The openings of NBA training camps are just around the corner. The Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets open this week, as they are headed to Abu Dhabi for a pair of preseason games. A week later, the other 28 teams will spring into action.

NBA training camp doesn’t come with the excitement of NFL camp or MLB preseason. Nor does it come with the competition for roster spots. Smaller roster and more guaranteed money mean that NBA rosters are generally set when camp opens.

However, all across the league battles for rotation spots will play out. Incumbents are trying to hold off newcomers. Young players are trying to break through. Vets are trying to hang on for one more season. In some cases, there are roster spots up for grabs too.

We’re going to going team by team and look some of the most interesting battles to monitor as training camps open. We previously covered the Southwest Division. Next up are the Northwest Division teams!

Denver Nuggets

Bench Minutes

Christian Braun is the leader to replace Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the starting lineup. That leaves his spot as the Nuggets sixth man open. Figuring that out, plus the rest of the bench minutes, is what Michael Malone is tasked with this preseason, and likely in the early part of the regular season.

Here’s what we can bank on: Russell Westbrook will play as the backup point guard. Dario Saric probably has the inside track on the backup big minutes. From there, it’s pretty open. Ideally, Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther will be ready to take on the wing minutes. Keep an eye on Vlatko Cancar getting the mix for backup forward minutes. He looked primed for a rotation role before getting hurt in the summer of 2023.

It's a shame that DaRon Holmes got hurt, because he would have seen some backup big man minutes. As it stands, that probably opens the door for Zeke Nnaji to get another crack at locking down a rotation role.

Denver is a living example of how hard it can be to keep a title window fully open. That’s especially true in the new world with the various apron restrictions. The Nuggets could have kept Caldwell-Pope (at the expense of a bigger tax bill) and continued to try to develop the younger players on the bench. Alas, they didn’t, and now those kids need to be ready to play and ready to play right now.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Bench Wings

The Timberwolves starting lineup is locked in. The backup big minutes are handled by the eminently capable Naz Reid. Rob Dillingham will get the first crack at backing up Mike Conley at point guard. That leaves the backup wings as the only spots up in the air as training camp begins.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker will fill one of those spots, but he’s more of a combo guard than a true wing. That leaves open minutes for a bigger wing. The three contenders are veteran Joe Ingles, third-year player Josh Minott and rookie Terrence Shannon Jr.

Ingles will probably get the first crack at regular minutes. Even at his advanced age, he’s still a good ball-mover and good shooter. Ingles is more of a “defend up” guy, as he’ll take on bigger (read: slower) threes and fours, as opposed to sliding down to defend guards. In many ways, he’s a better-shooting, worse-at-everything-else version of Kyle Anderson.

Minott is still a mystery box. There’s potential there. His limited NBA minutes haven’t yielded much, but his G League profile shows a lot. Minott is a pretty versatile defender. He’s also athletic and a solid finisher. For him to grab regular minutes, he’s going to have to hit three-pointers at a far better clip than he’s shown so far.

In an ideal world, Shannon will be ready sooner, rather than later. Shannon has good size for a wing. He can also score in a number of ways, including hitting spot-up shots. Shannon will have to earn the trust of Chris Finch by proving he can compete on defense before he’ll get minutes.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Start Big or Start Small

The Thunder don’t have anyone really fighting for a roster spot. After a few years of drafting, trading and tinkering, the roster is now well-established. Maybe a few guys could be fighting for minutes, but we have a good amount of data that says Mark Daigneault will use everyone enough to keep them engaged.

That really leaves the only question as: Should the Thunder start big or start small?

OKC added Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso as their big moves this summer. Either player could start and either player could come off the bench. Until last season, Daigneault was fairly fluid with his starting groups. So, maybe he returns to that and moves the two veterans in and out based on matchups.

If the Thunder go with Hartenstein, they’ll morph from a relatively small team to a relatively big one. Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren would rival the biggest starting frontcourts in the league. Jalen Williams and Lu Dort both have good size/bulk for the wing, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the bigger point guards in the NBA.

If Caruso starts, Oklahoma City will look a lot like last year’s team, but a touch smaller. The defense will still be terrific, and Caruso is a better shooter than Josh Giddey, who he was acquired for. The difference will be coming with Hartenstein off the bench, which is a lot more size than last year’s team could bring in on the second unit.

Bonus: Keep an eye on rookie Dillon Jones forcing his way into the rotation. Kenrich Williams is going to miss some time to open the season. That opens up room for another wing to snag some minutes. Jones is the type do-some-of-everything player that has excelled for the Thunder over the years.

Portland Trail Blazers

Kids vs Vets

Portland is going to be terrible this season. They’re the odds-on favorite to be the worst team in the Western Conference, and probably by a wide margin. That makes this a rebuilding/development season.

But it’s not quite that simple for the Trail Blazers.

Portland has a lot of veterans who are good players and they’re going to play, at least for the first few months of the season. Guys like Jerami Grant, Deandre Ayton, Matisse Thybulle and Robert Williams are all going to see minutes. If nothing else, the Blazers need to build up the trade value for those players as best as they can.

This team also has a lot of kids who need to play. Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe need minutes and a long leash to play through mistakes. Donovan Clingan is the future in the middle, but he’s got to compete with both Ayton and Williams for minutes. Toumani Camara established himself as an NBA guy last year, but he’s in a crowded forward mix.

Portland also has mid-career guys like Anfernee Simons and Deni Avdija, who are going to play a lot too. Neither player is old enough to be out of the mix on the rebuilding Blazers, but neither is a young building block either. The story for both of them is far from written.

Chauncey Billups has his work cut out for him this season. He’s got somewhere between 10 and 13 players who could all have a case to play. And a handful of those guys can’t really play together in functional lineups. Good luck balancing all of that in what’s going to be a push-pull kind of season in Portland.

Utah Jazz

Kids vs Vets

Hey! It’s the same thing! But it’s different in Utah than it is in Portland.

The Jazz have a handful of veterans who have shown when they are healthy (or at least allowed to play) that they can be a solid team. Utah has been in contention for a postseason spot in each of the last two seasons before pivoting towards development (read: prioritizing ping-pong balls).

Lauri Markkanen is as close to a franchise player as the Jazz have, so he’s going to play a lot. Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson are productive veteran guards. As long as they are healthy, they’re also going to play. John Collins seemed to find his jumper and his game again, so he’ll play too. The question for Collins is if he’ll start or come off the bench.

From there, it’s a whole bunch of kids and some well-placed veterans who can play, but won’t gripe if they’re behind younger players.

Look for the Jazz to try to get Walker Kessler back on track. Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams may well be the wing duo of the future in Utah. Isaiah Collier was a highly-regarded prospect who the Jazz got late in the first round. Kyle Filipowski slid to the second round, but Utah gave him a bunch of guaranteed money because they think highly of him. Brice Sensabaugh flashed as a rookie and looked terrific in Summer League. Last but far from least, is Keyonte George, who already established himself as a starter with solid rookie season.

Whew…that’s a lot of guys. In reality, Will Hardy could play almost any of the 15 players the Jazz have on standard contracts and it would be ok. Look for this year to feature more of the kids earlier on. Utah has an extremely difficult uphill battle to get into postseason contention in the Western Conference right from the jump this season. That probably leans more toward development earlier on, while looking at trades for the non-Markkanen vets on the roster.

The openings of NBA training camps are just around the corner. The Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets open this week, as they are headed to Abu Dhabi for a pair of preseason games. A week later, the other 28 teams will spring into action.

NBA training camp doesn’t come with the same level of excitement of NFL camp or MLB preseason. Nor does it come with the competition for roster spots. Smaller roster and more guaranteed money mean that NBA rosters are generally set when camp opens.

However, all across the league battles for rotation spots will play out. Incumbents are trying to hold off newcomers. Young players are trying to break through. Vets are trying to hang on for one more season. In some cases, there are roster spots up for grabs too.

We’re going to go team by team and look some of the most interesting battles to monitor as training camps open. First up are the Southwest Division teams!

Dallas Mavericks

Starting Small Forward

Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington all seem locked in as starters. At some point, Dereck Lively will overtake Daniel Gafford for good (and it may be on opening night). At small forward it seems pretty simple: It’s Klay Thompson…right?

Yes, at least initially. Thompson was brought to Dallas to start. But what if Naji Marshall’s shooting improvement last season is real? Did you know that Marshall and Thompson both shot 38.7% from three last year? And Marshall wasn’t benefitting from Stephen Curry’s gravity, nor the playmaking he’ll get this season with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving setting him up. At this point, Marshall is also a better and more versatile defender than Thompson is.

Thompson will open the season as a starter, but Marshall is going to push him. And don’t bet against Marshall eventually snagging a starting spot of his own. He brings too many tools to Dallas to keep him off the floor for long.

