Checking In On NBA’s Camp Roster Counts

With training camps underway across the NBA, most teams have filled their 20-man offseason squads, leaving just a small handful of open roster spots around the league. While teams can carry 20 players for now, they’ll have to trim their rosters to a maximum of 17 players (15 on standard contracts and two on two-way deals) before the 2018/19 regular season begins.

Here’s a brief breakdown of each team’s current roster situation:

Teams with 15 guaranteed contracts and two two-way contracts:

  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Boston Celtics
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Denver Nuggets
  • Detroit Pistons
  • Los Angeles Clippers

While it’s possible that these teams could waive a player on a guaranteed contract or make a change to their two-way contract slots, their rosters look fairly set for the start of the season. The one exception is the Clippers — with Patrick Beverley on a non-guaranteed contract, L.A. will have to trade or release at least one guaranteed salary in order to fit Beverley on the 15-man squad.

Teams with 15 guaranteed contracts and at least one open two-way contract slot:

  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Portland Trail Blazers
  • Sacramento Kings

The 15-man rosters for these clubs look fairly set, but they each still have a two-way opening to fill, perhaps with one of their camp invitees.

Teams with 13 or 14 guaranteed contracts and two two-way contracts:

  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Miami Heat
  • Milwaukee Bucks
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New York Knicks
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
  • Orlando Magic
  • Philadelphia 76ers
  • San Antonio Spurs
  • Utah Jazz
  • Washington Wizards

All of these teams are carrying 14 guaranteed contracts except for the Timberwolves – who have 13, plus James Nunnally‘s partially guaranteed deal – and the Spurs, who still technically have Manu Ginobili under contract as their 15th guaranteed salary.

With Nunnally a near-lock to make Minnesota’s roster, and Ginobili certain to be waived at some point, those two teams will find themselves in the same situation as every other team on this list, with 14 roster players and a pair of two-way guys. Some of these clubs will carry a 15th man, giving some of their non-guaranteed players a chance to compete for that spot. Others will keep their 15th roster spot open to start the season in order to save a little money.

Teams with fewer than 15 guaranteed contracts and fewer than two two-way contracts:

  • Charlotte Hornets
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Golden State Warriors
  • Houston Rockets
  • Memphis Grizzlies
  • New Orleans Pelicans
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Toronto Raptors

There may be multiple roster spots up for grabs on some of these teams, such as the Pelicans, who only have 12 fully guaranteed contracts and one two-way deal. The Rockets, meanwhile, also have just 12 fully guaranteed deals on their books – though Michael Carter-Williams has a substantial partial guarantee – and are one of the only NBA teams without a two-way player signed so far.

For a full breakdown of the roster counts for each NBA team, be sure to check out our roster counts page, which is updated daily. Our lists of non-guaranteed contracts and two-way contracts by team may also be useful reference points.

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