There’s still a lot of work to be done before rosters are set for the 2019-20 season.
Some teams (Charlotte, Utah) still have roster spots to fill. Other teams (Memphis, Washington) still have some roster trimming to do. There are about 25 two-way-contract slots that can be filled around the league. And it’s certainly possible that players like Chris Paul and Andre Iguodala will be traded a second time before the end of the summer.
But it’s already been a season of change.
At the start of training camp last September, 15 of the league’s 30 teams rosters were players who played at least 75 percent of the team’s minutes in the previous season (2017-18). Right now — midway through July — only four teams are set to bring back players who played at least 75 percent of last season’s minutes.
Continuity
Not every team has made big changes. The Denver Nuggets are set to return at least 12 of the 18 guys that played for them last season (the status of two-way, restricted free agent Brandon Goodwin is still in the air), along with Michael Porter Jr., who was with the team all season. The only players that have left the Nuggets — Tyler Lydon, Trey Lyles and Isaiah Thomas — played a total of eight minutes in the playoffs.
| Rank | Team | ’18-19 MIN | Ret. Players | Ret. Min. | %Ret.M | FA Min. | %FAM | Gone Min. | %GoneM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | 19,729 | 12 | 18,218 | 92% | 57 | 0% | 1,454 | 7% |
| 2 | Orlando | 19,778 | 11 | 17,023 | 86% | 1,023 | 5% | 1,732 | 9% |
| 3 | San Antonio | 19,805 | 11 | 16,610 | 84% | 1,233 | 6% | 1,962 | 10% |
| 4 | Milwaukee | 19,779 | 11 | 15,220 | 77% | 30 | 0% | 4,529 | 23% |
| 5 | Houston | 19,833 | 10 | 14,768 | 74% | 1,555 | 8% | 3,510 | 18% |
| 6 | Sacramento | 19,732 | 10 | 13,338 | 68% | 1,166 | 6% | 5,228 | 26% |
| 7 | Cleveland | 19,753 | 9 | 13,269 | 67% | 1,370 | 7% | 5,114 | 26% |
| 8 | Detroit | 19,856 | 9 | 12,969 | 65% | 1,516 | 8% | 5,371 | 27% |
| 9 | Charlotte | 19,830 | 10 | 12,892 | 65% | 25 | 0% | 6,913 | 35% |
| 10 | Toronto | 19,878 | 11 | 12,287 | 62% | 575 | 3% | 7,016 | 35% |
| 11 | Dallas | 19,782 | 12 | 11,722 | 59% | 1,906 | 10% | 6,154 | 31% |
| 12 | Chicago | 19,904 | 9 | 11,275 | 57% | 1,864 | 9% | 6,765 | 34% |
| 13 | Utah | 19,753 | 7 | 10,628 | 54% | 1,052 | 5% | 8,073 | 41% |
| 14 | Boston | 19,782 | 8 | 10,559 | 53% | 77 | 0% | 9,146 | 46% |
| 15 | Minnesota | 19,830 | 7 | 10,407 | 52% | 1,300 | 7% | 8,123 | 41% |
| 16 | Miami | 19,730 | 9 | 10,305 | 52% | 0 | 0% | 9,425 | 48% |
| 17 | Oklahoma City | 19,854 | 9 | 10,293 | 52% | 380 | 2% | 9,181 | 46% |
| 18 | L.A. Lakers | 19,781 | 6 | 9,857 | 50% | 1,495 | 8% | 8,429 | 43% |
| 19 | Atlanta | 19,854 | 5 | 9,855 | 50% | 2,155 | 11% | 7,844 | 40% |
| 20 | Golden State | 19,803 | 6 | 9,735 | 49% | 1,794 | 9% | 8,274 | 42% |
| 21 | Portland | 19,858 | 8 | 9,517 | 48% | 0 | 0% | 10,341 | 52% |
| 22 | Phoenix | 19,882 | 6 | 9,386 | 47% | 2,190 | 11% | 8,306 | 42% |
| 23 | New York | 19,782 | 7 | 8,901 | 45% | 648 | 3% | 10,233 | 52% |
| 24 | Brooklyn | 19,981 | 7 | 8,911 | 45% | 26 | 0% | 11,044 | 55% |
| 25 | New Orleans | 19,758 | 6 | 8,806 | 45% | 1,869 | 9% | 9,083 | 46% |
| 26 | LA Clippers | 19,830 | 7 | 8,297 | 42% | 171 | 1% | 11,362 | 57% |
| 27 | Indiana | 19,705 | 8 | 7,886 | 40% | 47 | 0% | 11,772 | 60% |
| 28 | Philadelphia | 19,804 | 8 | 7,744 | 39% | 1,260 | 6% | 10,800 | 55% |
| 29 | Washington | 19,932 | 6 | 7,189 | 36% | 1,362 | 7% | 11,381 | 57% |
| 30 | Memphis | 19,880 | 7 | 5,349 | 27% | 2,503 | 13% | 12,028 | 61% |
| Ret. Min. = Minutes played by players still on roster (same contract, re-signed, or agreed to new deal)
FA Min. = Minutes played by players who are currently free agents (no reported agreements w/ any team) Gone Min. = Minutes played by players on (or agreed to sign with) another team, or who have been waived Through July 16, 2019 |
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Over the last three years, there has been a correlation between summer continuity and win increase the following season. But the correlation has been small. During that span, 33 teams have brought at least 75 percent of the previous season’s minutes back, and only 15 of those 33 increased their win total. The highest individual return percentage of the stretch belonged to last season’s Miami Heat, who brought back 97 percent of their minutes from 2017-18 … and proceeded to win five fewer games.
This summer, the two biggest winners in free agency — the Brooklyn Nets and LA Clippers — rank 24th and 26th, respectively, by this measure (as of Wednesday morning). And while the Nuggets have a young core that can improve on its second-place finish in the West, the Orlando Magic are bringing back an ensemble that won just 42 games in the Eastern Conference, and the San Antonio Spurs have an older group that was ousted by Denver in the first round, albeit in seven games.
Gained and lost math
Going forward, we’ll be talking about totals gained or lost this summer. These were accumulated by non-rookies for any team last season. For example, in calculating the minutes that Indiana lost (and Milwaukee gained) with Wesley Matthews’ departure, we’re using all 2,091 minutes that Matthews played for Dallas and Indiana last season. That way, it’s a more realistic measure of total production coming in and going out.
In that regard, most teams have lost more ’18-19 minutes than they’ve gained. In total, there are more than 230 players who were on rosters (with two-way contracts included) at the end of the season and are either on a new team (via free agency or trades) or remain unsigned.
More than half of those players (about 120) have been replaced by other non-rookies. About 70 more have been replaced by rookies (including those on two-way contracts).
As an example, here’s the roster math for the Golden State Warriors:
- LOST 11 non-rookies off their end-of-season roster
- GAINED six non-rookies
- ADDED three rookies
- STILL HAVE one main roster spot and one two-way spot they can fill
Minutes gained and lost
The Warriors are one of 22 teams that have lost a group of players who played more minutes last season than the group of players that they’ve added. There are a few teams that have added a lot more ’18-19 minutes to their roster. That group is led by the New York Knicks, who have added almost 12,000 ’18-19 minutes while seeing almost 9,000 minutes exit.
| Team | In | Out | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 11,733 | 8,837 | 2,896 |
| Brooklyn | 12,975 | 10,908 | 2,067 |
| Sacramento | 7,299 | 5,329 | 1,970 |
| Denver | 2,612 | 1,452 | 1,160 |
| Utah | 10,065 | 9,107 | 958 |
| Through July 16, 2019 | |||
The Knicks have lost four guys – Mario Hezonja, DeAndre Jordan, Emmanuel Mudiay and Noah Vonleh – who played at least 1,000 minutes. They added seven, and all seven started at least 28 games last season. Of course, how many of those seven are difference makers is up for debate, as is the idea of whether the Knicks should have used at least some of their cap space to take on bad contracts — often spiced up with future picks — from other teams.
The Nets lost as many players (6) who played at least 1,000 minutes last season as they gained. But they added four of the 31 2,000-minute players to have changed teams this summer, most notably in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Utah (3) is the only other team with more than two additions that played at least 2,000 minutes last season. The eight guys that Brooklyn brought in started a total of 363 games in ’18-19, while the nine guys they lost started just 179. That’s the biggest increase, with New York (+100) and Utah (+84) also seeing differentials of more than 82 games.
The Sacramento Kings lost two guys that played at least 1,000 minutes last season, and one of those guys — Alec Burks — played only 127 minutes for the Kings. They added four 1,000-minute players, including two – Trevor Ariza and Cory Joseph — that played more than 2,000 minutes last season.
As noted above, the Nuggets lead the league in continuity, bringing back all 10 guys that played more than 1,120 minutes for them last season. But they’ve also added Jerami Grant, who played 2,612 minutes for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
| Team | In | Out | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 4,630 | 11,489 | -6,859 |
| Charlotte | 1,791 | 8,143 | -6,352 |
| Indiana | 6,912 | 13,179 | -6,267 |
| Portland | 5,602 | 10,556 | -4,954 |
| Boston | 4,502 | 9,218 | -4,716 |
| Through July 16, 2019 | |||
Though they’ve added more players (11, including four rookies) than they’ve lost (nine) and need to trim their roster between now and opening night, the Washington Wizards are set to see the biggest discrepancy in regard to ’18-19 minutes. They’ve lost more than 11,000 (with Trevor Ariza, Jeff Green and Tomas Satoransky accounting for more than half of that total) and added less than 5,000. The group of players that the Wizards lost also started 208 more ’18-19 games than the players added — the biggest discrepancy in that regard.
The Charlotte Hornets not only lost more than 1,000 ’18-19 minutes in their Kemba Walker-Terry Rozier swap, they also lost three other guys – Jeremy Lamb, Shelvin Mack and Tony Parker – who played more than 1,000 minutes last season.
There’s a general consensus that the Indiana Pacers are in the “winners” category this summer, adding Malcolm Brogdon, Jeremy Lamb and T.J. Warren. But they also lost five guys (four of their five playoff starters plus Cory Joseph) to have played at least 2,000 minutes last season. The only other teams who lost more than two 2,000-minute players were the the Clippers (3), Oklahoma City Thunder (3) and Wizards (3).
Still available
Most ’18-19 minutes among still-available free agents…
- Justin Holiday – 2,607
- Iman Shumpert – 1,481
- Wayne Selden – 1,439
- Jeremy Lin – 1,436
- Shaquille Harrison – 1,430
In regard to minutes played last season, the top 18 available free agents are all perimeter players (unless you want to count Jonas Jerebko as an interior guy). Among available non-perimeter players, Dante Cunningham (928), Cheick Diallo (896) and Zaza Pachulia (878) are the guys who played the most minutes last season.
It’s all about shooting
Putting the ball in the basket is the most important thing in the NBA, and every team is always on the hunt for more shooting. But in regard to ’18-19 3-pointers, half of the league (15 teams) has lost more than it’s gained. There are a few teams to have seen big increases, however.
| Team | In 3PM | In 3PA | In 3P% | Out 3PM | Out 3PA | Out 3P% | Diff. 3PM | Diff. 3PA | Diff. 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 618 | 1,679 | 36.8% | 288 | 875 | 32.9% | 330 | 804 | 3.9% |
| Sacramento | 287 | 832 | 34.5% | 104 | 322 | 32.3% | 183 | 510 | 2.2% |
| New Orleans | 455 | 1,279 | 35.6% | 328 | 1,027 | 31.9% | 127 | 252 | 3.6% |
| LA Clippers | 437 | 1,179 | 37.1% | 368 | 970 | 37.9% | 69 | 209 | -0.9% |
| Chicago | 185 | 501 | 36.9% | 138 | 456 | 30.3% | 47 | 45 | 6.7% |
| Through July 16, 2019 | |||||||||
The Knicks added Reggie Bullock (148-for-393, 37.7 percent), Marcus Morris (146-for-389, 37.5 percent) and Wayne Ellington (138-for-372, 37.1 percent), though creating open shots for those guys might be an issue.
None of the six players that the Kings have lost made more than 61 3-pointers last season. Ariza (145) is the big gain in that regard, but they also added Dewayne Dedmon, a big man who shot 38 percent on 217 attempts from beyond the arc.