Houston Rockets

Forward Rotation

The Rockets forward rotation is an example of a good problem to have. Houston is set at the guard position with Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Amen Thompson and rookie Reed Sheppard. At center the Rockets have Alperen Sengun and a terrific veteran backup in Steven Adams.

That means sorting out the forward position will have to be done without sliding a player either up or down a position when the team is healthy. And sorting it out is a tough, but welcomed challenge. Jabari Smith Jr. and Dillon Brooks will start. Tari Eason (who has returned to full health) and Cam Whitmore seemed poised to get the first cracks at backup minutes. That leaves veteran Jeff Green and wing Jae’Sean Tate on the outside looking in.

This is by no means a bad thing. The Rockets have rebuilt their depth with some good drafting and smart veteran acquisitions. Now, it’s up to Ime Udoka to figure out how to make it all work as Houston chases a postseason spot.

Memphis Grizzlies

Small Forward Rotation

Memphis should be back to relatively full health to open the 2024-25 season. That means instead of showing up each day and hoping to just have eight players healthy enough to play, Taylor Jenkins will have to make some real lineup decisions.

Nowhere is that more prevalent than at the small forward spot. The plan last season was that Marcus Smart would get those minutes initially, in addition to functioning as the backup point guard. That may still be the plan, and would give the Grizzlies three ballhandlers and playmakers in their starting lineup, with Ja Morant and Desmond Bane both healthy as well.

Vince Williams Jr. emerged out of the mess of last season as a legitimate NBA rotation player, and a potential starter. GG Jackson showed plenty of potential last season, after starting the year on a two-way deal. Unfortunately, Jackson is going to miss the start of the season after surgery to repair a facture in his right foot. Jake LaRavia also showed signs of real improvement late last season.

With a healthy roster – minus Jackson – Jenkins has the versatility to play this a few different ways, even before Jackson returns. He could also choose to go smaller at times by inserting Luke Kennard or John Konchar to get more shooting on the floor. Getting this particular position solved has been a real challenge during the Grizzlies rise. This time around, they seem to have the players to find a workable solution.

New Orleans Pelicans

Everyone Everywhere All At Once Except a Center

New Orleans has a ton of talent. Like, really, a TON of talent. Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Dejounte Murray, C.J. McCollum, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III are all starting-caliber players.

Sadly, none of them are a center.

The means the Pelicans have six starters for four spots. (We didn’t forget Jose Alvarado, who will see backup PG minutes. Or Jordan Hawkins, but who knows how he gets minutes?) Unless Willie Green goes super non-traditional and decides to go small and run Williamson as his starting center, this could be an issue for New Orleans that only a trade will fix. And big trades this late in the offseason are fairly uncommon, as are major early-season deals.

Now, for what it’s worth, Basketball Reference says Williamson has logged about 9% of his career minutes as a center. Last season was the most he’s run at the five at 14%. And that was while playing the most games and minutes in his career.

But playing center and starting at center are two pretty different things. The former is something we’ll probably see quite a bit. The latter is something the Pelicans will probably be loathe to do. That means we’re going to see Daniel Theis or Karlo Matkovic or Yves Missi (if either of the latter two are ready as rookies) as at least the opener, and playing the first 5-8 minutes of each half.

Beyond the whole “Who plays center?” stuff is that the Pelicans still have six starters. Barring a trade, we can write Williamson, Ingram and Murray into the lineup in pen. Does McCollum’s veteran-standing lock him into the fifth spot? (Total aside: McCollum might be able to add another two or three productive years onto his career by transitioning into a bench role, a la Eric Gordon over the last several seasons.) Jones is one of the best defensive players on the planet. You don’t get the most out of him by bringing him in against second-line players. Murphy is a bouncy shooter, who is ready for a full-scale know-him-on-a-national-level breakout season.

Having talent is huge in the NBA. But building a team isn’t a fantasy basketball exercise. Real teams need to function. Sometimes you have too many guys. And sometimes that turns sour. The three forms of currency in the NBA are salary, minutes and shots. The Pelicans are coming short in the latter two, which impact the first one. Willie Green has a tricky situation to sort out and some difficult conversations to have, probably as early as Day 1 of camp.

San Antonio Spurs

Wing/Guard Rotation

The earth may orbit the sun, but in San Antonio everything orbits around Victor Wembanyama. All that really matters for the Spurs over the course of this year is finding out who fits with the generational young star and who doesn’t. To further those efforts, the Spurs added Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes as veterans to help a young team find their way.

The frontcourt seems fairly stable. Wembanyama and Barnes will be joined by Jeremy Sochan and Zach Collins as the primary frontcourt guys. Depending on lineups, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie and Malaki Branham will get the remaining small forward minutes.

Paul and Vassell will start at the two guard spots. It’s behind them where things will take some sorting out. Tre Jones has earned the right to at least open the season backing up Paul. But rookie guard Stephon Castle is going to push Jones and push him hard for the backup role. By the end of the season, the Spurs would love to see Castle putting himself in the mix to start in 2025-26.

If Castle is off the ball or in a secondary ballhandler role to open the year, that pushes Branham into a tough spot where he’s kind of a backup small forward. And there probably aren’t any minutes left for Blake Wesley at all. That’s two former first-round picks on the outside looking in.

None of this is a bad thing. The cream will rise to the top and no one is being gifted minutes in San Antonio. Whoever emerges will have earned their time. Paul and Barnes aren’t likely to be long-term Spurs. Their job is to get the young guys ready, even if that means it’s at their own expense minutes- and role-wise. Gregg Popovich and the front office are going to develop guys to play with Wembanyama or they’re going to go get them. And it’s going to happen sooner, rather than later.

The NWSL currently only has five end of season individual awards that a player can win: Most Valuable Player, Defender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, and non-voting based Golden Boot. Under the old CBA, each of these awards were treated differently, coming with a $5,000 bonus to the player. With the new CBA most of these awards will double to $10,000 — plus the addition of Midfielder of the Year — while the MVP bonus increases to $20,000. 

There has been an increase in young players joining the league, but it puts players at a disadvantage to win rookie of the year when they are competing against 22 year old players who have just finished their four years of collegiate play. The MLS has a Best Young Player award for players under the age of 22, here’s my list on who would be up for the award in the 2024 regular season if it existed. 

1. Claire Hutton, 18, KC Current 

Contract Remaining: 2 years thru 2026
Position: Midfielder
Minutes Played: 1406
Games Started/Played: 16/17

Signed with Kansas City as a U18 Entry player in the 2023-24 offseason. Has played in 78% of the Current’s regular season minutes. She has one regular season assist and one Summer Cup goal to her name. Boasts an impressive 76% passing accuracy for 2024, alongside a 74% tackle success rate, and 30 interceptions. She’s one of the eight NWSL players who are missing a chunk of regular season games to join the USA’s U-20 team at the FIFA U-20 WWC. 

2. Ally Sentnor, 20, Utah Royals

Contract Remaining: 2 years thru 2026
Position: Forward
Minutes Played: 1508
Games Started/Played: 17/17

Acquired by the Royals as the first overall draft pick of the 2024 Collegiate Draft. Sentnor has played full 90’s in all but one of her regular season matches, only missed matches are due to representing the USA’s U-20 team at the U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Has three goals and three assists in the regular season with an additional two goals and an assist in the Summer Cup.Sentnor truly had been carrying the Utah attack ahead of the summer window, with the recent new additions, it’ll be interesting to see how defenses adjust to having more threats up top to cover. 

3. Tarciane, 21, Houston Dash

Contract Remaining: 2 years thru 2026, plus 2027 Mutual Option
Position: Defender
Minutes Played: 718
Games Started/Played: 8/8

Acquired by the Houston Dash late April via a transfer from Corinthians, made her NWSL debut late May. Tarciane is one of 30 women’s soccer players across the globe nominated for a Ballon D’or. Has a 77% passing accuracy, 76% tackle success rate, and 11 interceptions across her eight matches. 

4. Alyssa Thompson, 19, Angel City

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025
Position: Forward
Minutes Played: 1685
Games Started/Played: 19/20

After being the first overall draft pick in 2023, in her second year in the NWSL Thompson has played in 93% of Angel City’s regular season matches. She’s had five assists over the course of the season and has scored four goals over the last four games after not scoring in the first 16 matches of the regular season. During the Summer Cup she notched an additional three goals. 

5. Savy King, 19, Bay FC

Contract Remaining: 2 years thru 2026
Position: Defender
Minutes Played: 1051
Games Started/Played: 12/16

King joined Bay’s inaugural season as the second overall pick from the 2024 NWSL Collegiate Draft. King had played in all but one of Bay’s regular season matches before joining the USA’s contingency at the U-20 FIFA WWC. Thus far this season she has a 59% tackle rate, one assist, 12 blocks, 22 interceptions, and a 73% passing rate. She’s one of the eight NWSL players who are missing a chunk of regular season games to join the USA’s U-20 team at the FIFA U-20 WWC. 

