Pre-Camp Roster Snapshot: Central Division
Hoops Rumors is in the process of taking a closer look at each NBA team’s current roster situation, evaluating which clubs still have some moves to make and which ones seem most prepared for training camp to begin.
This series is meant to provide a snapshot of each team’s roster at this time, so these articles won’t be updated in the coming weeks as more signings, trades, and cuts are made. You can follow our roster counts page to keep tabs on teams’ open spots as opening night nears.
We’re continuing our pre-camp Roster Snapshot series today with the Central Division. Let’s dive in…
Chicago Bulls
- Players on guaranteed standard contracts: 15
- Players on Exhibit 10 contracts: 2
- Players on two-way contracts: 1
- Restricted free agents: 1
- Malcolm Hill (two-way)
The roster situation in Chicago looks pretty straightforward. The 15 players on guaranteed contracts are all good bets to open the season on the 15-man roster, and Hill is probably the frontrunner to fill the second two-way spot.
Barring a surprise, the main lingering question is whether the Bulls will remain committed to having Lewis fill one of their two-way slots after he suffered an ACL injury.
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Players on guaranteed standard contracts: 13
- Players on non-guaranteed standard contracts: 2
- Players on two-way contracts: 2
- Restricted free agents: 1
Sexton’s restricted free agency is the only major issue the Cavaliers have yet to resolve. They reportedly have a three-year, $40MM offer out to Sexton, who is seeking a larger payday — the Cavs seem unlikely to increase that offer, since they’re only about $13MM below the luxury tax line and are committed to staying out of tax territory.
If Sexton returns, either on that three-year offer or on his qualifying offer, the Cavs will have 16 players on standard contracts and could trade or release a player with a guaranteed salary in order to carry both Stevens and Wade. Osman and Windler are among the candidates to be the odd man out in that scenario.
Detroit Pistons
- Players on guaranteed standard contracts: 17
- Players on two-way contracts: 2
- Players who have reportedly reached contract agreements: 2
- Micah Potter (Exhibit 10), Stanley Umude (Exhibit 10)
The Pistons have to trade or waive two players on guaranteed contracts before opening night. Walker is the most obvious candidate to be one of them — a report nearly two months ago indicated he and the team were close to finalizing a buyout agreement, but Detroit may be hanging onto him to see if his expiring contract can be used in a trade.
Lee and McGruder are among the candidates to be the other roster casualty, with Lee perhaps more at risk — it would be an unusual move for the Pistons to sign McGruder to a fully guaranteed contract in free agency only to release him a couple months later.
Indiana Pacers
- Players on guaranteed standard contracts: 13
- Players on non-guaranteed standard contracts: 1
- Players on Exhibit 10 contracts: 1
- Unsigned draft picks: 1
- Kendall Brown (No. 48)
- Players who have reportedly reached contract agreements: 4
- Eli Brooks (Exhibit 10), Tevin Brown (Exhibit 10), Jermaine Samuels (Exhibit 10), Fanbo Zeng (Exhibit 10)
After having their offer sheet for Deandre Ayton matched, the Pacers have a ton of cap room available and continue to explore various ways to use it. There’s also still a possibility Indiana will make a trade involving Hield and/or Turner, so the roster is far from set.
If no trades are forthcoming, the Pacers would have three roster spots to fill — one on their projected 15-man squad, along with a pair of two-way deals. Brown – one of this year’s last remaining unsigned draftees – seems more likely to end up on a two-way contract than a standard deal, but Indiana could go either way with him, depending on how the rest of the offseason plays out.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Players on guaranteed standard contracts: 14
- Players on non-guaranteed standard contracts: 1
- Players on Exhibit 10 contracts: 1
- Players on two-way contracts: 2
- Restricted free agents: 1
- Players who have reportedly reached contract agreements: 1
- Iverson Molinar (TBD)
If a rival suitor were interested in making a serious play for Nwora, it probably would’ve happened by now, so a return to Milwaukee is the likeliest outcome for his restricted free agency. If he re-signs, he’d fill the final open spot on the Bucks’ 15-man roster — and with both two-way slots filled, the team’s roster would look pretty set.
