‘s 10-day contract expired on Feb. 6.

No roster moves are required for the Nets and Bucks, as both teams have at least 14 players on standard contracts, with one or more two-way openings. I’d expect Brooklyn and Milwaukee to fill those two-way slots before the two-way signing deadline in early March, though they don’t necessarily have to.

The Knicks and Sixers currently only have 12 players on standard, full-season contracts. New York also has Taj Gibson on a 10-day deal, while Philadelphia is poised to sign Kyle Lowry to a rest-of-season contract. Both teams will need to make at least one more roster move by Feb. 22 after dipping down to 12 players on trade deadline day last Thursday.

As for the Suns, they’re currently carrying just 13 players on standard contracts, but it sounds like they’ve already lined up a deal with a 14th man — a report earlier today indicated that they’re preparing to sign Thaddeus Young.

Teams with one open roster spot

Boston Celtics
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers *
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
Miami Heat
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

One of the 14 players on the Cavaliers‘ standard roster is Zhaire Smith, who is on a 10-day deal. Once his contract expires next week, the Cavs will have to either re-sign him or add another 14th man — and they’ll have to do it right away.

In addition to being prohibited from carrying fewer than 14 players on standard deals for more than two weeks at a time, NBA teams are limited to 28 days of carrying fewer than 14 players over the course of a season. The Cavs have already reached that 28-day limit, having carried just 13 players from January 4-18 and again from January 28 until February 11.

The rest of these teams have 14-man standard rosters with no two-way openings, meaning there’s no urgency for them to make any moves, though they’ll likely fill those open roster slots at some point between now and the end of the season in April.

Teams with no open roster spots

Atlanta Hawks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons *
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies *
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Portland Trail Blazers *
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors *

Twelve of these 13 teams have full 18-man rosters, with 15 players signed to standard contracts and three to two-way deals. However, the Pistons, Trail Blazers, and especially the Raptors are worth monitoring here, since they all have players on 10-day contracts and can open up roster spots when those deals expire.

Detroit and Portland are each carrying a single player on a 10-day deal, while Toronto has two, meaning the Raptors will dip down to 13 players on standard contracts during the All-Star break. They’ll have up to two weeks to get back to 14.

The Grizzlies are actually carrying 19 players at the moment, with 16 players on standard contracts (15 full-season deals, plus Jordan Goodwin on a 10-day) because they’ve been granted a hardship exception due to all the injured players they’re missing.

Northwest Notes: Hendricks, Jazz’s Trades, Biyombo, Waters

February 11th, 2024 at 8:26pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz‘s deadline trades will thrust lottery pick Taylor Hendricks into a larger role, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News.

With Kelly Olynyk, Simone Fontecchio, and Ochai Agbaji no longer on the roster, the Jazz will take a longer look at their young players. Hendricks, who has appeared in 14 games off the bench, tops the list. He played 18 minutes against Phoenix on Thursday.

“Taylor’s life is very different now,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “Taylor is going to be a part of our rotation. He’s going to be playing every night. How much he plays every night will be determined by how well he plays.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Jazz general manager Justin Zanik went into detail about the team’s future plans and why they made those trades during a post-deadline press conference. Zanik laid out his reasoning for dealing the above-mentioned trio. “Two of those guys were going to be free agents. Maybe we bring them back, maybe not,” he said, per Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake City Tribune. “We didn’t trade anybody of our core. We traded one starter who has started during our run that started basically half the year. The other two were rotation players. Last year, we traded three starters. This is the second kind of calibration around our core, and sometimes that takes time. I wish that it was quick and then all of a sudden we have a long and prosperous run right now. We’ll do that in a second. It’s just not available.”
The Thunder added veteran big man Bismack Biyombo after the Grizzlies waived him. He’ll play a situational role, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. Biyombo will basically be used as insurance and add some size and rebounding when needed.
The Thunder also made another personnel move after the deadline, promoting Lindy Waters from two-way status to a standard deal. According to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype (Twitter link), Waters inked a two-year deal, which is fully guaranteed for the rest of this season and includes a team option for next season.