6. Olivia Moultrie, 19, Portland Thorns

Contract Remaining: 2 years thru 2026
Position: Midfielder
Minutes Played: 1103
Games Started/Played: 13/16

In her fourth season in the NWSL, Moultrie has already surpassed her regular season minutes from 2023, notching three goals and one assist. She had an additional goal in the Summer Cup. Moultrie has also seen her number of crosses and corner kicks almost triple year-over-year. 

7. Kennedy Fuller, 17, Angel City FC

Contract Remaining: 2 years thru 2026, plus 2027 Club Option
Position: Midfielder
Minutes Played: 862
Games Started/Played: 9/16

In March, Fuller joined Angel City via the U18 Entry Mechanism. She scored a goal against Racing Louisville, in their 3–2 win back in June. Across the regular season, defensively she’s had a  55% tackle success, 10 clearances, and 9 blocks. 

8. Manaka Matsukubo, 20, NC Courage

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025
Position: Midfielder
Minutes Played: 759
Games Started/Played: 8/13

Joined the Courage last summer on loan from Mynavi Sendai of the Japanese WE league, transfer became permanent in June. Thus far this season, the midfielder has scored one goal, and has an assist for the Courage. Across 13 matches she’s had an 81% passing accuracy and 82% tackle success. Most recently Matsukubo is with the Japanese team  at the FIFA U-20 WWC, and will face off against North Korea in the Gold Medal Match. Matsukubo scored a brace in Japan’s 2–0 win in the semifinal.

9. Jaedyn Shaw, 19, San Diego Wave

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025, plus 2026 Club Option
Position: Forward
Minutes Played: 963
Games Started/Played: 11/16

After joining the Wave in summer of 2022 through Discovery (no U18 Entry existed yet) the teenager has battled injury issues before and after the 2024 Paris Olympics. The forward has scored three goals and tallied one assist this regular season, in the process broke the NWSL record for most goals scored as a teenager—previously owned by Trinity Rodman. 

10. Emeri Adames, 18, Seattle Reign

Contract Remaining: 3 years thru 2027
Position: Forward
Minutes Played: 291
Games Started/Played: 3/16

Joined the Reign in March via the U18 Entry Mechanism. Thus far this season the forward has scored one regular season goal and an additional Summer Cup goal. Adames has been utilized a lot as a second half sub bringing a boost of energy to the Reign attack. Thus far this season she has had a 67% tackle success rate and a 62.5% aerial duel success rate. She’s one of the eight NWSL players who are missing a chunk of regular season games to join the USA’s U-20 team at the FIFA U-20 WWC. 

11. Gisele Thompson, 18, Angel City

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025, plus 2026
Position: Defender
Minutes Played: 617
Games Started/Played: 8/11

The younger Thompson joined Angel City last winter just ahead of her 18th birthday via the U18 Entry Mechanism. With an impressive 88% passing accuracy, the defender has had a 59% tackle success rate, 14 interceptions, and 12 blocks. She’s one of the eight NWSL players who are missing a chunk of regular season games to join the USA’s U-20 team at the FIFA U-20 WWC. 

12. Michelle Cooper, 21, KC Current

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025
Position: Forward
Minutes Played: 908
Games Started/Played: 9 /15

Cooper was drafted by the Current as the second overall draft pick in 2023. In her second year in the league, Cooper has scored one goal and one assist in both the regular season and the Summer Cup.  She also has a 54% tackle success rate and 15 blocks. 

13. Isabella Obaze, 21, Portland Thorns

Contract Remaining: 2 years thru 2026, plus 2027 Mutual Option
Position: Defender
Minutes Played: 568
Games Started/Played: 7/8

The Danish defender joined the Thorns from FC Rosengard back in January. Battling a knee injury in May/June, Obaze was unavailable for selection for five regular season matches over that period. In her eight matches, she had a 92% passing accuracy, 7 interceptions, and two assists. 

14. Princess Marfo, 20, Bay FC

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025, plus 2026 Club Option
Position: Forward
Minutes Played: 238
Games Started/Played: 2/8

Back in January, the Ghanaian striker joined Bay FC from Danish club FC Nordsjælland on a transfer. She’s seen playing time in eight matches for the expansion side with a 78% passing accuracy, two goal creating actions, and is 6/6 tackle success.

15. Riley Jackson, 18, NC Courage

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025, plus 2026 Club Option
Position: Midfielder
Minutes Played: 180
Games Started/Played: 1/14

Although she signed with the Courage in July of 2023 via the U18 Entry Mechanism, she didn’t make her professional debut until the 2024 season after sustaining an ankle injury just days after her signing was announced and spending the remainder of the season on the D45 list. The midfielder has a 82% passing accuracy and a 64% tackle success across her 14 matches. She’s one of the eight NWSL players who are missing a chunk of regular season games to join the USA’s U-20 team at the FIFA U-20 WWC. 

16. Ally Lemos, 20, Orlando Pride

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025
Position: Midfielder
Minutes Played: 286
Games Started/Played: 2/11

Lemos joined the Pride this season after being drafted by the Pride as the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Collegiate Draft. Over her eleven matches she’s had a 75% passing accuracy and a 58% tackle success. She’s one of the eight NWSL players who are missing a chunk of regular season games to join the USA’s U-20 team at the FIFA U-20 WWC. 

17. Melanie Barcenas, 16, San Diego Wave

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025
Position: Forward
Minutes Played: 279
Games Started/Played: 3/7

In March of 2023, Barcenas signed with the Wave via the U18 Entry Mechanism and at the time was the youngest-ever contracted NWSL player. In her second year in the league she’s had a 77% passing accuracy, 71% tackle success, and has already doubled her minutes from her rookie season with six games left in the regular season. 

18. Alex Pfeiffer, 16, KC Current

Contract Remaining: 2 year thru 2026
Position: Forward
Minutes Played: 131
Games Started/Played: 0/10

Last October Pfeiffer signed with the Current via the U18 Entry Mechanism. She scored one regular season goal — in her first professional match — before matchday 15 where she suffered a torn ACL and torn meniscus in the second half of the match. 

19. Kimmi Ascanio, 16, San Diego Wave

Contract Remaining: 2 year thru 2026
Position: Midfielder
Minutes Played: 145
Games Started/Played: 2/6

This past march she joined the Wave via the U18 Entry Mechanism and made her professional debut in the team’s third regular season match this year. In her six matches, she’s had an 83% passing accuracy, while earning an assist.

20. Amanda Allen, 19, Orlando Pride

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025
Position: Forward
Minutes Played: 82
Games Started/Played: 0/8

The Canadian forward joined the Pride in April of 2023 via the Discovery mechanism. In her eight matches with the Pride she notched one assist and a 67% tackle success. Following joining Canada’s team at the FIFA U-20 WWC—who got knocked out in the Round of 16 against Spain—Allen was loaned to USL Super League side Lexington SC for the duration of the USL Super League season in order to get her more minutes. 

21. Chloe Ricketts, 17, Washington Spirit

Contract Remaining: 1 year thru 2025, plus 2026 Club Option
Position: Midfielder
Minutes Played: 18
Games Started/Played: 0/4 

Ricketts joined the Spirit in March of 2023 via the U18 Entry Mechanism. In her second year in the NWSL, she has actually seen reduced minutes compared to last season likely due to a lot of the additions the Spirit has brought in. In her four regular season matches, she had a 71% passing accuracy and a 67% tackle success. Although she got significant minutes in the Summer Cup, lately she has been dealing with a knee injury and has been unavailable since the regular season restarted. 

22. Aline Gomes, 19, NC Courage

Contract Remaining: 2 years thru 2026, plus 2027 Mutual Option
Position: Midfielder
Minutes Played: 27
Games Started/Played: 0/2

The Brazilian midfielder was acquired by the Courage ahead of the NWSL Secondary window opening, so she’s had a much smaller window than the other players on this list to make an impact. She’s come off the bench twice for the Courage with a 100% passing accuracy, 100% tackle success thus far. 

Jon Rahm wins the thirteenth LIV Golf event of 2024 at Chicago earning himself $4 million, plus $375,000 from his team finishing second. In addition to the win, Rahm secures himself the LIV Golf Individual Champion which pays out $18 million. 

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Patton Kizzire wins the Procore Championship. Rai earns $1.08 million bringing his 2024 on-course earnings to $1.67 million and his career on-course earnings to $13.2 million. 

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The Boston Celtics have committed a lot of money to their roster for this season and for the next several years. Over $1.1 billion in guaranteed money, in fact. That’s a whole lot committed salary. More than any NBA team has ever locked in for in history.

