NBA teams are each permitted to carry up to three players on two-way contracts, which means at any given time there could be a maximum of 90 players on two-way deals around the league.
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We can expect the NBA-wide total to hover at or near 90 for much of the regular season, but we’re only one month into the 2025/26 league year, so many teams have yet to fill all of their two-way slots.
Still, some clubs haven’t wasted much time in signing players to two-way contracts. At the moment, as our tracker shows, 70 of the 90 slots around the league are occupied and two more are reportedly spoken for — Amari Williams is expected to sign a two-way contract with the Celtics and Branden Carlson is expected to complete a two-way deal with the Thunder.
We’re still more than two-and-a-half months away from the 2025/26 regular season tipping off, and since two-way deals don’t affect a team’s cap situation, it won’t be a surprise if many teams rotate players in and out of those roster spots up until the season begins (and after that). But for the time being, there are just 20 open two-way slots across the league. Here’s the breakdown:
Teams with multiple open two-way slots
- Golden State Warriors (2)
- New York Knicks (3)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (2)
- San Antonio Spurs (2)
Some of these spots may already be spoken for. As we noted above, Carlson is expected to sign a two-way contract with the Thunder. The Warriors have a two-way qualifying offer on the table for Taran Armstrong, while the Knicks (Kevin McCullar Jr.) and Spurs (Harrison Ingram, Riley Minix) also have two-way restricted free agents who have yet to sign.
Some of these clubs also have second-round picks from this year’s draft who look like logical candidates for two-way spots. Golden State selected Alex Toohey at No. 52 and Will Richard at No. 56 — it would be a surprise if at least one of them doesn’t end up on a two-way deal. New York has yet to sign No. 51 pick Mohamed Diawara, though he’s a candidate for a standard roster spot, as we discussed earlier today.
Still, with multiple openings to work with, some of these teams are in position to identify Summer League standouts whom they want to bring to training camp. They could offer them two-way deals or could try to sign several players to Exhibit 10 contracts and create an open competition for two-way spots this fall.
Teams with one open two-way slot
- Boston Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Dallas Mavericks
- Detroit Pistons
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Miami Heat
- Orlando Magic
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Utah Jazz
As with some of the teams in the first section, there are a few cases here where there’s an obvious candidate to fill a team’s two-way opening.
The Pistons, for example, still have a two-way qualifying offer on the table for Daniss Jenkins. The same is true of the Jazz with Oscar Tshiebwe (Utah also has No. 53 overall pick John Tonje still unsigned). And as we observed earlier, Williams is expected to get the Celtics‘ last two-way spot.
There’s not a single clear-cut candidate for all of these openings though, so agents whose clients are seeking an 18-man roster spot will likely reach out to these clubs to see how they intend to use their third two-way contract slots.
Teams with no two-way openings
- Atlanta Hawks
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Denver Nuggets
- Houston Rockets
- Indiana Pacers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Phoenix Suns
- Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors
- Washington Wizards
In theory, these 15 teams are good to go for training camp. In actuality, I won’t be surprised if a number of them make two-way changes by the start of October. We saw the Timberwolves do just that on Friday when they reportedly waived Jesse Edwards – whose two-way contract carried over from last season – in order to accommodate newcomer Enrique Freeman and another returning player, Tristen Newton.
Houston, it’s worth noting, still has a two-way qualifying offer on the table for N’Faly Dante. If Dante accepts that qualifying offer, a roster move would be necessary for the Rockets, who have signed three players to two-way contracts since the start of July.