The 2023-24 NBA preseason is coming to a close. Friday night is the last game for any player on the bubble of a team’s rotation or fighting for a roster spot to make an impression before the league-mandated cut-down day on Monday. The following will look at how each Atlantic Division team’s roster and training camp battles look heading into the final weekend before the season starts.
Atlantic Division Rumors: Where Training Camp Battles and Rosters Stand As Cut-Down Day Approaches
Boston Celtics
Boston closed its preseason schedule with a 127-99 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. With Thursday’s night win, the Celtics finish the exhibition schedule with a 4-1 record.
Boston enters the weekend with 19 players on the roster, with 13 holding fully guaranteed deals. The Celtics may have an open two-way spot with Jay Scrubb slated to be sidelined most of the season.
Boston’s top six players are known. The only question remains whether Derrick White or Al Horford will be the final starter. White has started each of the preseason games that he appeared in. Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday has opened with the first unit in his last three games. In his previous game, Horford came off the bench and did not play against the Hornets.
Of the three players, White has the most experience coming off the bench. He has come off the bench in 34 of his 108 games as a Celtic.
However, head coach Joe Mazzula indicated to the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach that matchups would dictate his starting five.
Regardless of the starting lineup, either White or Horford will be the first player off the bench in most situations. Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Oshae Brissett appear to be locks for the second unit.
With the Celtics releasing Wenyen Gabriel on Friday, they will likely carry 14 players on their opening night roster. Therefore. Luke Kornet, Dalano Banton, Lamar Stevens, and Svi Mykhailiuk seemingly all made the club. Stevens and Banton played well in the preseason finale.
Neemais Queta figures to see some playing time for the Celtics as a two-way player. D.J. Steward was released last night, but he was destined for the G-League Maine Celtics anyway.
Brooklyn Nets
Brooklyn finished its exhibition schedule on Thursday, defeating the Miami Heat 107-104. The Nets released Darius Bazley on Thursday. Seemingly in, indicating that Trendon Watford and Harry Giles III have made the 15-man roster.
The Brooklyn Nets are waiving forward Darius Bazley, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Bazley averaged 5.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 42.9 percent 3-point shooting in preseason and is now expected to receive interest as a free agent.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 19, 2023
Bazley, whose one-year deal was fully nonguaranteed, rebounded and defended well during the exhibition slate. But the 23-year-old was outplayed by both Watford and Giles.
Giles only played in two of the four games. However, he was impressive against Israeli club Maccabi Ra’aananan, producing a 16-point and 10-rebound double-double in 21 minutes. The 25-year-old averaged 10.0 points on 76.9% shooting from the field and 7.0 caroms over the two contests.
Meanwhile, Watford scored in double-figures in all three games and rebounded well on the defensive end. Watford also did a fantastic job at getting to the free-throw line. The 22-year-old averaged 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds while producing a shooting slash line of .476/.500/.867
Brooklyn has one open two-way spot. It is conceivable that Giles or Watford will fill the Nets two-way slot and sign someone for the 15th spot. However, since neither player’s contracts involve Exhibit 10 language, they would have to go through waivers first.
Brooklyn did sign Kennedy Chandler and Patrick Gardner on Thursday, per New York Post’s Brian Lewis. It is expected that both players’ deals included Exhibit 10 language.
Chandler, who appeared in 36 games for the Memphis Grizzlies last season, was the No. 38 pick in 2022. He averaged 2.2 points and 1.7 assists in eight minutes of action for the Griz. While Chandler was more effective for the G-League’s Memphis Hustle and this summer for the Nets in Las Vegas, he still struggled shooting from deep.
Gardner agreed with the Nets on an Exhibit 10 deal in July. The 6-11 center played well for Marist his past season and for Egypt during the FIBA World Cup.
Projecting the Nets Rotation
The status of Cam Johnson and Dennis Smith Jr is still up in the air for the season opener. Johnson sustained a mild hamstring injury before the start of camp and did not play in the preseason. Meanwhile, Smith suffered a wrist injury last week.
- Mikal Bridges
- Cam Johnson: Questionable for regular season opener
- Nic Claxton
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Ben Simmons
- Cam Thomas
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Dennis Smith Jr.: Questionable for regular season opener
- Royce O’Neal
- Lonnie Walker
- Day’Ron Sharpe
- Trenton Watford
- Harry Giles
- Armoni Brooks: 2-way contract
- Noah Clowney
- Dariq Whitehead: Recovering from foot surgery
- Jalen Wilson: 2-way contract
- Open
New York Knicks
New York must add at least one player to their 15-man roster before Monday. The Knicks have 13 players on standard contracts after waiving Isaiah Roby on Wednesday. They also have a pair of two-way open slots. By waiving Roby, it appears that DaQuan Jeffries is now assured of making the team.
The Knicks re-signed Roby on Saturday to an Exhibit-10 contract. This means he can join the Westchester Knicks as an affiliate player.
Knicks sign Isaiah Roby pic.twitter.com/HUROBFkTh3
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) October 21, 2023
New York went 1-3 during the preseason. Perhaps the most surprising development of the exhibition slate was that Evan Fournier might have worked his way back into coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotation. Fournier scored in double-figures in three of his four preseason appearances, averaging 10.5 points in 18.9 minutes while posting a shooting slash line of .429/.368/.833.