However, as lyrical philosophers A Tribe Called Quest taught us (and Oklahoma City Thunder executive Sam Presti later referenced): “Scared money don’t make none”.

We recently examined how teams are building their rosters in the Apron Era. Some were conservative. Some made trades before hitting the first or second apron. Others focused on adding talent on minimum contracts. A few teams kind of threw their hands up and did nothing.

The Celtics loaded up pre-Apron Era and then went way past being in for a penny, in for pound. Boston is in for over 100 billion pennies and over one billion pounds. That’s an indisputable fact. The real question: Will this kind of roster building work?

So far, so good from the Celtics perspective. They won the 2024 NBA Finals, which justified a $44 million tax bill on top of $185 million in salaries for a total outlay of nearly a quarter-of-a-billion dollars.

It’s hard to argue against the approach right now. But is that approach sustainable long term? Unlike all of the other apron teams, which have fairly easy pathways out of their current situations, Boston seems pretty locked in. As much as that’s fine for right now, how will it look in two or three or four seasons?

While that question is completely fair, it’s also worrying about things down the line more than things right now. If we overly focus on the future, we often fail to thrive in the present.

In every possible way, the Celtics are content to let tomorrow’s problems be tomorrow’s problems. Today, there’s another title to chase.

Recently, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla said he doesn’t really like the term “defending a title”. He prefers for his team to stay on the attack. Yes, the Celtics won the 2024 title. They’ll celebrate that again on opening night with rings and an NBA-record 18th banner being raised to the rafters.

Then the game will tip and the focus will turn to winning Banner 19. That’s how it works in Boston. You celebrate a title, then you chase the next one. What you’ve done is important and to be celebrated, but never at the expense of what comes next.

That mindset has informed the Celtics roster building strategy. For years, with roughly the same core, Boston chased Banner 18. As they finally secured it, Brad Stevens and staff went about making sure they’d be able go after Banner 19 and beyond. But that process actually started about a year in advance.

In late June of 2023 news broke that the Boston Celtics were close to acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards in a three-team deal that would send Malcolm Brogdon to the LA Clippers. That deal fell apart when the Clippers expressed concerns over Brogdon’s health.

Boston quickly pivoted to the Memphis Grizzlies and trading Marcus Smart. With how quickly the Celtics pivoted on that deal, there’s at least a decent chance that Boston and Memphis had previously discussed a deal centered around Smart.

At any rate, Boston now had Porzingis in the fold and had started the process of resetting around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who Brad Stevens had previously called the organization’s “pillars”.

Fast forward a few months, and the Celtics – who fortunately still had Brogdon and his $22 million salary – traded for Jrue Holiday. This deal happened only a few days after Holiday had been traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, who were rebuilding in the wake of dealing Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in the same deal.

Now, you’re probably saying “I know Boston got Porzingis and Holiday. Great moves, but that’s ancient history. Why does this matter now?”

When the new CBA went into effect, NBA teams were given what we like to call a “get your books in order” years. Whenever the NBA makes major changes to the cap or luxury system/structure, they give teams an opportunity to line things up for success cap- and tax-wise. In the past, this manifested in the form of an “amnesty provision” through which teams were able to wipe an unwanted contract off their cap sheet.

This time around, the league and union gave teams a buffer year. Some of the burdensome restrictions around the luxury tax and the first and second tax aprons started with the 2023-24 season, but the bulk of them would kick in with the 2024-25 season.

Many teams took advantage of this buffer year and set the stage to drop under the tax or one of the two aprons. The Celtics, and a few others, looked around and said “Last chance to load up!” and went for it.

Had the opportunities to acquire Porzingis and Holiday come a year later, under the full weight of the tax and apron restrictions, Boston might not have either player. They certainly wouldn’t have both players.

Both deals also came with some questions. Porzingis was an injury risk. Holiday was aging and coming off a rough 2023 playoffs. Both Porzingis and Holiday were also entering the final guaranteed years of their contracts. Given the cost (in terms of salary/tax and trading beloved players), both at the time and down the line, these weren’t no-risk acquisitions.

For the first time in a long time, the Celtics chose to go for it right now and to let tomorrow’s problems be tomorrow’s problems.

Shortly after acquiring Kristaps Porzingis, the team signed him to a two-year, $60 million extension. A couple of weeks later, the Celtics and Jaylen Brown signed the then-largest contract in NBA history with a five-year, $285.4 million extension.

After trading for Jrue Holiday on the eve of training camp, Brad Stevens was cautious of running afoul of NBA extension rules and would only say versions of “We hope Jrue is here for a long time”. It was clear there was more to come.

Before the season started, Boston and backup guard Payton Pritchard inked a four-year, $30 million extension. A more then reasonable deal, but yet another added long-term expense.

In season, the Celtics added Xavier Tillman Sr. and Jaden Springer ahead of the trade deadline. Tillman was acquired with the team saying they hoped he wouldn’t just be a rest-of-season addition. Springer came with an additional year left on his rookie scale deal of $4 million for the 2025-26 season.

Then, with the season wrapping up and extension restrictions lifted, Boston took care of keeping Holiday in town with a four-year, $134.4 million extension.

Roughly two months later the Celtics raised the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Preceding the title run, Boston added nearly $514 million in long-term salary through trades and extensions. But Brad Stevens and the Celtics weren’t done. When you’re in for half-a-billion pounds, you might as well be in for a billion pounds.

Things started off fairly relaxed. Boston re-signed Luke Kornet and Xaiver Tillman Sr. to minimum deals. One year for Kornet and two years for Tillman. On top of the two veterans, Neemias Queta signed on for three more years too. With Kristaps Porzingis set to miss the start of the season, the Celtics secured some frontcourt depth.

That trio of deals was Stevens cracking his knuckles before sitting down to bang out a concerto of spending.

Boston then extended Jayson Tatum on the currently-largest contract in NBA history of five years and a projected $313.9 million. Combined with Jaylen Brown’s extension, the pillars are in place for years to come.

The Celtics weren’t done.

Derrick White signed a somewhat surprising extension of $125.9 million over four years. The surprising part was that the Celtics got White for the most they could offer him under the veteran extension rules. White spoke often of finding a home in Boston and didn’t seek to cash in on his growing profile as much as he may have. That’s a major win for the guys in green.

Channeling Danny Ocean saying “You think we need one more?”, Stevens went back to work one more time.

Sam Hauser completed the extension/re-signing splurge by inking a four-year, $45 million deal.

All in all, after dropping nearly $514 million in new deals last season, the champs added nearly $500 million more in new contracts this offseason.

By acquiring (and then extending) Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday before they wouldn’t have been able to, then extending or re-signing almost everyone else, the Celtics have over $1 billion in committed salary on their books through the 2029-30 season. Oh, and the team is for sale too. That was one of the last newsy dominoes to fall this summer in Boston.

Will a new ownership group look at the cap sheet and decide it’s all too much? Will the team not win at a high enough level to justify spending that much? Will the considerable roster-building restrictions for a second apron team mean shedding a salary or two? Only time will bring those answers.

The Celtics are letting tomorrow’s problems be tomorrow’s problems.

For several years running, the Boston Celtics were a good, but never great team. They made the Eastern Conference Finals in three of four years from 2017 through 2020. They made the 2022 NBA Finals and then back to the East Finals in 2023.

In 2024, the Celtics finally brought home Banner 18 after a 16-year wait.

However, it was that 2022 team that really broke through. After years upon years of ownership saying that they’d pay the tax for a contender, that 2022 NBA Finals appearance seemed to do the convincing. Boston paid the tax in 2023 after several years of dodging the tax (minus a slight payment in 2019). They haven’t looked back since.

Without spending what it took to bring on Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics don’t win the 2024 NBA Finals.

As A Tribe Called Quest told us: Scared money don’t make none.

Now, the Celtics have zoomed past the second apron. They aren’t quite as expensive this season as the Phoenix Suns or Minnesota Timberwolves. Boston is neck-and-neck with the Milwaukee Bucks, about $50 million behind the Wolves and $150 million behind the Suns in terms of total spending.

It’s next season and beyond when Boston takes the lead in committed salary plus tax penalties. As it stands today, for 11 players, the 2025-26 Celtics are sitting at nearly $445 million in salaries plus tax penalties. That figure will very likely zip well past half-a-billion when all is said and done.

Yes, the cap and tax are set to go up the maximum of 10% for at least each of the next few seasons. But Boston is so far over the second apron, it might take years for it come back into view again. Even in 2026-27, the Celtics are already at over $200 million on the books for just nine players.

Get ready for the term “second apron” to become a regular part of your Boston Celtics lexicon. Effectively, being over the second apron will limit the Celtics to re-signing their own players, signing their own draft picks (which may also be subject to getting moved to the end of first round), signing players to minimum contracts, and making trades where the salaries match exactly and Boston doesn’t send out more than one player.

