NBA AM: Roster Battles to Keep An Eye On

Roster Battles to Keep An Eye On

As we head closer and closer to training camps opening up around the NBA, speculation will pick up about which players will make the opening night rosters.

Teams have until October 26 to get to the maximum 15-player limit. The most a team can carry on its roster during the offseason is 20 players. Some teams will have quite a few players to cut, while other teams may not have any.

The start of training camp means some players will be fighting for their NBA lives. We covered one such scenario yesterday with Miami HEAT forward James Ennis. After spending his rookie season with the HEAT, his chances of making the final cut in his second season remain to be seen. A sub-par showing in Summer League has raised speculation that he could be the odd man out.

It’s important to note that some teams sign players just for training camp deals. The idea is to guarantee them a small amount of money (usually between $25,000-$75,000) for camp and then waive them just before the start of the season and assign them to their D-League affiliate. While most of those players are likely headed to further develop in the D-League, an outstanding camp and preseason could change the minds of the coaches and earn that player a spot on the actual roster.

Here are several situations from around the league to monitor once training camp opens up at the end of the month (all contract figures are according to Basketball Insiders’ excellent salary pages):

Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers endured a ton of changes to their roster over the summer. It’s well publicized how many key players they lost. While they’ve done a great job of adding quality young players to replace the departed veterans, they’ll be monitoring the bottom of their roster closely throughout camp.

They currently have 13 players on fully guaranteed deals for this upcoming season, leaving two open spots. It’s important to note that while the Trail Blazers might have two open spots, some teams will elect to keep that last spot or two open so they have the flexibility to make moves later. So in the case of the Blazers, they may only have one spot open.

One spot to keep an eye on is the backup point guard position. Behind Damian Lillard, the team has Phil Pressey and Tim Frazier on the roster – with both players on non-guaranteed deals for the season. Pressey has two seasons under his belt with the Celtics, while Frazier appeared in just 11 games last season between Philadelphia and Portland. The team must decide if they want to keep the more experienced guard in Pressey or the reigning D-League MVP in Frazier (or they could keep both players). Other players to keep an eye on are Luis Montero and Cliff Alexander, with both players guaranteed for just $100,000.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The bottom of the Cavaliers’ roster should be interesting to see play out. They currently have 14 players locked in for next season, which includes Tristan Thompson since he is a virtual lock to return on some kind of contract and J.R. Smith (whose deal is filled with incentives and a no-trade clause). That number also includes Sasha Kaun, who is reportedly close to joining the team on a two-year deal – with the first being guaranteed.

The competition at the bottom of the roster will include Jared Cunningham and Quinn Cook. The Cavs added Cunningham last month and are reportedly close to signing Cook, per our own Alex Kennedy. The competition could change should the team sign any additional players, but right now Cunningham and Cook are fighting to make the team. Both players are competing for a reserve role in the backcourt, along with Joe Harris.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers will reportedly have 19 players for camp, although the team has yet to officially announce the signings of three of those reported players. Out of the group, 13 are guaranteed for next season with a 14th possibly coming soon in Kendall Marshall. It was reported last week that Marshall is close to signing a two-year deal, with the first year fully guaranteed.

Adding Marshall to the bunch gives the Sixers five points guards since they also have Tony Wroten, Isaiah Canaan, Pierre Jackson and Scottie Wilbekin. Of those players, only Wilbekin is on a deal that isn’t fully guaranteed. His deal does include a $200,000 guarantee, which could help him snag the final roster spot. Including Wilbekin, there will be six players competing for one roster spot (assuming the roster stands as is). In addition to Wilbekin, Robert Covington, Hollis Thompson, JaKarr Sampson, T.J. McConnell and Christian Wood will be trying to make the team.

It seems like there will be stiff competition for that roster spot. Covington averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds last season for the Sixers, while Thompson averaged 8.8 points and Sampson averaged 5.2 points. The favorite for that final spot could be Covington, who would make just $1 million next season.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers currently have the fewest amount of guaranteed contracts in the league with just 12. While only 12 are under guaranteed deals, they’ll reportedly bring 17 total players into camp. One of the biggest names to keep an eye on is Tarik Black. The Lakers picked up Black off of waivers last December and he returns to training camp on a non-guaranteed deal. Black averaged 7.2 points per game in 38 outings for the Lakers last season. His status on the team could be in jeopardy with Roy Hibbert coming over from Indiana this summer.

Another player to watch is Jonathan Holmes. The Lakers signed Holmes last month to a two-year deal with $100,000 guaranteed. Based off of his larger guarantee, he could be a player the Lakers keep on the roster. Holmes averaged 10 points per game in eight outings with the Celtics during Summer League and could stay to add depth at small forward. Other players that will be in the mix are Jabari Brown, Michael Frazier and Marcelo Huertas.

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns seemingly enter training camp with some healthy competition for their final two roster spots. There will be five players competing for two roster spots (should the team opt to fill both open spots). Among those that will be competing are Henry Sims, Cory Jefferson, Deonte Burton, Terrico White and Kyle Casey.

Sims joins the Suns after the 76ers opted not to make the 6’10 center a restricted free agent. He averaged eight points per game last season and 4.9 rebounds. Jefferson joined the Suns after playing his rookie campaign with the Nets. He averaged just 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds last season in Brooklyn. White has perhaps the most experience out of the group (even though he hasn’t played in the NBA) because he starred abroad over the last three seasons and had a stint in the D-League as well. He could have the best chance to make it should the team want to add a third point guard behind Brandon Knight and Ronnie Price.

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While there are many roster battles around the league, these five represent some of the more interesting situations. Several teams, including the Celtics, Mavericks, Pistons, Pacers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Thunder and Wizards are all at or above the maximum 15 players and will have a lot of work to do to trim their roster as well.

Basketball Insiders Podcast: Kristen Ledlow

Last night, the latest episode of the Basketball Insiders Podcast dropped. This installment featured Basketball Insiders’ Alex Kennedy and NBA TV’s Kristen Ledlow discussing a wide range of topics including her career and predictions for the upcoming season.

Kristen also answered various questions submitted by listeners, discussing what it was like to play in two Celebrity All-Star Games, her experience going to high school with T-Pain’s rap group, how she developed her close friendship with LeBron James and much more. Listen here:

The next episode of the Basketball Insiders Podcast will drop on Saturday. To listen to older episodes of the podcast, subscribe on iTunes or go to our SoundCloud page.