The Knicks have 20 players on their training camp roster following the additions of Mamadi Diakite and Brandon Goodwin on Exhibit 10 deals. Ryan Arciadacono, Charlie Brown Jr., Duane Washington Jr., and Jacob Toppin are the other players on training camp deals.
Dylan Windler is the only player on a two-way deal. However, every player on a training camp deal except Arciadacono and Washington is eligible for two-way deals without getting waived. Since Washington’s deal only includes Exhibit 9 language, he must clear waivers before inking a two-way contract.
Knicks Rotation
New York’s rotation is set. Josh Hart looks like he will once again come off the bench for the Knicks.
- Julius Randle
- Jalen Brunson
- R.J. Barrett
- Mitchell Robinson
- Quentin Grimes
- Josh Hart
- Immanuel Quickley
- Donte DiVincenzo
- Isaiah Hartenstein
- Evan Fournier
- Jericho Sims
- Miles McBride
- DaQuan Jeffries
- Open
- Dylan Windler: 2-way
- Open
- Open
Philadelphia 76ers
The big news remains the status of James Harden. Harden, who skipped practice on Wednesday and Thursday, remained away from the team as the 76ers closed out the preseason with a 120-106 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. With the victory, Philadelphia finished the exhibition schedule with a 2-2 record.
So, will Harden sit out regular season games while he tends to personal issues? If so, it appears that Tyrese Maxey and De’Anthony Melton will start in the backcourt. Meanwhile, the Sixers frontcourt will be the same as a season ago with Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and P.J. Tucker.
Philadelphia has 19 players on their training camp roster after cutting David Duke Jr. and Ricky Council IV last night. Duke spent the past two seasons with the Nets and will be headed to play for the 76ers G-League Affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats. Duke appeared in the Sixers’ first three preseason contests, totaling 17 minutes of action.
It is more of a surprise that the 76ers released Council IV, as he was on a two-way contract. The 6-6 wing totaled 10 points on 3 of 8 (37.5%) shooting and 4 of 6 (66.7%) from the free throw line in 25 minutes this preseason. Now, the Sixers have an open two-way spot.
Sixers’ Upcoming Decision
If Harden does decide to return to the team for the season opener, Melton will likely come off the bench. More importantly, they have a decision to make with 16 players on standard contracts. It is likely that the Sixers will keep Montrezl Harrell, who will miss the season due to injury.
The decision will come down to Filip Petrusev, Mo Bamba, or Danuel House Jr. None of the players appeared in the preseason final or were impressive during the exhibition slate. Bamba probably has the edge in the competition because he adds frontcourt depth.
Philadelphia announced they had converted Javonte Smart’s nonguaranteed deal to a two-way pact on Saturday.
The Philadelphia 76ers are converting guard Javonte Smart to a two-way contract, Dan Frank of @LiftSportsMngmt tells ESPN. Smart had stops with Milwaukee and Miami since leaving LSU in 2021.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 21, 2023
- Joel Embiid
- James Harden: If he returns to the team.
- Tyrese Maxey
- Tobias Harris
- P.J. Tucker
- De’Anthony Melton
- Kelly Oubre Jr.
- Paul Reed
- Patrick Beverley
- Jaden Springer
- Danny Green
- Mo Bamba
- Filip Petrusev
- Furkan Korkmaz
- Montrezl Harrell: Out for season
- Terquavion Smith: Two-way
- Azuolas Tubelis: Two-way
- Javonte Smart: Two-way
Toronto Raptors
Toronto finished the preseason undefeated following their 134-99 victory over the Washington Wizards. However, it wasn’t all good news for the Raptors, as Scottie Barnes exited the game early with a sprained right foot. Barnes appeared to roll his ankle/foot on a non-contact play.
Looks like Scottie rolled his ankle pic.twitter.com/cx8FwOfqRV
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) October 21, 2023
However, after the game, Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic downplayed the injury, telling reporters that Barnes is “completely fine,” per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
“He’s completely fine,” Darko on Scottie. Exhale.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) October 21, 2023
On a positive note, Otto Porter Jr. returned to action on Friday, playing for the first time since November 14. Porter scored four points on 1 of 2 shooting from the floor and 2 of 2 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed four rebounds, doled out two assists, and one block.
Following Toronto’s game, the Raptors waived Jeff Dowtin, Justise Winslow, and Mouhamadou Guye. Winslow, who was signed earlier Friday, and Guye are ticketed for the G-League with Raptors 905.
Dowtin cut, as expected.
Gueye and Winslow also cut and now 905 bound.
Dowtin can be claimed, signed, signed to a two-way, or, if nothing else, go to Philly’s G Lg team. He’s an NBA player.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) October 21, 2023
Dowtin was the only player that was on a standard contract that didn’t have a fully guaranteed deal. The 26-year-old guard saw nine minutes of action in his lone training camp appearance.
Makur Maker, who was cut to make room for Winslow, is also expected to be heading to play for the Raptors 905.
With all the moves, the Raptors are down to 18 players. Toronto’s 15-man roster is set, and all three two-way spots are filled.
- Scottie Barnes
- Pascal Siakam
- OG Anunoby
- Jakob Poeltl
- Dennis Schroder
- Gary Trent Jr.
- Precious Achiuwa
- Jalen McDaniels
- Malachi Flynn
- Chris Boucher
- Thaddeus Young
- Gradey Dick
- Otto Porter
- Christian Koloko
- Garrett Temple
- Javone Freeman-Liberty
- Ron Harper Jr.
- Markquis Nowell
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