You know what else? This team doesn’t need a lot of outside help at the moment.

The Boston Celtics went 64-18 last season with the fourth-best net rating in NBA history at +11.6. That was followed by rampaging through the playoffs at 16-3 with a +8.7 net rating. Say what you will about the competition, but that’s a historical level of dominance.

The Celtics aren’t letting worries about the future cost them anything right now. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard and the previously-extended Al Horford, all got their deals in the last year because Boston wanted to win Banner 18…and then to keep the good times rolling as long as they can.

You can’t ignore the future. Eventually, every bill comes due in the NBA. At some point, the Celtics won’t win enough to justify spending so much money.

But you can’t worry so much about what might happen two or three or four years down the road that you ruin what is pretty great right now.

The Boston Celtics have chosen to let tomorrow’s problems be tomorrow’s problems. That got them Banner 18 and it must just lead to Banner 19 and beyond too.

The NWSL’s SecondaryTrade/Transfer Window is now closed, so no more intra-league trades until after the NWSL Championship and no players who need ITC (International Transfer Certificates) can be added to rosters. Since it has already come up with CeCe Kizer’s signing with Gotham, NWSL teams can sign domestic players who don’t need ITCs (their last team wasn’t outside of the USA) until the roster freeze. 

Now’s the perfect time to take an overall look at the NWSL Secondary Window, and general trends for the summer windows across women’s soccer. 

FIFA Mid-Year Transfer Window Snapshot

When looking at the secondary window, there is some important context in terms of trends for women’s soccer. FIFA normally just releases a transfer snapshot at the end of January for the previous european calendar year, this year FIFA released data on the 2024 secondary windows (which were close to their closing dates at the time of data publish). 

Unexpectedly, there was continued growth in women’s soccer and all-in-all, the number of international transfers reached a record high of 1,125 in 2024’s secondary window. Looking at the USA alone, there was an almost 4x increase in the incoming transfers during the Secondary Window, while the outgoing transfers stayed pretty even compared to 2023. 

***It is important to note that now that the USL Super League is a division 1 professional league, their acquisitions will also be included. Right now there are 38 players whose national team designation is not the USA***

Source: FIFA International Transfer Snapshot (mid-year 2024)

Along with the growth in the number of internal transfers, the USA also showed a large increase in transfer funds spent to acquire players. This does often come hand in hand with the number of transfers, but even when you look at the average transfer fee spent there was an increase from $32.5k in 2023 to $114k in 2024. 

Source: FIFA International Transfer Snapshot (mid-year 2024)

Looking at the type of transfers, a large number of the players both incoming and outgoing were via free agency — for the outgoing since they are mid-season moves this is where the waived players and mutual terminations come into play. Only a very small percentage of the player movements were loans. 

Source: FIFA International Transfer Snapshot (mid-year 2024)

NWSL’s Secondary Window Changes

As the rosters currently stand, Seattle will be over the 26 player limit when its two players who are off at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup return to the squad. Three teams—Chicago, Gotham, North Carolina—are sitting right at the 26 player limit, while Houston is flirting with the low edge of compliance with only 22 active players on its active roster. 

Looking at both the incoming and outgoing movement, Seattle had the most roster turnover with a total of 14 players moving in and out of the club. The changes seemed to have an immediate impact as following the Paris Olympics the Reign have moved from 13th up to 10th in the NWSL table and are on a three game winning streak. Angel City was at the other end of the spectrum during the window, with only one player incoming and one player whose contract was mutually terminated. With two wins in the last three games, it’s clear that there is no direct correlation to activity in the window and immediate outcomes following the window. 

Overview of current active roster compliance and total number of roster changes over the secondary window

To further break down all the movements by type you can see that a large number of players entered the league via free agency, and compared to last year where there were no trades which included player movement, there were 15 in this past window. Additionally, with the USL Super League in its inaugural season, the NWSL saw nine players go on loan through the end of the 2024 NWSL season. 

Overview of the 2024 NWSL Secondary Window by transaction type, both incoming and outgoing

Separating it down even further by team, you can see which teams utilized which transactions in the window:

There are just seven games left in the regular season, with only unbeaten Orlando at the top of the table having clinched one of the eight coveted playoff spots. With only five points separating seventh through eleventh in the table right now, anything can happen in the final third of the season and only time will tell which general managers got the secondary window right. 

QB Dak Prescott & the Dallas Cowboys agreed to an historic extension at the 11th hour of the offseason, finalizing a 4 year, $240M contract that includes $231M guaranteed for practical purposes. Spotrac dives into the full details of this new deal, which was (aggressively) negotiated by agent Todd France of Athletes First.

The Contract Terms

The new years/new money terms of the deal clock in at 4 years, $240M through the 2028 season. Prescott had $29M remaining on his previous contract (an additional $5M was already paid out in March when a small cap conversion was processed). So in full, this now becomes a 5 year, $269M contract.

The $240M new money value clocks in 8th among NFL contracts, but easily surpasses his own $160M deal as the largest contract in Dallas Cowboys history.

The Average Salary

The new average annual value on Prescott’s deal was always going to start with a “6” thanks to a plethora of leverage. At $60M per year for new year/new money purposes, Dak becomes the highest average paid player in NFL history by $5M. And by keeping this extension fairly short & sweet (also to his benefit), the total value AAV ($269/5 years) remains extremely competitive ($53.8M). For comparison, Joe Burrow’s total value AAV is just north of $44M.

When plugging this AAV into the current salary cap landscape, things actually change a little bit. While nearly every other aspect of this contract ranks 1st all-time, that can’t be said for the AAV % of League Cap metric.

Largest Percent of League Cap at Signing

1. Joe Burrow, 24.47%
2. Josh Allen, 23.56%
3. Dak Prescott, 23.49%
4. Justin Herbert, 23.35%
5. Lamar Jackson, 23.13%

In order to surpass Burrow here, Prescott would have needed to sign a new year/new money contract that averaged $62.5M per year. I bet he’s just fine & dandy securing $231M guaranteed instead.

The Guarantees

Prescott’s latest blockbuster includes $129M fully guaranteed at signing, by way of an $80M signing bonus, $1.25M 2024 salary, & $47.75M 2025 salary. This guarantee at signing number ranks 6th in the league, and it’s $17.51M less than Joe Burrow’s $146.5M with Cincy. The $80M signing bonus is an NFL high by $5M.

Largest NFL Signing Bonuses

1. Dak Prescott, $80M
2. Jordan Love, $75M
3. Jared Goff, $73M
4. Lamar Jackson, $72.5M
5. Dak Prescott, $66M

Next March 16th, another $40M (his 2026 salary) becomes fully guaranteed, while all $45M of his 2027 salary will lock in on the 5th league day of 2026. Finally, $17M of Dak’s 2028 salary will become fully guaranteed on the 5th league day of 2027. All $102M of this future money is guaranteed for injury at signing, and it brings the practical guarantee value on this contract up to $231M - $1M more than Deshaun Watson’s $230M fully guaranteed. This is very much, not an accident.

Largest Total Guarantee in NFL History

1. Dak Prescott, $231M
2. Deshaun Watson, $230M
3. Joe Burrow, $219M
4. Justin Herbert, $218M
5. Trevor Lawrence, $200M

In other words, $231M of Dak Prescott’s $269M total value contract is guaranteed for practical purposes. That near 86% is an elite rating for contracts of this size.

The Cash Flow

After being paid $5M this past March by way of a salary cap conversion, Dak will now reel in an additional $81.25M this season ($80M signing bonus, $1.25M base salary).

The new 2-year payout is $129M ($17.25M more than anyone) else, while the 3-year payout of $169M is $13.75M more than Lamar Jackson.

With the exception of a “little bit of fluff” built into the final season ($55M cash in 2028), absolutely everything about this contract’s cash flow is top of the market. Again - leverage.

The Salary Cap

Prescott entered the offseason with a $59,132,647 cap hit for 2024. Dallas converted $5 million of his base salary into a signing bonus, dropping the figure to $55,132,647. Had Dak played the year out on this figure, it would have represented the largest single season cap hit in NFL history, slightly more than Russell Wilson’s $53M dead cap hit with the Broncos for 2024

The new contract lowers Dak’s 2024 salary cap figure down to $43.3M, freeing up $11.8M of space for the Cowboys. Things get wild thereafter however:

Dak Prescott’s Salary Cap Hits
2024: $43.3M
2025: $89.8M
2026: $68M
2027: $62M
2028: $72M

As you can see, the Cowboys will need to massage this deal quite a bit to keep themselves afloat elsewhere, beginning with the 2025 offseason. A simple base salary restructure next year will open up over $37M of cap space, but the process of pushing cap into future (and voidable) years will once again begin. (Dallas rolled over $40.1M of dead cap from the last deal into this new deal because of bonus proration).