And-Ones: Buyout Market, Summer League, Dunk Contest, Cap Room, Risacher

February 11th, 2024 at 10:44am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of veteran point guards have already been plucked off the buyout market, with Spencer Dinwiddie officially signing with the Lakers on Saturday and Kyle Lowry lining up a deal with the Sixers. What other notable players could hit the buyout market in the coming days and weeks?

John Hollinger of The Athletic explores that topic in depth, identifying Delon Wright, Troy Brown, Marcus Morris, and Cedi Osman as several of the most intriguing options while acknowledging that some of those players likely won’t be waived.

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

The NBA has confirmed the dates for the 2024 Las Vegas Summer League, announcing that it will take place from July 12-22 (Twitter link). That’s a few days later than the event typically begins and ends.
Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, who signed the largest contract in league history last summer, is the most accomplished player to participate in the NBA’s dunk contest in several years. He hopes to set an example for other stars, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.com (Twitter link). “I wish more top players (and) athletes decided to compete in the dunk contest,” Brown said. “I grew up watching that, and that’s what I love. Hopefully that comes around.”
Danny Leroux of The Athletic takes a look at where each team’s cap situation stands heading into the 2024 offseason, identifying the Pistons, Magic, Sixers, Jazz, Raptors, and Thunder as the teams with the ability to generate the most cap room.
Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) have updated their list of 2024’s top prospects, moving French wing Zaccharie Risacher into the No. 1 spot for the first time. Risacher is the fourth different player to sit atop ESPN’s ’24 big board since the start of the college season in November, signaling that there’s no clear-cut top prospect in this year’s draft class.

Celtics Notes: Tillman, Porzingis, Springer, Buyout Market

February 10th, 2024 at 11:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

When they were teammates with the Grizzlies, Xavier Tillman used to ask Marcus Smart about the experience of playing in Boston, never expecting to get the opportunity to do so himself before the end of the season, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Seeking help in the frontcourt, the Celtics acquired Tillman from Memphis on Wednesday in exchange for Lamar Stevens and a pair of second-round picks. He’s looking forward to experiencing first-hand everything Smart said about Boston fans.

“The main thing he told me is it’s very similar to Memphis in terms of the grit and the grind and how hard you have to work for the fans and appreciation and stuff like that,” Tillman said. “And once you do show that you’re willing to hustle, they’re going love you. I love it.”

The Celtics had their eye on Tillman for several years and considered selecting him in the 2020 draft, Himmelsbach adds. Memphis took him with the 35th overall pick, and he has built a reputation as a hard worker and versatile defender during his four NBA seasons.

“It’s crazy, to be honest with you,” Tillman said. “I’ve always watched the Celtics in terms of just the winning history of it, back with [Kevin Garnett] and all that stuff and seeing these guys repeatedly go to the Eastern Conference finals all the time, I’m always locked in on that. So for me to get the opportunity to be part of a winning organization, it’s pretty awesome.”

There’s more from Boston:

Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t upset about being passed over as an injury replacement for the All-Star Game, Himmelsbach adds. Trae Young and Scottie Barnes were selected this week to take the place of Joel Embiid and Julius Randle. “Of course there’s some prestige in that and maybe five years ago that was something that was always on my mind, but it doesn’t change anything,” Porzingis said. “To be honest there’s a big part of me that’s kind of happy I can go to Miami or somewhere where there’s sun, get some tan, lift some weights, prepare my body for the rest of the season and then postseason.”
President of basketball operations Brad Stevens had been hoping to acquire Jaden Springer from the Sixers since watching him when their teams met in the preseason, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Stevens got his chance when Philadelphia opted to unload the 21-year-old guard to create more financial flexibility and add an extra second-round pick. Weiss notes that Stevens also faced an urgency to add talent before the deadline because of the limitations that will be placed on teams above the tax apron starting this summer.
A Celtics reunion with Danilo Gallinari appears unlikely, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. The Pistons waived Gallinari on Friday, but Robb believes his mobility is still affected by last year’s ACL tear, causing teams to target him on defense. Robb views Otto Porter as a more desirable option if he reaches a buyout with the Jazz, but he cautions that Boston would face competition from several teams.

Northwest Notes: Hayward, Morris, Jazz, Strawther

February 10th, 2024 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Gordon Hayward has battled injuries for the past several seasons and is no longer playing at the same level as he was back in 2017 when he made his first and only All-Star game. But Hayward is the sort of big wing who has real value on a playoff roster, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, who notes that the price the Thunder paid to acquire the veteran forward – three matching salaries and a pair of second-round picks – was relatively modest.

Hayward may end up being no more than an insurance policy for the Thunder, Mussatto acknowledges, but in a best-case scenario, he’ll become a regular rotation piece and perhaps even a player who could be part of closing lineups. And, as Mussatto points out, the three players Oklahoma City gave up for Hayward (Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, and Vasilije Micic) almost certainly wouldn’t have been playoff contributors.

Hayward, who has been sidelined since December 26 due to a calf injury, appeared to be nearing a return for the Hornets, but he won’t play until after the All-Star break for Oklahoma City, tweets Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman.

As Rylan Stiles of Locked on Thunder notes (via Twitter), head coach Mark Daigneault suggested Hayward is probably healthy enough to play today, but the Thunder want to put him through their return-to-play protocol and let him adjust to his new surroundings before he takes the court.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch is enthusiastic about having the opportunity to add newly acquired guard Monte Morris to his rotation, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes. “He’s a winner. He just kind of makes the right play. Super solid, low-turnover guy,” Finch said. “He’s used to playing off of a lot of star players really well. I think it’s a fairly seamless partnership with Mike (Conley). It’s not like this other type of guard that you have to adjust to. Just his high basketball IQ, you can’t have enough of those guys.”
Morris also expressed excitement about joining the Timberwolves and said on Friday that he’s still getting up to game speed after spending most of the season recovering from a quad injury, per Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. “I was out for a long period of time,” Morris said. “Realistically, I’d say just ramp up my strength and conditioning running. I’ve played in games. I’m not dead tired, but I know there’s another notice I can get to, and I’ll get to it really, really soon.”
The Jazz‘s moves at the trade deadline signal that they continue to prioritize the long term over the short term, despite the fact that they currently hold a play-in spot, writes Andy Larsen of The Star Tribune. As Larsen observes, the departures of Kelly Olynyk, Ochai Agbaji, and Simone Fontecchio should open up playing time for rookies Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh.
Nuggets forward Julian Strawther, who was sidelined for over a month due to a knee injury, played on Friday for the first time since January 4, scoring seven points on 3-of-8 shooting in 20 minutes. According to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required), head coach Michael Malone said prior to Friday’s game that Strawther wouldn’t necessarily be assured of a consistent rotation role going forward.

Jazz Cut Kevin Knox

February 9th, 2024 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz have waived forward Kevin Knox, the club officially announced today in a press release. Knox spent a single day on Utah’s roster, having been acquired from Detroit in the Simone Fontecchio trade prior to Thursday’s deadline.

The ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft, Knox has appeared in over 300 regular season NBA games for the Knicks, Hawks, Pistons, and Trail Blazers over the past five-and-a-half seasons. However, his production has been uneven during that time.

In 31 games this season for Detroit, including 11 starts, Knox averaged 7.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per night, submitting a shooting line of .462/.330/.909.

Knox was playing on a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a cap hit of $1,845,593, so that dead money will remain on the Jazz’s books, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers. Once he becomes a free agent, the 24-year-old will be eligible to sign with any NBA team except the Pistons.

Utah will create an opening on its 15-man roster by waiving Knox. It’s possible the Jazz will end up with another open spot or two in the coming days — it’s unclear what their plans are for the other players they acquired this week, Kira Lewis and Otto Porter.

Raptors Acquire Olynyk, Agbaji From Jazz For 2024 First-Round Pick

February 8th, 2024 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

2:52pm: The trade is official, the Raptors and Jazz announced in a pair of press releases.

9:38am: The Jazz have agreed to trade center Kelly Olynyk and wing Ochai Agbaji to the Raptors, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, Utah will receive Kira Lewis, Otto Porter, and a 2024 first-round pick from Toronto in the deal.

That 2024 first-rounder will be the least favorable of the Thunder’s, Clippers’, Rockets’, and Jazz’s picks, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link), so it figures to land near the end of the first round. Utah’s pick is top-10 protected, meaning there’s a scenario in which the Jazz end up hanging onto their own first-rounder and receive a separate pick (likely OKC’s or L.A.’s) as a result of this deal.

While it’s a little surprising to see a lottery-bound team like the Raptors surrender a first-round pick, the deal will net them a solid big man in Olynyk and a promising young prospect in Agbaji, who was the 14th overall pick in the 2022 draft.

Assuming the Raptors intend to hang onto Olynyk, the Toronto native will become the ninth Canadian to play for the franchise and will provide some depth in a frontcourt that’s relatively thin behind Jakob Poeltl. A forward/center who can stretch the floor, Olynyk is averaging 8.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and a career-high 4.4 assists in 20.4 minutes per game across 50 appearances this season. The 32-year-old has made 42.9% of his three-pointers, boosting his career rate to 37.0%.

Olynyk is on an expiring contract, but the Raptors will control his Bird rights this offseason, giving them the ability to go over the cap to re-sign him or to figure out a sign-and-trade.

As for Agbaji, the young wing hasn’t shown much offensive game since entering the league last season, but is a solid defender who still has room to grow and is under contract through 2026. The Raptors have liked Agbaji for a while, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, and presumably view him as the type of player who can develop alongside the team’s young core of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett.

The Jazz and Raptors had reportedly been discussing a similar deal that would have included Bruce Brown – rather than a first-round pick – going to Utah. However, Toronto controlled an excess of picks in a 2024 draft that the club isn’t believed to be especially high on, while the Jazz are at risk of losing their own ’24 first-round selection, so the inclusion of the low first-rounder makes some sense.

The Raptors still own the Pacers’ first-round pick and the Pistons’ second-round pick in 2024, and would hang onto their own first-rounder if it ends up in the top six.

Lewis’ salary couldn’t be aggregated in a trade after being acquired from Indiana last month, but that won’t be necessary, since Porter’s $6.3MM cap hit is enough on its own to match Olynyk’s $12.2MM incoming salary, while Lewis’ $5.7MM salary will be used to match Agbaji’s $4.1MM cap hit.

It remains to be seen whether the Jazz will hang onto Lewis and/or Porter for the rest of the season. Lewis is a former lottery pick and Porter has had some strong seasons as a three-and-D wing, but both players have battled injuries in recent years and haven’t played much outside of garbage time in 2023/24.

Trade Rumors: Tate, Mavs, Rockets, Suns, Porter, Raptors

February 8th, 2024 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks and Rockets spoke recently about Houston forward Jae’Sean Tate, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. However, league sources tell Iko that Dallas only offered a pair of second-round picks and Houston insisted on three, so the two sides didn’t reach a deal.

As Iko writes, if they do trade Tate, the Rockets would prefer to get a player who could contribute right away, but there was a belief that they could potentially reroute those second-round picks to land that sort of player.

With the trade deadline just over two hours away, the Rockets remain in the market for shooting help and a backup center, Iko reports. Houston traded for Steven Adams last week, but he’s out for the season, so the team wouldn’t mind acquiring a big man who could help in the short term.

Here a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

According to Iko, the Rockets have received some inquiries on guard Aaron Holiday and forward Jeff Green, but won’t be looking to dump those players for minor returns, since they’ve established roles and have good relationships with head coach Ime Udoka.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) has heard veteran wing Otto Porter mentioned as a possible fallback trade option for the Suns. Toronto agreed to trade Porter to Utah earlier today, but there’s no guarantee the Jazz will keep him. Phoenix has no interest in Bulls center Andre Drummond, however, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.
A league source tells Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) that there has been “not a peep” on Raptors trade candidates Bruce Brown, Chris Boucher, and Gary Trent Jr. so far today. However, it remains possible that will change in the next couple hours.

Jazz Trade Simone Fontecchio To Pistons

February 8th, 2024 at 9:25am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 8: The Jazz and Pistons have officially completed their deal, issuing press releases to confirm the move.

FEBRUARY 7: The Jazz and Pistons have agreed to a trade that will send forward Simone Fontecchio to Detroit in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

That 2024 draft pick will be the more favorable of the Wizards’ and Grizzlies’ second-rounders, since that’s the only ’24 second-round selection the Pistons control, as Zach Lowe of ESPN confirms (via Twitter).

