How is expectedmost NBA teams cut their rosters on Saturday and didn’t wait until Monday’s deadline to make their regular season rosters.
Completing those moves Saturday would provide players with non-guaranteed contracts clear waivers on Monday, before the regular season begins. If a team waited until Monday to waive a player on a non-guaranteed deal, he wouldn’t clear waivers until Wednesday and the team would be on the hook for two days of his salary.
After Saturday’s flurry of roster changes, here’s what’s happening around the NBA:
Teams whose rosters are within the regular season
Of the 30 NBA teams, 25 have rosters that meet the league’s regular season requirements list limitswhich state that clubs cannot have more than 15 players on standard contracts or three on bilateral contracts.
The following 10 teams are on the edge, with 15 players on standard contracts and three with two teams:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
- Detroit Pistons
- Golden State Warriors
- Los Angeles Clippers
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Phoenix Suns
- Utah Jazz
- Washington Wizards
Just because these rosters look ready for the regular season doesn’t necessarily mean they’re locked in completely. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see several teams on this roster make minor changes before Monday’s regular-season roster deadline. It can be as simple as replacing one two-way player with another. It can also include a standard list.
One team from that group that will certainly be active before Monday is Phoenix. The The sun still carry the big man Duop Rit on an Annex 10 contract, but is expected to convert that contract to a two-way deal, meaning the team would have to give up one of their current two-way players (CJ Huntley, Pat Spenceror Kobe Brea).
The following 13 teams have 14 players on standard contracts and three on two-way contracts:
- Boston Celtics
- Chicago Bulls
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Denver Nuggets
- Indiana Pacers
- Miami Heat
- New York Knicks
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Orlando Magic
- Philadelphia 76
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Sacramento Kings
- San Antonio Spurs
Few of these teams currently have the ability to add a 15th man to their standard rosters. This is the situation for Cavaliers, Pacersand Sixers.
Many others operate in or near luxury tax territory and will want to leave that 15th open for the time being, either to keep the scheduled tax under control or to maintain some financial flexibility. Aprons also count here. Adding a 15th man would give it a boost Nix over the second apron, for example.
However, not all of these teams face cap or apron restrictions. The Bykov for example, are far from being taxed, and if they want, they can comfortably add to the list.
Two more teams are within the regular season. These commands are as follows:
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 14 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.
- Toronto Raptors: 14 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.
Both Timberwolves and Predators recently waived players on two-way contracts, and Minnesota opted out Enrique Freeman on Saturday after the cut in Toronto Chuckie Hepburn and Trey Jamison earlier this week (the Raptors have since filled one of those spots transformation Nate Beatle).
It’s unclear whether either team is targeting a specific two-way target, but it’s worth noting that players on Exhibit 10 contracts that were waived Friday or Saturday can be lifted from waivers and immediately converted to two-way deals before Monday’s roster deadline.
The Wolves also have the ability to add a 15th man anytime they want, while the Raptors can’t due to their proximity to the first apron hard cap.
Teams that have yet to make moves before Monday’s deadline
That leaves five NBA teams that have yet to make the necessary moves to enter the regular season cap. Let’s run through them one by one…
Dallas Mavericks: 16 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.
The Mavericks have 15 players with fully guaranteed contracts Dwight Powell on a deal with a minimum salary that is partially guaranteed at $1 million — a figure that will increase to $1.5 million unless he is waived on or before Tuesday.
Powell is the most logical odd man out from a cap perspective and is unlikely to have a big role if he makes the team, but Dallas has high regard for his leadership in the locker room and as a new head coach Dusty May referred to to the veteran big man as “very valuable.”
If the Mavericks keep Powell, then Moussa Cisse, Caleb Martinand Marcus Sasser are among their potential candidates for exchange or release.
Cisse is not owed any guaranteed money beyond his $2.2 million salary this season, but he showed promise as a rookie last season. Sasser is also out of contract ($5.2 million), but Dallas targeted him in an offseason trade to bolster the team’s point guard depth. Martin may be the most expendable player on the roster, but giving him up would not only eat up his $10M cap hit this season, but also his $9.4M player option for 2027/2028. It’s not perfect.
