With the NBA calendar creeping toward September, the league’s offseason is mostly in the rearview mirror. The big names have already landed, the headline trades are done, and most of the remaining roster work is happening at the edges - the kind of moves that don’t dominate a news cycle but can still matter when opening night arrives on Oct. 20.
A few of the summer’s last loose ends have already been tied up. Klay Thompson was bought out by the Mavericks and wound up with the Heat.
Jonathan Kuminga took a prove-it deal to join LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards in Minnesota. Bennedict Mathurin’s restricted free agency ended with a move to the Pelicans.
And perhaps the biggest late-offseason note: James Harden signed a new deal with the Cavaliers after Cleveland completed a sign-and-trade with Denver to bring in Peyton Watson.
One notable situation is still hanging out there. Jalen Duren remains in restricted free agency with the Pistons, though all signs point to him returning to Detroit on a new long-term deal after helping the team reach 60 wins a season ago.
That kind of uncertainty is still rare this late in the summer, but plenty of teams have some finishing touches to make before camp and opening night. More than half the league has at least one open roster spot, though that doesn’t necessarily mean those teams are obligated to do anything. Most clubs have already reached the minimum 14 players, and only a few are carrying more than one vacancy.
The roster rules leave some wiggle room, too. Teams can drop below 14 for up to two straight weeks and no more than 28 days total during the regular season. In other words, a little movement at the bottom of the roster is still very much on the table as the league heads into a new season.
There are also practical reasons clubs may keep adjusting. The Kings still want a veteran point guard behind Darius Acuff Jr. after Russell Westbrook’s retirement, and Sacramento has already worked out Victor Oladipo, Cam Payne and Elfrid Payton while searching for that answer.
Around the league, some players are on partial or non-guaranteed deals, which means teams can move on before guarantee dates if they want to clear salary or open a roster spot. Two-way and Exhibit 10 players can also fight their way into standard contracts during training camp.
The standard regular-season roster sits at 15 players, plus three two-way spots. Those two-way players split time between the NBA club and its G League affiliate and can appear in up to 50 NBA games during the regular season. Because teams are allowed to go over the limit in the offseason, some current rosters still need trimming before the games count for real.
At the moment, only the Knicks, Kings and Raptors have more than one open roster spot. Each has two standard openings, with the numbers reflecting the assumption that the delayed Kawhi Leonard-to-Toronto trade will eventually go through. New York, the defending champion, is also trying to stay under the second apron and is currently about $3.3 million below it with two open spots.
The Knicks are expected to handle those openings in stages. One spot will likely be filled first, while the final one could be saved for a prorated veteran minimum player or a 10-day contract once the season gets rolling.
There’s also a possible path for second-round pick Tyler Nickel, who lit it up at Summer League. New York could instead bring him in as a two-way player and use the last standard slot on a third big man at the minimum.
As for Toronto’s situation, the roster count is being treated as if Leonard is already on the team, with Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick on the Clippers in the accounting reflected here.
According to CapSheets.com, one club currently sits at 17 players with one on a partial or non-guaranteed contract, a reminder that the last week or two before the season can still bring some quiet roster shuffling. The offseason may be mostly finished, but around the NBA, the final cuts and small additions aren’t done yet.
In Other News...
Cavaliers May Already Have Their Best Answer For A Thin Frontcourt
The Cavaliers still have an open 14th roster spot, and with cap space tight, the frontcourt is one area that keeps standing out as a practical need. Cleveland has already added wing help in Peyton Watson and Mario Hezonja and drafted Meleek Thomas, but behind Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, the team could still use a low-cost big who can soak up minutes and give the rotation some insurance.
Olivier Sarr fits that search as well as anyone on the current list of possibilities. The 6-foot-10 center has previous two-way experience with Cleveland, and his combination of size and G League production makes him a logical candidate if the Cavaliers decide to use that final opening on a true interior presence rather than another developmental flier. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Still Have One Important Backcourt Job Up For Grabs
The Cavaliers have spent much of the Donovan Mitchell era searching for a reliable backup point guard, and the list of names who have cycled through that spot shows how unsettled it has been. Ty Jerome, Ricky Rubio, Raul Neto, Craig Porter Jr., Lonzo Ball and Dennis Schroder have all taken a turn trying to stabilize the second unit, but Cleveland still heads into the season with that reserve backcourt role very much open.
Now the attention shifts to a younger crop, with the Cavaliers using draft capital on Tyrese Proctor and Meleek Thomas and setting up a training camp battle that should be worth watching. Proctor, Thomas and Porter are expected to compete for minutes behind Mitchell, and coach Kenny Atkinson will be looking for a guard who can bring both consistency and versatility to a bench that has not yet found a settled answer. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers May Have Just Opened The Door For A Former First-Rounder
The Warriors kept busy in free agency by adding veterans Georges Niang and Brandon Williams, but there is still one two-way contract spot sitting open. That vacancy has kept the door cracked for a name that should still matter to Cleveland fans: Cam Whitmore, the former first-round pick who was recently waived by the Cavaliers.
Whitmore has already logged three NBA seasons with the Rockets and Wizards, and his next landing spot remains a live question. For the Cavs, the more immediate storyline is what his brief stop in Cleveland means in the bigger picture, especially if Golden State decides to make him the next player to fill out its developmental lane. [Read more 🡒]