NBA Free Agents Who Have Joined International Teams
With a new crop of rookies entering the NBA this fall, there won’t be enough room for all of the free agents who finished the 2021/22 season on NBA teams to find new jobs in the league.
Some of those players who are left on the outside looking in will retire. Many others will find work around the world, in one of the many professional basketball leagues in Europe, Asia, Australia, or South America.
As our free agent tracker shows, there have been 15 players so far who were on an NBA roster when the season ended in April and have since joined an international team.
That list of 15 doesn’t include players like Semi Ojeleye or James Ennis, who played in the NBA in 2021/22 but weren’t under contract with a team at the end of the season. We’ve been keeping tabs on many of those players and their new teams throughout the offseason, but the players listed below were all NBA free agents this spring.
Here are the details on where those players are headed:
Australia
- Melbourne United: Rayjon Tucker, Bucks (story)
China
- Zhejiang Golden Bulls: Moses Wright, Mavericks (story)
France
Germany
- Bayern Munich: Isaac Bonga, Raptors (story)
- Bayern Munich: Cassius Winston, Wizards (story)
Greece
- Panathinaikos: Georgios Kalaitzakis, Thunder (story)
- Promitheas Patras: Arnoldas Kulboka, Hornets (story)
Italy
- Virtus Bologna: Gabriel Lundberg, Suns (story)
Lithuania
- Zalgiris Kaunas: Ignas Brazdeikis, Magic (story)
Philippines
- Bay Area Dragons: Myles Powell, Sixers (story)
- Note: The Dragons normally play in Hong Kong, but are temporarily based in Manila in the Philippines due to COVID-19 restrictions in Hong Kong.
Spain
- Barcelona: Tomas Satoransky, Wizards (story)
- Baskonia: Markus Howard, Nuggets (story)
- Valencia: Jared Harper, Pelicans (story)
Turkey
- Fenerbahce: Nemanja Bjelica, Warriors (story)
- Fenerbahce: Carsen Edwards, Pistons (story)
With dozens of veterans still unsigned just four weeks before NBA training camps begin, it’s a safe bet that we’ll be adding a few more names to the above list before the season tips off in October.
Lakers Notes: Westbrook, THT, Beverley, Schröder
It remains very possible that the Lakers move Russell Westbrook in a trade before the 2022/23 season begins, but if Rob Pelinka and his front office can’t find a deal they like, new head coach Darvin Ham is determined to “carve out a real role” for Westbrook, Marc Stein writes at Substack.
Sources tell Stein that the Lakers have thus far resisted the idea of taking the John Wall route with Westbrook and having him sit at home while he remains under contract with the team. The Rockets took that approach with Wall last season and spent the season exploring the trade market before eventually reaching a buyout agreement with the veteran point guard this summer, when he had one year left on his contract. Westbrook is entering the final year of his own deal.
As Stein observes, there were indications on social media last week that the Lakers are prepared to incorporate Westbrook if he’s not traded in the coming weeks. LeBron James tweeted that he expects his teammate to “go off” this season, and the Lakers’ official Twitter account included Westbrook in a series of videos and photos of players’ offseason workouts.
Here’s more from Stein on the Lakers:
- League sources tell Stein that the Lakers initially resisted the idea of trading Talen Horton-Tucker for Patrick Beverley when they started to discuss a potential deal with the Jazz in July, since L.A. wants to get younger and more athletic this season. However, after LeBron signed an extension, the club seemed more willing to shift into win-now mode, Stein writes, which made Beverley a better fit than Horton-Tucker.
- Stein, who first reported last Tuesday that the Lakers were giving “legit consideration” to the idea of signing Dennis Schröder, says it’s unclear whether the acquisition of Beverley eliminates Schröder as a possibility. The team has a good deal of depth at point guard for the time being, with Westbrook, Beverley, and Kendrick Nunn all in the mix, but if Westbrook is traded, that might re-open the door for Schröder.
- In case you missed it, we outlined on Friday why it will be challenging for the Lakers to include meaningful protections on their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks if they trade them.
Markieff Morris, Nets In Advanced Discussions
The Nets are engaged in “advanced” discussions with free agent forward Markieff Morris, according to veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Morris, who will turn 33 this Friday, was limited to just 17 appearances last season in Miami due to a neck injury that sidelined him for much of the year, but he has a strong overall NBA résumé, having appeared in over 700 regular season games for six teams since entering the league in 2011.
In his last full season, Morris averaged 6.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 61 games (19.7 MPG) for the Lakers in 2020/21. He’s known for his toughness and defensive versatility, and can also stretch the floor a little on offense — he has posted a .341 career 3PT%.
Brooklyn’s interest in Morris was reported last week, with a subsequent report from Stein indicating that the division rival Sixers also had an eye on the veteran forward.
Morris’ last couple contracts have been minimum-salary deals and he seems unlikely to earn a raise after losing most of the 2021/22 season to an injury. As such, he and the Nets could be discussing whether the team’s offer would be fully guaranteed and/or what sort of role he might play in Brooklyn.
The Nets currently have 12 players on fully guaranteed standard contracts, with Edmond Sumner on a partially guaranteed deal and Yuta Watanabe on a non-guaranteed pact.
Pacific Notes: Ham, LeBron, Westbrook, Murray, Hightower, Warriors
Lakers coach Darvin Ham recently expressed excitement about LeBron James inking an extension with the team, as relayed by Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. James agreed to extend his deal through the 2023/24 season, also owning a $50.4MM player option for the 2024/25 campaign.
“It’s huge, man,” Ham acknowledged. “It’s huge. LeBron is a once-in-a-lifetime player. You only get so many players. Not even so many. You have Bill Russell, you have Wilt Chamberlain, you have Dr. J, you have Moses Malone, you had Larry Bird, Magic [Johnson], you had [Michael] Jordan, you had Allen Iverson, Shaq [O’Neal], Kobe [Bryant], and now it’s LeBron’s time.”
James led the Lakers to a championship in 2020 and is focused on doing it again this season. The team lacks the wing defenders it had that year (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green and Alex Caruso, among others), but it still has a talented roster on paper — one also headlined by Anthony Davis.
Here are some other notes from the Pacific:
- Jim Alexander of the Orange County Register explores whether trading for Patrick Beverley is a sign that the Lakers will move Russell Westbrook. As we detailed earlier in the week, Beverley and Westbrook have been involved in many heated battles and confrontations. We’ve seen former enemies succeed on the same team before — including with the Lakers, when Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest teamed up to win a championship in 2010 — but it’s unclear if Beverley and Westbrook can co-exist. Los Angeles also has Kendrick Nunn as a third option at point guard.
- Nuggets star Jamal Murray, who missed last season due to a torn ACL, continues to express confidence he’ll be back to 100% at some point this season, he told Matthew Sullivan of News.com.au. Denver is expected to contend for a title, sporting a projected starting group of Murray, Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.
- The Warriors have hired Noel Hightower as a player development coach, as relayed by Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Hightower will also serve as an assistant coach with the team’s G League affiliate. He worked with the Pacers as a basketball assistant last season.
Eastern Notes: Beal, Morris, Nets, Mitchell, Claxton
For Bradley Beal, winning a championship with the Wizards would be more rewarding due to the adversity he has faced in recent years, he told Laura Schreffler of Forbes.com. Beal has opted to stay loyal to Washington, signing a five-year, $251MM deal with the team this summer.
“People always look at me like I’m crazy, but I have a huge desire to want to make it work here and win here,” Beal said. “This is the team that drafted me. They’re super loyal, I have a great relationship with ownership, and a great relationship with our front office.
“Plus, there’s not a lot of chances in the careers of NBA players to be notated as the franchise guy, you know? To be able to have that opportunity, to be able to be in a position to where I can write my own story, that’s everything.”
Beal has spent his entire 10-year career to date with the Wizards. Despite feeling pressure from some fans to request a trade, the 29-year-old has remained focused on winning a title with the Wizards.
“I feel like if I win a championship here in DC, the grind of it, with everything I’ve been through, all the adversity and ups and downs, that would make a win that much sweeter, makes me appreciate it that much more,” Beal explained. “And I do love the grind, and to sometimes go against the odds.”
There’s more from the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington examines five things analytics say about Monte Morris‘ game. The Wizards acquired Morris and Will Barton from the Nuggets this offseason, sending away Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith. Morris is expected to start at point guard for Washington.
- While the Nets have been rumored as a possible suitor for Donovan Mitchell, members of the organization like Brooklyn’s roster and don’t feel a sense of urgency to pursue Jazz guard, Ian Begley of SNY.tv reports. With Kevin Durant and the Nets recently agreeing to move forward together, it doesn’t seem like Brooklyn will be eager to make a major trade ahead of the season — even though Mitchell listed Brooklyn as a trade preference.
- Nets center Nic Claxton knows his time is now, according to NetsDaily. With Brooklyn allowing Andre Drummond to sign with the Bulls — and LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin no longer on the roster — Claxton has an opportunity to establish himself at center. The Nets may test Ben Simmons at the five, but Claxton can still be valuable as a rebounder, rim protector, screen-setter and lob threat at 6’11”.
Nets Sign Yuta Watanabe
The Nets have signed free agent Yuta Watanabe, the team announced in a press release. The terms of the agreement weren’t revealed, but Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports (via Twitter) that Brooklyn signed Watanabe to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract.
A 6’8″ forward, Watanabe has played in 121 NBA games across four seasons with the Grizzlies and Raptors. He appeared in 38 contests with Toronto last season, averaging 4.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per outing. He also shot 41% from the floor and 34% from three-point range.
Brooklyn has 15 players on its 20-man offseason roster. One of those players (Alondes Williams) is on a two-way deal, while the other 14 are on standard contracts — in addition to the 12 with fully guaranteed salaries, Watanabe is now on a non-guaranteed deal and Edmond Sumner has a partial guarantee. Watanabe will presumably join the team for training camp with a chance to earn a roster spot this fall.
The Nets are coming off a tumultuous summer headlined by Kevin Durant‘s trade request. With Durant and the team recently agreeing to move forward with their partnership, the club is now focused on competing for a championship.
Heat Notes: Mitchell, Potter, Eastern Conference, Lineups
With Nets forward Kevin Durant off the table as a trade target for the time being, the Heat could look elsewhere for All-Star reinforcements. In a mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel discusses alternatives, including Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell. Winderman does not consider the undersized shooting guard to be worth a package centered around reigning Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro and future draft picks.
Winderman also notes that the Heat should be cautious when it comes to trading forward Duncan Robinson, who will earn $16.9MM in 2022/23 after falling out of the club’s rotation near the end of last season due to his defensive shortcomings. Winderman notes that Robinson’s contract could be crucial as an inclusion for a trade to acquire a maximum-salaried superstar. Herro remains on his rookie deal, and will make just $5.7MM this season.
There’s more out of South Beach:
- In another mailbag, Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reflects on the recent decision by the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, to offload Micah Potter to the Pistons’ G League club, the Motor City Cruise. Winderman writes that the decision ultimately came down to which players Miami is prioritizing developing, noting that other prospects – including Orlando Robinson – took priority over Potter.
- Now that the Nets are, at least for now, stabilizing and whole heading into the 2022/23 season, Winderman wonders if Brooklyn has leapfrogged Miami in the Eastern Conference pecking order and explores just how dangerous the Nets coul dbe.