As for Dallas’ two-way opener, Mark Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter references) defined one of today’s abbreviations – Seth Lundy – as a comeback candidate to fill that spot, though the Mavericks could simply convert his Annex 10 deal to a two-way deal today if they wanted to.
Stein also noted that waiving Cisse and re-signing him to a two-way contract is not an option since the Mavs owe him more than $91,000 in guaranteed money. As we outlined in our glossarya team cannot re-sign a player to a two-way contract if it has already guaranteed him more than the “two-way protection amount” for that season.
Houston Rockets: 16 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.
It’s safe to bet that the Rockets will keep the veteran forward Jae Sean Tatewhose minimum-salary contract is partially guaranteed at $1 million, as the 13th man. I think Isaiah Crawford is likely the favorite to be Houston’s 14th man — although his salary isn’t guaranteed, he signed a four-year deal with the team this offseason.
That leaves Oscar Tibwe and Julian Phillips on attachment 10 contracts. I expect one to be retooled to fill the Rockets two-way opening, but I’m curious to see what happens with the other. Houston is just $14K under the luxury tax limit, and keeping Chibwe or Phillips on the standard roster and converting his Annex 10 deal to a standard non-guaranteed contract would push the team’s payroll by about $2.4 million into the tax.
Maybe a little overtaxing isn’t a big deal for the Rockets, who could dip below that line later in the season if they need to. But if they’re wary of going over that threshold, the only way to avoid it at this point, other than a trade, would be to move one of Tshibwe or Phillips to a two-way deal, waive him, and then move the other player to a two-way deal.
For what it’s worth, if Houston only ends up keeping one of those two players, I think Tibwe is the better bet to stick around.
Los Angeles Lakers: 16 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.
The Lakers have 16 players with guaranteed salaries and will need to trade or waive one of them by Monday night. Dalton Knecht is the most likely odd man out, and Los Angeles has reportedly scoured the trade market to try to find one for him, but the former first-round pick currently has a negative trade value. Even if the Lakers were to pick up a second-round pick, it would be hard to get anything of value in return for Knecht.
Jaden Hardy, Jared Vanderbiltand Bronnie James are among the other final players that could be at risk if Knecht is moved in a trade that would result in the Lakers getting a new player.
Memphis Grizzlies: 17 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.
The Grizzlies still have 16 players under guaranteed contracts Jaylen Wells on a non-guaranteed deal. Despite the contract situation, Wells is not in danger of being dismissed. He’s a year away from being a Rookie of the Year finalist and is still viewed as part of Memphis’ young core.
That means the Grizzlies will have to trade or waive two players with guaranteed salaries. The best candidates Chris Murray, Micah Peavyand Walter Claytoneach of which was acquired earlier this year in a trade that netted Memphis a more valuable asset.
Assuming the Grizzlies don’t find a trade partner to work with, I’d be a little surprised if Murray and Peavy aren’t the two players.
Milwaukee Bucks: 16 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals.
Another team said to be exploring the trade market, the Bucks have 16 players with guaranteed salaries and will have to eat one of those contracts if they can’t get a deal done.
I’m browsing Karis Levert and Jericho Sims as two at-risk players in Milwaukee. Both have expiring contracts, and while LeVert’s $14.8M cap hit would be more useful in a season trade than Sims’ $2.8M figure, Sims seems likely to play a role for the Bucks — LeVert is coming off a down year and was ineffective in the preseason.
Meanwhile, the Bucks’ third two-way slot has been open since July. There’s no reason not to fill him early in the season, so I expect Milwaukee to take a hard look at all of the Expo 10 waiver options this weekend and consider making a claim before Monday.
Hoops Rumors Resource List
We are constantly maintaining and updating a number of rosters and trackers that are designed to help you keep track of NBA rosters. They are all updated after Saturday’s cuts.
These resources, which can be found on the right sidebar of our desktop site or on the “Features” page of our mobile menu, include the following:
