How many roster spots should be used for non-playable players?

[Roy H.]

JD Davison was just signed to a two way contract.

Smart move.  I'm happy about this.

[Celtics4ever]

Zero is my answer

[SHAQATTACK]

Zero is my answer

10 Roger that

[Goldstar88]

This was just stupid. That money could have been spent on veteran wing or C that can actually play in the NBA. Plenty of guys will be signing for the Minimum that are better than Hauser.


According to a league source, the Celtics and forward Sam Hauser have agreed to a three-year deal worth approximately $6 million. The first two years are fully guaranteed.
Cs are hopeful Hauser can be a real contributor next season.

[pearljammer10]

This was just stupid. That money could have been spent on veteran wing or C that can actually play in the NBA. Plenty of guys will be signing for the Minimum that are better than Hauser.


According to a league source, the Celtics and forward Sam Hauser have agreed to a three-year deal worth approximately $6 million. The first two years are fully guaranteed.
Cs are hopeful Hauser can be a real contributor next season.

I don’t mind this at all. Obviously the Celtics saw something in him with his time here. He’s 6 8 and is a very good shooting G/F. The Celtics are hoping he can provide some Max Strus stuff for them.

It’s also essentially a minimum contract for 3 years, 2 guaranteed, as it’s a three year $5.6 mil deal. Would you rather take a chance on Hauser at less than 2 mil a year or pay someone like Duncan Robinson $18 mil? No reason not to give Hauser a shot.

[gouki88]

This was just stupid. That money could have been spent on veteran wing or C that can actually play in the NBA. Plenty of guys will be signing for the Minimum that are better than Hauser.


According to a league source, the Celtics and forward Sam Hauser have agreed to a three-year deal worth approximately $6 million. The first two years are fully guaranteed.
Cs are hopeful Hauser can be a real contributor next season.

Think I'm going to back Brad on this one

[colincb]

Teams get a maximum of 15 roster spots, plus two 2-way contracts. 

Right now, our roster stands at:

1. Timelord
2. Horford
3. Tatum
4. Brown
5. Smart
6. Brogdon
7. White
8. Pritchard
9. Gallinari
10. Hauser
11. Kornet
12. Open
13. Open
14. Open
15. Open

16. (Two-way).  Open
17. (Two-way). Open

We're required by rule to fill at least 14 spots, so there will be at least three more signings.

My question is, on a contending roster, how many of a team's 15 spots should be filled by reliable players who can step into the rotation when called upon?  How many spots can be reserved for guys who are simply "locker room guys" (like Haslem on the Heat), or purely developmental rookies?

My take:  I'm already somewhat queasy giving two roster spots to Kornet and Hauser.  Neither can necessarily be relied upon.  I think Hauser has some potential, so I'm okay with him.  But Kornet?  Great guy, great nickname, great cheerleader.  But, I can't imagine a situation where I'd be comfortable with him in a non-garbage time scenario.

But, media reports are that we're going to give another roster spot to one of J.D. Williams or Brodrick Thomas.  What does a roster spot gain us that a two-way contract wouldn't?  I don't think Thomas has any future in the NBA.  Williams hopefully does, but he's not ready to play in NBA games, particularly playoff games.  A two-way contact allows him to be around the team and to play a little, without requiring us to burn a roster spot.

So, that's three tenuous spots right now.  That still leaves three open spots.  I'm going to assume that we leave a spot open, to maintain some flexibility and to save ownership some tax.  What are the chances that the remaining two spots get filled by bona fide NBA players, rather than undrafted rookies?

for those 4 remaining spots and the 2 2-ways, I think they end up being handled by
- 1 roster spot to Thomas
- 1 roster spot to a vet big man whether acquired as a vet him or as part of the Fournier TPE
- 1 roster spot to a vet min wing that can hopefully burn up a few minutes with productive play in a game ahead of Hauser
- both 2-way spots taken up by Begarin and Davison
- 40/60 change the last roster spot is taken by Trevion Williams vs left open for a later signing this season.  this could shift further in Williams' favor if Brad doesn't land a good vet big man

I want no part of Thomas.  I don't see any appeal whatsoever.

I'd like to see the two-way spots on Williams and Davison.  Both guys seem to have some NBA potential, but I'm not sure how much they'll contribute right away.

For the remaining four roster spots, I'm fine keeping one open, so long as it's filled by playoff time.  With the other three, I agree that we need a wing and a big man.  I'd fill the last slot with the best NBA player available.  They'll undoubtedly add at least as much as Thomas.