- Even beyond the departure of starting power forward P.J. Tucker, the Heat’s rotation could look markedly different than it did during the 2021/22 NBA season, when a top-seeded Miami club pushed the Celtics to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, Winderman writes in another Sun Sentinel story. As Winderman observes, 6’5″ Caleb Martin appears to be the current leader in the competition to become Miami’s new starting power forward, though that situation remains fluid with training camp still ahead of the team. Miami’s internal search for its starting swingman next to point guard Kyle Lowry and small forward/shooting guard Jimmy Butler also remains fairly open, with several intriguing candidates on the roster.
Stein’s Latest: Morris, Hornets, Mitchell, Lakers
Veteran free agent power forward Markieff Morris is under consideration as a reserve acquisition for the Sixers in addition to the Nets, writes Marc Stein in a new article for Substack.
Stein notes that the 32-year-old was known to be a vocal locker room presence while on a star-studded 2019/20 championship-winning Lakers club, and could be a good fit for a Brooklyn team fielding several at-times angsty superstars.
Morris missed most of his 2021/22 season with the Heat due to a major neck injury after entering the season as a key reserve. In his 17 available regular season games with Miami, Morris averaged 7.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.4 APG. The 6’9″ big man out of Kansas posted a shooting line of .474/.333/.889.
Here’s more from Stein:
- As the Hornets consider reserve point guard options behind developing All-Star LaMelo Ball, the team has broadened its list of potential targets to include former Suns point guard Elfrid Payton, according to Stein. Isaiah Thomas, who fulfilled the role adequately last season, is still being looked at, as is Pistons point guard Kemba Walker, a three-time All-Star while with Charlotte whom Stein expects to be bought out of his current deal.
- The Lakers‘ 2027 and 2029 first-round draft selections, along with the expiring contract of incumbent point guard Russell Westbrook, could be used to help complete a three-team Donovan Mitchell trade for the Jazz, either with the Knicks or even another suitor. Stein writes that the draft picks could hold significant appeal for Jazz team president Danny Ainge, who earlier this summer received quite a bounty in future draft equity as part of his blockbuster deal that shipped former Utah All-Star Rudy Gobert out to the Timberwolves.
- Stein cautions that the Lakers, who leveraged a lot of future draft picks in their trade for Anthony Davis, remain fairly protective of the 2027 and 2029 picks. Given that L.A. is fielding a team with (currently) three maximum-salaried veterans all with at least 10 years of experience, one would expect the club to very much be in win-now mode, but the team only wants to make a move if it values the returning players as being worth the sacrifice. Stein defines that as players who can help the team return to its standing as a championship contender, following a disappointing 33-49 season that saw the Lakers on the outside of the play-in tournament looking in.
Heat Weren’t Aggressive In Pursuit Of Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant reportedly listed Miami as one of his preferred destinations when he demanded a trade from the Nets, but the Heat didn’t make a strong effort to acquire him, Shams Charania of The Athletic said in an appearance on the Stugotz podcast.
Heat officials believed it would cost too much of their roster to trade for Durant, added Charania, who said that the last contact between the two teams regarding Durant occurred either before or during Summer League.
Charania noted that Miami reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last season and didn’t see a need for major changes. He pointed to hypothetical trades involving Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro or Adebayo, Max Strus and another player and asked whether that really gets Miami any closer to winning a title.
On top of that, any consideration of trading Adebayo would have been limited by the designated rookie extension rule, which would have prevented the Nets from having both him and Ben Simmons on their roster at the same time. A third team would have been needed to complete a deal, which made the prospects of a trade even less realistic.
Durant also was interested in joining the Suns, but Charania hears that Brooklyn didn’t want Deandre Ayton in return. Ayton became ineligible for a sign-and-trade this summer after Phoenix matched his offer sheet from the Pacers.
Charania said there were opportunities to deal Durant, but no one was willing to meet the Nets’ asking price. The Celtics wouldn’t part with Marcus Smart or Robert Williams along with Jaylen Brown, while the Raptors weren’t willing to include Scottie Barnes in trade talks. Charania said Brooklyn could have made a deal that was heavy on draft compensation with the Suns, Grizzlies or Timberwolves before they sent their assets to Utah for Rudy Gobert, but the Nets were only interested in trades that would keep them competitive.