On the other end of the spectrum, it’s the Hornets that lost the most 3s, with Walker having ranked fifth in the league in total makes. The Atlanta Hawks ranked fourth in the percentage of their shots that were 3-pointers, but traded Taurean Prince (39 percent on 315 attempts), lost Dedmon, haven’t re-signed Vince Carter (39 percent on 316 attempts) and swapped Kent Bazemore (32 percent; 300 attempts) for Evan Turner (21 percent; 52 attempts). The Toronto Raptors, meanwhile, haven’t really replaced two of the four guys who made more than 100 threes for them last season.
| Team | In 3PM | In 3PA | In 3P% | Out 3PM | Out 3PA | Out 3P% | Diff. 3PM | Diff. 3PA | Diff. 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 119 | 337 | 35.3% | 484 | 1,385 | 34.9% | -365 | -1,048 | 0.4% |
| Atlanta | 199 | 600 | 33.2% | 530 | 1,462 | 36.3% | -331 | -862 | -3.1% |
| Toronto | 96 | 350 | 27.4% | 374 | 943 | 39.7% | -278 | -593 | -12.2% |
| Boston | 270 | 765 | 35.3% | 548 | 1,470 | 37.3% | -278 | -705 | -2.0% |
| Indiana | 310 | 796 | 38.9% | 579 | 1,532 | 37.8% | -269 | -736 | 1.2% |
| Through July 16, 2019 | |||||||||
Still available
Most ’18-19 3-pointers among still-available free agents…
- Justin Holiday – 162-for-465 (34.8 percent)
- Kyle Korver – 138-for-348 (39.7 percent)
- Vince Carter – 123-for-316 (38.9 percent)
- Iman Shumpert – 95-for-273 (34.8 percent)
- Lance Stephenson – 73-for-197 (37.1 percent)
J.R. Smith, waived by the Cavs on Monday, made 143 threes (shooting 37.5 percent) in 2017-18, but played just 11 games last season.
More notes – Eastern Conference
- The Boston Celtics are one of three teams (Atlanta and Washington are the others) with a discrepancy of at least 300 between the steals + blocks registered by the non-rookies they’ve lost (503) and those registered by the non-rookies they’ve added (194). Swapping Al Horford (145 steals + blocks in 1,973 minutes) for Enes Kanter (58 in 1,639 minutes) obviously hurts.
- The Chicago Bulls have seen the second biggest increase in 3-point percentage between the non-rookies they’ve added (36.9 percent) and the non-rookies they’ve lost (30.3 percent). Tomas Satoransky (39.5 percent on 162 attempts) was the big add in that regard.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team that hasn’t added a single player (via free agency or trade) that played last season, though they still have to add at least one player to their main roster. The only players they’ve added are the three guys they selected in the first round of the Draft and another rookie (Dean Wade) on a two-way contract.
- The Detroit Pistons have had eight non-rookies leave (five have found new NBA teams, three haven’t been re-signed) and have added only four. But the four they’ve added — Tim Frazier, Markieff Morris, Derrick Rose and Tony Snell — started the same number of games (60) and played just 11 more minutes in ’18-19 as the eight that have left. They did add more scoring, with the four new guys having registered 436 more points than the eight guys on their way out.
- As noted above, the Miami Heat led the league in continuity last summer, bringing back 97 percent of their minutes from ’17-18. This year, with the retirement of Dwyane Wade and trades that sent Josh Richardson and Hassan Whiteside out, they’re in the middle of the pack. In regard to out vs. in (Jimmy Butler and Meyers Leonard), they’ve lost total production, but have improved in regard to shooting and free throw rate. Only Denver, Brooklyn and Dallas have seen bigger increases in true shooting percentage from the non-rookies they’ve lost to the non-rookies they’ve added.
- With the departure of Malcolm Brogdon, the Milwaukee Bucks lost some playmaking. Only the Magic (who didn’t lose anybody from their playoff rotation) saw a bigger drop in in assist-turnover ratio from the non-rookies they lost (2.47) to the non-rookies they’ve gained (1.33). Tony Snell (traded to Detroit) had the fifth lowest turnover ratio (4.9 per 100 possessions) among 299 players that averaged at least 15 minutes in 40 games or more last season.
- The Orlando Magic rank second in continuity, one of two teams (Dallas is the other) with nobody on their end-of-season roster having signed with (or been traded to) another team. But they’ve added one rotation piece by signing Al-Farouq Aminu, who represents the biggest jump in ’18-19 rebounds between the non-rookies a team has added (610) and those they’ve lost or remain unsigned (195). The Magic were already a good rebounding team, ranking 11th in total rebounding percentage and third in defensive rebounding percentage last season.
- The Philadelphia 76ers have seen the biggest discrepancy in ’18-19 games played between the players they’ve lost (478) and the players they’ve added (223), though most of those lost games came from guys who weren’t in their playoff rotation.
More notes – Western Conference
- The Dallas Mavericks have seen the second-biggest jump in effective field goal percentage (lower than only that of Denver) between the players they added (54.4 percent) and the players they’ve lost (47.3 percent) this summer. Swapping Trey Burke (48.2 percent) for Seth Curry (57.7 percent) goes a long way in that regard. The Mavs are also one of two teams (Orlando is the other) with nobody on their end-of-season roster having signed with (or been traded to) another team.
- It remains to be seen how well James Harden and Russell Westbrook fit together and how much the Westbrook-for-Chris Paul swap hurts the Houston Rockets‘ defense. But we can say for certain that the Rockets got better in the rebounding department.
After ranking 28th in rebounding percentage (and 29th in defensive rebounding percentage) last season, they swapped Paul (who grabbed 7.0 percent of available boards while he was on the floor) for Westbrook (14.1 percent – highest among guards) and also added Tyson Chandler, who had a higher rebounding percentage (15.4 percent) than Nene (10.5 percent).
- Good news for the team that ranked 29th in 3-point percentage last season: The non-rookies the Los Angeles Lakers have lost attempted 75 more 3-pointers than those they’ve gained. But the non-rookies they’ve gained made 34 more 3s than those they’ve lost. Among players that attempted at least 200 3-pointers last season and changed teams this season, Danny Green (45.5 percent) ranked first in 3-point percentage, while Quinn Cook (40.5 percent) ranked seventh.
- The Memphis Grizzlies had a pretty motley rotation after making multiple trades at the deadline in February. And now they’ve seen the biggest roster more than any other team this summer, with 11 non-rookies leaving and nine coming in. They currently have guys that played for the Hawks, Warriors, Wolves, Pelicans, Suns, Raptors, Jazz and Wizards last season.
- The six non-rookies that the Minnesota Timberwolves have added — Jordan Bell, Treveon Graham, Jake Layman, Shabazz Napier, Noah Vonleh and Tyrone Wallance — averaged just 6.3 points per game last season. That’s the lowest mark for players added among the 29 teams that have added at least one non-rookie this summer.
- In regard to vets, the New Orleans Pelicans have swapped interior players for perimeter players. The (five) non-rookies that they’ve added had 360 fewer ’18-19 field goals, but 127 more 3-pointers than the (10) non-rookies that they’ve lost. Chicago is the other team with a loss in ’18-19 field goals (-38) and a gain in ’18-19 3-pointers (+47).
- The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen the most ’18-19 points walk out the door, with the six guys they’ve lost having scored 5,619 points last season. One thing they definitely gained in the Westbrook-Paul trade (if they keep Paul) was mid-range shooting. Paul has shot 48.9 percent from mid-range the last five seasons, the second best mark (behind only that of Kevin Durant) among 55 players with at least 1,000 mid-range attempts over that time. Westbrook (37.5 percent) ranks 52nd among the 55.
- The 10 non-rookies that have left the Phoenix Suns (five that have found new NBA teams and five that haven’t) racked up a cumulative plus-minus of minus-1,709 last season. None of the 10 had a positive plus-minus. The five non-rookies that they’ve added — Aron Baynes, Jevon Carter, Frank Kaminsky, Ricky Rubio and Dario Saric — had a cumulative plus-minus of plus-257. That’s the league’s biggest differential between players in vs. players out.
- The Portland Trail Blazers improved their shooting by swapping Turner for Bazemore and Aminu (34.3 percent on 280 3-point attempts) for Anthony Tolliver (37.7 percent on 215), but are one of four teams – Brooklyn, Indiana and the Lakers are the others – that have lost six players who played at least 1,000 minutes in ’18-19. They’ve added four.
- As noted above, the San Antonio Spurs are near the top of the league in regard to continuity. But they’ve seen the biggest increase in free throw rate (FTA/FGA) between the non-rookies that they’ve gained (0.335) and the players they’ve lost (0.181). The pair of vets that they’ve added (having ranked 24th in free throw rate last season) includes DeMarre Carroll (0.421), who ranked eighth in free throw rate among non-bigs with at least 500 field goal attempts last season.
- The Utah Jazz rank 13th in the percentage of ’18-19 minutes they’re set to bring back, but are one of five teams that have added at least 9,000 ’18-19 minutes and lost at least 9,000 ’18-19 minutes (when we include unsigned free agents). They parted ways with four of the eight guys that played at least 1,000 minutes for them last season, but all five of their additions – Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley Jr., Ed Davis, Jeff Green and Emmanuel Mudiay – played at least 1,400 minutes.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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