The Clauses

As he did in his previous extension, Prescott secured a full no-trade clause over the entirety of this new contract, affording him about as much control as possible as a player in the NFL.

Also per his previous contract, the new deal contains 4 void years (for salary cap conversion purposes). The void date in 2029 comes after the end of the tag window that offseason, giving him a no-tag clause as well.

The Practical Contract

It’s been awhile since we’ve written about a contract in which the practicality of that contract almost matches the entirety of it - but here we are. Dak has secured early vesting guarantees in ALL FIVE of his future seasons, finishing with a $17M lock on his 2028 salary.

If the wheels fall off, the Cowboys can walk away from this after 4 years - but they’ll owe Prescott a $17M cash payment to do so. The much more likely outcome is that Dak is still Dallas’ best option at QB1 after 2027, and we’re all deep into the next contract negotiation discussion (with a league salary cap well north of $300M by then). Prescott will be 34 years old at this juncture.

It’s clear that a few things were in play here when negotiating Dak’s latest deal:
1) Top out the standard metrics”
2) Usurp the Deshaun Watson guarantee
3) Keep open a path to a 3rd blockbuster extension
4) Regain leverage & control

It’s not entirely clear why the Dallas Cowboys continue to operate in this “last minute” fashion, but it sure does work out well for all players & agents involved.

The NBA has entered a new era in terms of roster building. It’s no longer just cap space, over the cap, or luxury tax. Now, the first apron and second apron exist.

Not only do the first and second apron exist, but the full weight of their restrictions was felt this offseason. Instead of there being three ways to get hard-capped at the tax apron, there are now six ways to get hard-capped at the first apron and four additional ways to get hard-capped at the second apron.

In addition, if you are at or over the first or second apron, there are a whole bunch of things you can’t do. This includes all the things that would have hard-capped you at either apron, as that closes the loophole of starting out expensive and getting even more so.

Finally, there are the financial penalties and draft-related penalties for being over the second apron. The CBA reduced the financial hit for being just a little over the tax, but they made it even more taxing (pun very much intended) to be deep into the tax. And if you are up and over the second apron for several years, you start to get hit with the inability to trade picks and your draft pick can even be moved to the end of the first round.

Previously, we covered how the cap space teams operated this offseason. Now, we’re going to look at the teams on the other end of spectrum.

Before we fully dive in, it’s worth nothing that there are nine teams currently over the NBA’s first apron. We’re going to cover seven of them here. The Philadelphia 76ers had a unique summer in that they used cap space, but then ended up over the first apron by virtue of re-signing Tyrese Maxey to a maximum contract. If you want to read about the Sixers summer, you can find them covered in the link above.

We’re also going to cover the Boston Celtics in a separate article, because they had an interesting summer in terms of right now and long-term.

With all that said, let’s take a look at the other seven tax apron teams.

Second Apron Teams

Milwaukee Bucks

Acquisitions

Taurean Prince (signed via Minimum Exception), Gary Trent Jr. (signed via Minimum Exception), Delon Wright (signed via Minimum Exception), A.J. Johnson (2024 first-round pick), Tyler Smith (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

None

Analysis

A year after an offseason marked by the Damian Lillard trade and new deals for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, the Bucks had a far more lowkey summer. Milwaukee kept it simple, but that doesn’t mean their moves weren’t good ones.

The Bucks big win was signing Gary Trent Jr. via the Minimum Exception. When Trent got squeezed out of Toronto, there weren’t any landing spots left for more than the minimum. At least, nowhere that made sense for Trent. As it stands, should he deliver similar production to the last few years, Trent will be one of the best minimum signings the league has ever seen. He’ll add an important 3&D element for the Bucks that has been missing the last few years.

Taurean Prince and Delon Wright were terrific additions too. Prince gives the Bucks the combo forward they didn’t have last year. With Bobby Portis functioning as a third big, Prince can swing between either forward spot and give Milwaukee some shooting, defense and rebounding.

The Bucks played a lot of last season without a viable backup for Lillard. Wright will fix that. Given Milwaukee will prioritize keeping their vets healthy and rested for the postseason, having Wright will give Doc Rivers a trusted veteran behind his star point guard.

The Bucks didn’t retain any free agents from last year’s team over the offseason. With a now full roster, it’s unlikely any will return, unless it’s an in-season signing down the road.

This was an understated summer, especially compared to last year. But it was a very productive one for Milwaukee.

Phoenix Suns

Acquisitions

Tyus Jones (signed via Minimum Exception), Monte Morris (signed via Minimum Exception), Mason Plumlee (signed via Minimum Exception), Ryan Dunn (2024 first-round pick), Oso Ighodaro (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

Bol Bol (signed via Minimum Exception), Damion Lee (signed via Minimum Exception), Josh Okogie (signed via Early Bird rights), Royce O’Neale (signed via Bird rights)

Analysis

With the Golden State Warriors and LA Clippers resetting their rosters this offseason, Phoenix was this summer’s marquee second apron team. The Suns played “Veteran Minimum Roulette” again, but this time around the approach seems to have been more mindful of what the roster needs.

After experimenting for a season without a point guard, the Suns went out and got two really good veterans in Tyus Jones and Monte Morris. Jones was a surprise signing, but like Gary Trent Jr. with the Milwaukee Bucks, the player’s tepid market was the team’s gain. Jones should be the starting point guard for Phoenix and he’ll bring a layer of stability that the team was missing last season.

Morris is coming off a somewhat lost year, after injuries wrecked the first half of his season. Still, Morris showed with the Minnesota Timberwolves that he’s still capable of being a high-end backup. With Jones and Morris, a position that was a problem last season is no longer an issue.

Plumlee is replacing Drew Eubanks as Jusuf Nurkic’s backup. Because Plumlee is a solid screener and good passer, he’s a better fit for the Phoenix offense than Eubanks. Defensively, Plumlee won’t provide as much rim protection, but he’s a solid enough in the paint for backup minutes.

Where the Suns got creative was with their re-signings. Josh Okogie got overpaid for this season, as Phoenix basically turned him into an $8.25 million walking trade exception. While we don’t like thinking about players as strictly a cap number, that feeling is lessened when they get about four times as much as expected to become one. And if he’s not traded, Okogie could re-earn his spot as a defensive-minded guard/wing for the Suns.

Okogie needs to re-earn that spot, because Phoenix traded for Royce O’Neale last year and then re-signed him to a four-year, $42 million deal. That’s a solid value for O’Neale as a 3&D wing. And he’s very tradable on that contract too.

Should any of the veterans fail, Phoenix can turn to rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro. Both players were targeted draft acquisitions. They are both raw offensively, but Dunn and Ighodaro are ready to contribute on defense right away, if necessary. And it’s not like the team needs more offense.

Unlike last year, when the Suns had fill out almost the whole roster following the Bradley Beal trade, this summer was a bit more relaxed. Getting Jones and Morris for the minimum was a pair of steals. Plumlee should deliver surplus value on a minimum deal too. We’ll take a bit more of a wait-and-see approach with O’Neale and Okogie, because it feels like those stories are still developing. That’s especially true with Okogie. However, in another summer of minimums, re-signings and draft picks, James Jones and crew seem to have figured out this second apron thing better than a year ago.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Acquisitions

P.J. Dozier (signed via Minimum Exception), Joe Ingles (signed via Minimum Exception), Rob Dillingham (2024 first-round pick), Terrence Shannon Jr. (2024 first-round pick)

Re-signings

Luka Garza (signed via Early Bird rights)

Analysis

After a 2023 summer that saw the Minnesota Timberwolves vault well past the second apron for the foreseeable future, the Wolves were more measured this summer. However, Tim Connelly and staff got creative to infuse their roster with some necessary young talent.

At the draft, Minnesota pulled off a stunner by trading into the lottery to draft Rob Dillingham. Connelly gave up a future first-round pick and a future first-round swap to get Dillingham in a deal with the San Antonio Spurs. This isn’t quite the homerun swing that trading for Rudy Gobert was, but it’s a healthy cut nonetheless.

Dillingham will have a chance to apprentice under Mike Conley (who extended last season) for a couple of seasons. That should work out perfectly for a Wolves team that is built to contend right now. In a perfect world, as Conley ages out of being a full-time starter (or retires), Dillingham will be ready to start alongside Anthony Edwards. For a team with limited resources, due to being so expensive, this is the kind of creative move to infuse the roster with young talent that we may see become more commonplace for second apron teams.