In addition to that pick, Utah is acquiring Detroit forward Kevin Knox, reports James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Jazz will also receive the rights to Gabriele Procida, the 36th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

An Italian forward who played in Europe for a decade before making the move to the NBA, Fontecchio signed a two-year, $6.25MM contract with the Jazz during the 2022 offseason. He played a modest rotation role in 52 games as a rookie, but has seen his minutes increase in 2023/24.

Fontecchio has averaged 8.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 23.2 minutes per game across 50 appearances (34 starts) this season, posting a solid shooting line of .450/.391/.800 while attempting 4.7 three-point shots per night. He reportedly drew recent trade interest from the Celtics, Suns, and Cavaliers, among others, so Detroit may have had to outbid a few rival suitors to land him.

The Pistons view Fontecchio as a player whom they’ll retain beyond this season, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Although he’s on an expiring contract, the 28-year-old will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer and Detroit will control his Early Bird rights in addition to projecting to have no shortage of cap space, so the club is well positioned to re-sign him.

In exchange for Fontecchio, the Jazz will receive a draft pick that figures to land near the top of the 2024 second round, as well as Procida, a 21-year-old draft-and-stash prospect who was selected early in the second round two years ago. The Wizards’ 2024 second-rounder currently projects to be No. 32 overall, while Procida – another Italian wing – is playing for Alba Berlin in Germany.

Utah will also receive Knox, a former lottery pick who is unlikely to replicate Fontecchio’s role or his production – especially from the three-point line – and essentially functions as a salary-matching piece. However, it’s possible he’ll get an opportunity to vie for rotation minutes as the 10th-seeded Jazz fight for a play-in spot. The 24-year-old averaged 7.2 PPG and 2.4 RPG on .462/.330/.909 shooting in 31 games (18.1 MPG) for Detroit.

Knox was signed by the Pistons on November 8, meaning he’ll become trade-eligible just ahead of Thursday’s deadline. Sending him out for salary-matching purposes will allow Detroit to retain the $5.7MM trade exception the team generated in last month’s deal with the Wizards.

The Jazz, meanwhile, will be able to take on Knox’s minimum-salary contract using the minimum salary exception, allowing them to create a new trade exception worth just north of $3MM for Fontecchio.

Western Rumors: Suns, Rockets, O’Neale, Tate, Jazz, Grizzlies

February 8th, 2024 at 8:43am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns continue to keep an eye on Nets forward Royce O’Neale and Rockets wing Jae’Sean Tate, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who hears from league sources that Phoenix has discussed a package of Nassir Little and second-round picks for one of those two players.

As Scotto details, the Suns are hoping to find a wing and/or a frontcourt piece on the trade market and will likely be aggressive on the buyout market looking for that sort of player if they’re unable to make a deal. Phoenix will be prohibited from signing a player whose pre-waiver salary exceeds $12.4MM, but not every player on the buyout market will fit that bill.

The Rockets, who are among the other teams with interest in O’Neale, have sought either a late first-round pick or multiple second-rounders to part with Tate, league sources tell Scotto. Aaron Holiday is another Houston player who has generated trade interest.

If the Rockets were to acquire draft assets for a player like Tate or Holiday, they could ultimately flip those picks for another rotation player, Scotto writes.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference in advance of today’s trade deadline:

Scotto hears from multiple executives who have explored trading for Kelly Olynyk that the Jazz are seeking draft compensation — ideally a first-round pick. Another potential Utah trade candidate, Kris Dunn, appears likely to stick with the team through the deadline unless the team gets an “unexpected” offer it can’t refuse, a league source tells HoopsHype.
The Jazz have had some talks with the Hornets about forward P.J. Washington, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who says John Collins came up in those discussions.
Rival executives believe that some of the Grizzlies‘ recent first-round picks – Ziaire Williams, David Roddy, and Jake LaRavia – could be trade candidates, given the emergence of cheaper youngsters like Vince Williams and GG Jackson, says Scotto. Memphis is facing a bit of a roster and cap crunch for 2024/25, so creating a bit more flexibility in both areas would help.
Suns head coach Frank Vogel said on Wednesday won’t mind if his front office decides to stand pat at the deadline, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I’m very in the loop with all of those conversations, but as I said (Tuesday), we love where we’re at as a team,” Vogel said. “If we don’t do anything, I’ll be really happy with the group we have, but obviously, you always look at ways to improve your team.”