Two important roster-related dates for the 2025/26 NBA season are now behind us — teams can no longer sign players to two-way contracts and players who are waived by their current clubs from here on out won’t be playoff-eligible for a new team.
That certainly doesn’t mean there won’t be any players signed or waived in the coming weeks, but the NBA’s transaction wire should be a little less busy going forward. That makes it a good time to step back and take stock of where things stand with rosters and contract situations around the league as we enter the home stretch of the season.
10-day contracts
After Killian Hayes‘ 10-day contract with the Kings expired on Wednesday night, there are currently just two active 10-day deals around the NBA, as our tracker shows. Those deals are as follows:
- Utah Jazz: Mo Bamba (runs through March 7)
- Brooklyn Nets: Grant Nelson (runs through March 8)
Following a flurry of 10-day signings during and after the All-Star break, no team has finalized a 10-day deal in nearly a week, but I’d expect action to pick up on that front shortly.
A year ago, a total of 23 10-day contracts were signed between March 6 and the end of the season, with a handful of players receiving multiple deals – and, in some cases, rest-of-season commitments – from their respective teams. There are still a number of clubs across the league with open roster spots, and many of those openings figure to be temporarily filled with 10-day signees in the coming days and weeks.
Pending deals
Before we take a look at exactly which teams have roster spots to fill, it’s worth noting that there’s still one reported transaction that hasn’t been officially completed. The Nuggets reached an agreement with point guard Tyus Jones on Monday but have yet to formally announce his new deal.
No corresponding roster move will be needed for Denver, since the team already has an open spot on its 15-man roster, and it shouldn’t be long before Jones officially joins the roster. As Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets, the 29-year-old was at the Nuggets’ practice facility on Wednesday and is expected to be available for the club’s game against the Lakers on Thursday.
[UPDATE: Jones has officially signed with the Nuggets.]
Open roster spots
As our tracker shows, the following teams currently have one spot available on their 15-man standard rosters:
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Orlando Magic
- Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors
The Nuggets technically belong on this list too, but they’ll have a full roster once they officially sign Jones. The Jazz and Nets could also join this group if they don’t re-sign Bamba and Nelson, respectively, after their 10-day contracts expire.
The Warriors and Rockets are operating in luxury tax territory, and while they have plenty of room below their hard caps to add a 15th man, they’re probably not all that eager to increase their projected tax bills by bringing in someone who won’t play at all.
The Magic, Kings, and Raptors are all operating less than $1MM away from the tax line, but each team has enough room to bring in a minimum-salary veteran on a rest-of-season contract without becoming a taxpayer, so if there’s someone out there they like, they don’t necessarily have to wait.
Finally, there’s one notable team not mentioned in the list above because they technically have three open 15-man roster spots, not just one. That’s the Celtics. Boston is in the midst of executing an intricately timed plan to meet the NBA’s rules related to roster minimums for the rest of the season while narrowly staying out of the tax.
After 10-day deals for Dalano Banton and John Tonje expired over the weekend, it’s a safe bet that Boston will stick with just 12 players for the maximum allowable 14 days before making a couple roster additions in mid-March. Current two-way player Max Shulga will likely get a promotion at that time for financial reasons (his rookie minimum salary wouldn’t be subject to “tax variance“). If all goes according to plan, the Celtics will be able to sign a 15th man on the last day of the regular season without surpassing the tax threshold.
Well GSW is wasting a roster space on Seth Curry, so they have 2 “open” spots