Terrence Shannon Jr. likely would have been selected higher in the first round, had he not been dealing with legal issues ahead of the draft. (Shannon was acquitted of all charges.) He’s a lottery talent and gives Minnesota a wing shooter/scorer with good size. As the roster develops in coming years, having Shannon will help with the team’s versatility.

Free agency was predictably muted for the Timberwolves. Joe Ingles is a terrific locker room presence, and he can still shoot and move the ball when he’s needed on the floor. P.J. Dozier – a Connelly favorite – may be the interim backup for Conley until Dillingham is ready.

Unless you nail some veteran minimum signings, as the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns did, it’s hard to improve as a second apron team. However, Minnesota did well to trade into the lottery to snag Dillingham. That’s a move that should help this year, while paying off big time for years to come.

First Apron Teams

New York Knicks

Acquisitions

Mikal Bridges (via trade), Keita Bates-Diop (via trade), Cameron Payne (signed via Minimum Exception), Pacome Dadiet (2024 first-round pick) Tyler Kolek (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

OG Anunoby (signed via Bird rights), Precious Achiuwa (signed via Bird rights)

Analysis

The New York Knicks went for it this summer. After acquiring OG Anunoby ahead of last season’s trade deadline, New York doubled down on the wing by trading for Mikal Bridges. The cost was significant, but Bridges should be a perfect fit with the Villanova Knicks.

Bridges gives New York a solid scorer, who fits in perfectly in Tom Thibodeau’s defense-first, -second and -third schemes. The veteran wing was miscast as a primary scorer/creator in Brooklyn. With the Knicks, Bridges will be a better fit as a third option, who can play up as a second option when the occasion calls for it.

Anunoby was re-signed to a five-year, $212.5 million deal. That’s a significant investment, considering the Bridges trade and that Julius Randle is still in the fold. But Anunoby was terrific for the Knicks after his midseason acquisition. Like Bridges, he’s best when he’s a bit further down the pecking order on offense, and Anunoby is an excellent and versatile defender too.

Keita Bates-Diop and Cameron Payne seem like afterthought pickups now, but both veterans will stay ready and could contribute if needed.

Later in the summer, as backup big man options dwindled, the Knicks re-signed Precious Achiuwa to a one-year, $6 million deal. That’s pretty solid for an energy big off the bench. Achiuwa isn’t a perfect replacement for Isaiah Hartenstein, but the backup center market got picked over pretty quickly. Expect this to be a spot New York continues to work on throughout the season.

If all that wasn’t enough, Jalen Brunson signed a very team-friendly extension. Was that motivated by adding yet another Villanova buddy? Does Brunson just love New York that much? Did he want to make sure the team had flexibility, as opposed to cashing in for himself? Yes, yes, and yes.

Outside of the hole behind oft-injured Mitchell Robinson at the center spot, this was an outstanding summer for Leon Rose and the Knicks front office. They pushed into the tax and even past the first apron, but this is the best New York team in a decade. And, it feels like the Knicks might not be done yet, as they could still make another trade or two (Julius Randle, anyone?) to further rebalance the roster.

Denver Nuggets

Acquisitions

Russell Westbrook (signed via Minimum Exception), Dario Saric (signed via Taxpayer MLE), DaRon Holmes II (2024 first-round pick)

Re-signings

Vlatko Cancar (signed via Minimum Exception), DeAndre Jordan (signed via Minimum Exception)

Analysis

The Denver Nuggets pivoted a bit this summer. Tax and apron concerns (at least as the stated reason, as opposed to an unwillingness to spend) saw Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leave town. A failure to draft or develop viable backups for Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray saw the team invest their limited resources in those spots. This offseason feels like a step back for a title contender.

Losing Caldwell-Pope is a blow to one of the best starting fives in the NBA. Christian Braun is ready for a bigger role, but he’s not the shooter nor defender that Caldwell-Pope is. Braun is going to have to take another big leap to fill Caldwell-Pope’s no-maintenance-necessary role for the Nuggets.

Russell Westbrook gives the team the backup point guard they’ve been missing since Monte Morris was traded. Westbrook is a bit of a weird fit, since he can’t really play off the ball. But Westbrook will add energy and juice to a second unit that seemed stuck in the mud quite often last season.

Dario Saric is a nice addition behind Jokic…but did they really need to give him the full Taxpayer MLE? Not only does that feel like an overpay, but it removed using that tool on another player. In addition, that move hard-capped Denver at the second apron for a second consecutive season. Given the Nuggets reluctance to go deep in the tax, that may not be much of a barrier, but it’s still something to monitor.

Re-signing Vlatko Cancar and DeAndre Jordan are fine moves. Cancar looked primed for a bigger role before getting hurt in the summer of 2023 and missing all of last season. If healthy, he could be a rotation forward this year. Jordan is a respected veteran and he’s been surprisingly productive when called upon to play once every few weeks.

What hasn’t happened as of this writing is an extension for Jamal Murray. It’s been expected that Murray and the Nuggets would sign a maximum veteran extension, but that it would happen after the Olympics. We’re now nearly a month after the Olympics and there’s been nary a peep.

Did Murray’s struggles in the playoffs and then for Team Canada give Calvin Booth pause on handing the veteran guard a max deal? Is Denver ownership reluctant to go big to keep Murray, given Michael Porter Jr. is already on a max deal and Aaron Gordon has a new deal coming too? Is it really just a case of putting pen to paper when everyone is back together in Denver?

Until Murray is extended, those are all valid questions. Valid questions are kind of the theme around the Nuggets right now. A full year after basking in the glory of a title with a pretty stable roster, everything now feels far more tenuous in Denver.

Los Angeles Lakers

Acquisitions

Dalton Knecht (2024 first-round pick), Bronny James (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

LeBron James (signed via Bird rights), Max Christie (signed via Bird rights)

Analysis

Much to the consternation of their fans, the Los Angeles Lakers look pretty similar to last season. Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince left town and were replaced by two rookies in Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.

That’s the entire summation of the ins and outs of the Lakers roster this summer.

So…yeah.

Knecht was a terrific value pick, as he slipped out of the lottery. He should outproduce his draft slot, and possibly by a considerable margin. Drafting the younger James was something everyone saw coming, but it’s still a circus. However, the hit rate for late second-round picks isn’t all that high to begin with. So, being completely honest, why not make the pick that makes your star player happy and creates a fun story?

As for the elder James, he very famously was willing to leave a pretty big chunk of money on the table for the Lakers to make a big move or two. When Rob Pelinka was unable or unwilling to make those moves happen, James left only some money on the table.

As the latest former Los Angeles second-round pick to reach restricted free agency after two seasons, Max Christie got a four-year, $32 million deal. That’s probably a fine value for Christie, as he’s shown plenty of potential to develop into a solid 3&D wing.

Every other playoff team made moves to bolster their roster or to turn towards resetting their cap sheet. Los Angeles let the summer idle by with their toes dipped into the water while they napped lakeside.

That’s not good enough for a team that should be doing everything they can to maximize the remaining years LeBron James and Anthony Davis have left as elite players. That’s especially true when James was willing to leave money on the table. Instead, the same middling roster that wasn’t good enough in a deep Western Conference is back for another run. Not the best approach for maximizing the remaining years of James’ career.

Miami Heat

Acquisitions

Alec Burks (signed via Minimum Exception), Kel’el Ware (2024 first-round pick), Pelle Larsson (2024 second-round pick)

Re-signings

Haywood Highsmith (signed via Bird rights), Kevin Love (signed via Early Bird rights), Thomas Bryant (signed via Minimum Exception)

Analysis

After years of creaking through the regular season then turning it on for the postseason, the Miami Heat’s aging roster caught up with them. Injured, banged-up and worn-out players lost in fairly non-competitive fashion in the first round.

The roster screamed for a makeover of sorts, but no such big reset came. Years of trading for, signing and re-signing older players seems to have caught up with Miami. The Heat didn’t have the flexibility cap-wise or asset-wise to do a whole lot for a second straight summer.

Alec Burks is a nice addition for the minimum. He’ll play a role in a backcourt that always seems to beset by injuries. But Burks was the only veteran addition.

The draft continues to be a spot where Miami excels. Kel’el Ware looks like the latest in a string of solid picks. The knocks on Ware were his work ethic and hustle. It’s safe to say that the Heat will correct those issues, or they probably aren’t correctable. Bet on the former, and that’s great considering Ware has all kinds of talent and potential.

Miami set about re-signing Haywood Highsmith, and got him on a really nice deal. He’s become a key defensive-minded forward for Erik Spoelstra. Highsmith will be part of the group replacing Caleb Martin, who left for reportedly less money in Philadelphia.

Up front, Kevin Love is coming back, as is Thomas Bryant. Giving Love two seasons as this point in his career seems unnecessary, and Bryant wasn’t able to crack the rotation. But their presence gives Spoelstra a couple of vets behind Bam Adebayo in the frontcourt.