Thomas isn't an all-star in the making but there may be something there where he could be a productive 4th guard.  I wouldn't keep him over a solid vet but if it's him or a vet that can't provide anything, I'll take a shot on Thomas.

What happened to Grant Williams?

[GreenlyGreeny]

A full five-on-five practice requires 10 players and injuries happen, so I’d say the answer is somewhere between 12-14. I’d personally prefer always having slots 7-10 with guys who can play at least 24 MPG against starting/rotational talent when needed, slots 11-12 (11-13 some years) with aging veterans at the minimum who used to fall into 1-10 (and perhaps still can in bursts or desperate situations), and slots 13-14 (and slot 15 some years) with non-lottery rookies (lottery rookies should be somewhere within 1-10 and if they’re not at least slots 6-8 after 2-3 years, they ought to be shipped ASAP—like we’ve done with Langford and Nesmith).

Above is just my personal preference for a title contender. Obviously with a rebuild I’d go all-in with youth and have a few cheaper vets who can help set expectations and provide a model for how it is done (similar to our 2014-2016 years).

[GreenBoomer]

If they're not using the TPE, I think they fill 2. I'd like to see more of Kabengele. I think he could possibly  take the 13th spot. 14 goes to a wing probably on a minimum contract. Save 15 for a buyout down the road. Davison and Williams on two-ways.

[Kuberski33]

Maybe Kornet is going to be given a chance to be the backup 5? I'm not sure why you would guarantee him money if you weren't going to try to use him. It's not like other teams would be lining up to sign him.

[ozgod]

In an ideal world everyone you have on the roster should be able to step in and play a major role at a moment's notice. In an ideal world you would stack the bench with All-Star level players and slot them in and out as needed NBA2k style. The problem is that players aren't machines, they are human beings with goals and aspirations for their jobs, like everyone else. End of bench is really about fit to me. Will those players be happy with zero to minimal playtime that may happen irregularly, at a moment's notice, because of an injury or something else? Do they have the skills to contribute? Will they be happy to go back to that bench role after the player they replaced comes back, even if they had played well? Will they expect more and be unhappy if they don't get it?

That's that hard part about getting overqualified players for bench roles. They can start to disrupt chemistry, especially if they are charismatic, opinionated or have an illustrious past in the game. So managing the fit in the team becomes really important. If they're going to be a cheerleader or an insurance guy or a practice guy, make it crystal clear to them that that's what they will be. The draw would be the chance to be on a championship team and contribute to it in their particular way.

[Sketch5]

Maybe Kornet is going to be given a chance to be the backup 5? I'm not sure why you would guarantee him money if you weren't going to try to use him. It's not like other teams would be lining up to sign him.

Could be for trade reasons down the road. So the next team can use him in an other move down the road. Players luke hornet tend to be like poker chips making a living exchanging hands.

[Celtics2021]

Maybe Kornet is going to be given a chance to be the backup 5? I'm not sure why you would guarantee him money if you weren't going to try to use him. It's not like other teams would be lining up to sign him.

People need to see how much Kornet is guaranteed for before making these assumptions.

The Celtics are bringing back Luke Kornet on a partially guaranteed two-year contract according to a league source for the veteran’s minimum. Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports was first to report Kornet’s return.

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/07/luke-kornet-re-signs-with-celtics-on-two-year-deal.html?outputType=amp

[Moranis]

Look at a team like the Warriors.  They had 14 guys play in at least 4 separate games against Boston.  Now sure some of them were like 2 mpg, but one of those guys was Kuminga (who started 12 games as a rookie this year) and another below 3 mpg was Moody (who started 11 games this year as a rookie).  The other 2 were Damion Lee and Juan Toscano-Anderson.  Lee started 5 games for the Warriors this year has started over 50 games in his 5 year career.  Toscano-Anderson is in year 3 and has started 28 games including 6 this past season.  Those were effectively the Warriors 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th men in the Boston series and that doesn't include Wiseman who was injured.  Iguodala was their 10th man. 

In other words, the Warriors didn't have a single player on their team that wasn't playable (at least in stretches).  That is who you should look to emulate. 

[wdleehi]

I  sort of want to see two ring chasing vet mins added to the bench that can play a few pop in minutes during the season.   Players who know  what they have to do to help the team but may no longer have the wheels  to do it for long stretches.