Given the Miami Heat have kind of become Lakers Southeast, it’s interesting that both franchises had similar summers. The draft additions are fine, but aren’t major upgrades for this season. And there wasn’t much done besides that.

Like the Lakers, the Heat should have done more to maximize things in Jimmy Butler’s remaining years as an All-Star level guy. Instead, they are basically running it back with a group that’s not a contender. Which begs the question: If you aren’t contending, why aren’t you resetting?

The NWSL’s free agency opened up on September 1st—and the NWSL has 129 players on the free agency list. As a reminder, there was a new CBA announced in late August which expanded free agency to any player with an expiring contract regardless of years of service and it also pulled in the negotiation/signing deadline from October and the end of the season to September 1st. 

With forward Bárbara Olivieri being the first player on the list to re-sign with a team, here’s a look at the top 15 free agents to keep an eye on (plus some notable mentions)

Top 15 Free Agents

1. Kerolin - NC Courage, Forward

Kerolin tore her ACL in the regular season finale in 2023, and although she hasn’t played any minutes with the Courage this season, she did get the call-up from Brazil to play at the Olympics. There Kerolin started a group play match against Spain and came in as a substitute in four matches as well as scoring a goal in Brazil’s 4–2 win against Spain to send them to the gold medal match. As a reminder, in 2023 Kerolin was the NWSL MVP scoring ten goals. Kerolin’s dynamic attack would be an asset for any team’s offense. 

2. Claire Emslie - Angel City FC, Forward

Emslie has played in all 18 regular season matches for Angel City this year—starting in all but one—scoring six goals and assisting in an additional two. She also leads the team and is fourth in the league with 34 chances created and has played the second most minutes of any Angel City player this season. The set piece and corner service that Emslie provides as well as her speed on the left wing has been instrumental in Angel City’s success this season. 

3. Alyssa Naeher - Chicago Red Stars, Goalkeeper

This is Naeher’s eighth season with the Red Stars and following an incredible showing at the 2024 Paris Olympics that helped the USA bring home gold including a few absolutely mind-boggling saves. On the club side, Naeher has had to deal with three offseasons in a row which included mass exodus from the team leading to a constantly changing backline. It will be interesting to see whether Naeher takes her first swing at free agency or whether she chooses to continue with Chicago on their journey under new ownership. 

4. Vanessa Dibernardo - Kansas City Current, Midfielder

After spending a significant amount of time on the availability report in 2023 being out with a concussion, Dibernardo started 2024 with a bang and had two assists and two goals in the first three matches for Kansas City. She continued her run of form and by mid-May had four goals and five assists. Unfortunately Dibernardo had an aerial challenge end up with head contact and she missed the last three matches ahead of the regular season Olympic break. The Summer Cup was used to build her minutes back and the midfielder tallied another two assists, and she’s back to starting matches for a Kansas City side which currently sits third in the table. 

5. Debinha - Kansas City Current, Midfielder

Debinha did originally have a mutual option for 2025 with Kansas City, but it looks like either Debinha or the Current declined to exercise putting Debinha back on the free agency list. Debinha was one of the big names who got to enjoy the freedom of free agency in its first iteration in the 2022-23 offseason and whose autonomy allowed her to land in Kansas City. During the Summer Cup, Debinha scored four goals in four matches with the Current, and during this regular season she’s tallied one goal and two assists 

6. Sophie Schmidt - Houston Dash, Midfielder

Schmidt has been a beacon of continuity for a Houston Dash which has seen a lot of coaching changes and thrash over the last few years. The Canadian midfielder recently retired from international play with an impressive 226 caps to her name. This season for the Dash, she has the second most minutes of any field player for the Dash, playing in 17 of the team’s 18 matches, with a 81% passing accuracy and over 100 possessions won. 

7. Annaïg Butel - Washington Spirit, Defender

The French defender arrived in Washington D.C. last July and in the back half of the season played in seven matches for the Spirit. This season, Butel has played in every single regular season match for the Spirit, starting in all but the season opener where she played the entirety of the second half. She has the second most minutes of any Spirit field player and has earned 23 interceptions and 72 possessions won thus far this season while having a passing accuracy over 85%. 

8. Sydney Leroux - Angel City FC, Forward

Leroux had her 16th game winning goal this past Sunday as Angel City broke their 1–1 stalemate with Chicago to take home three points. The goal was also her 48th career goal, and her fifth of the 2024 regular season. She also scored an additional goal in the one game of the Summer Cup in which she played. After only scoring two goals in the 2023 season, Leroux seems to really be finding her stride with the LA-based club this season.

9. Maitane Lopez - Gotham FC, Defender

The Spanish defender joined Gotham in the 2023 Secondary Transfer Window and immediately fit right in, after her debut substitution in, starting the next ten games—including the NWSL Championship match. In the offseason, Gotham made a number of defensive acquisitions, and although Lopez hasn’t been injured she hasn’t been seeing consistent minutes this season, only tallying 402 minutes thus far in the regular season. It wouldn’t be surprising if Lopez attempts to leverage her free agency to head to a team (with an unused INTL spot) where she can see more play time. 

10. Elli Pikkujamsa - Racing Louisville FC, Defender

Unfortunately the 24-year old Finnish defender was the second victim of the Providence Park turf this year, tearing her patellar tendon in the 72nd minute of the third regular season match of the 2024 season. Pikkujämsä showed her versatility in the 2023 Louisville season switching between defensive midfield and centerback multiple times throughout the season and starting in 18 regular season matches. Racing exercised its half of Pikkujämsä’s 2025 mutual option and contract negotiations are ongoing. 

11. Midge Purce - Gotham FC, Forward

Purce was unfortunately the first SEI victim of the Providence Park artificial turf this season—in only the second regular season match of the season—when she tore her ACL in the second half. Purce is coming off an NWSL Championship winning 2023 season with Gotham—where she took home the NWSL Championship MVP award—-alongside scoring four goals and earning four assists during the regular season, and an additional goal and three assists in the Challenge Cup. 

12. Danielle Colaprico - San Diego Wave FC, Midfielder

Following the opening of the NWSL’s first iteration of free agency, Colaprico signed with San Diego in December of 2022 following eight seasons in Chicago. Her time in San Diego has included overcoming a persistent ankle ‘niggle’ in 2023 and she’s currently dealing with knee issues which have prevented  her from playing in a match since the Summer Cup. Despite the minor injury setbacks, Colaprico when healthy is a vital part of the Wave midfield, playing in 23 matches for the San Diego side in 2023 and has played in 15 matches for the Wave this season. 

13. Quinn - Seattle Reign FC, Midfielder

Quinn has been battling some knee injury issues through the first half of the season, only playing in 11 of the Reign’s 18 regular season matches. They started three of the four matches for the Canadian women’s national team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and during the tournament broke the 100 cap mark for Canada. Quinn has boasted an impressive 82% passing accuracy over the last four seasons of NWSL regular season play. 

14. Elizabeth Ball - Kansas City Current, Defender

In the first half of the season, Ball started 11 matches for Kansas City—playing in 13—boasting an 80% passing accuracy, one goal, and three assists. June alone Ball earned a spot on the NWSL Best XI of the Month with 13 duels won and two blocks in that month alone. However, in the Summer Cup Ball was dealing with some upper leg issues which then led to Kansas City receiving centerback Alana Cook from Seattle in a trade to add some depth. Since the return of the regular season following the Olympics, Ball has yet to see playing time.  

15. Kristen McNabb - San Diego Wave FC, Defender 

Although 2023 saw McNabb on the D45 list toward the back half of the season due to an unfortunate hip injury, she has been essential for the Wave defense in 2024, playing in 16 of their 18 regular season matches and starting in all but two of those. She had seven interceptions in the Sunday draw against the Spirit, and her ability to play both centerback and outside back gives her a lot of flexibility when it comes to potentially looking for new teams, or looking for better contract terms with the Wave. 

Notable Mentions

1. Ann-Katrin Berger - Gotham FC, Goalkeeper

Berger entered the NWSL in April and over 14 games has allowed just 11 goals and two multi goal games. With Berger’s fiance joining Gotham through the end of the 2026 season, it is unlikely that she re-signs with another NWSL side. 

2. Marta - Orlando Pride, Midfielder 

After eight years with Orlando and retiring from national team play following the 2024 Paris Olympics, it would be highly surprising if Marta signed with another NWSL team.The six time FIFA World Player of the Year is performing even better following her 2022 ACL tear and at 38 years old shows no signs of slowing down. 

3. Christen Press - Angel City FC, Forward

Press just got back from a two year ACL recovery journey. With only eight games left in the season, her return to play progress has her up to 30 minutes of play. It’s not clear if the LA native would want to leave her home market to explore other opportunities.