7 NBA Players on Training Camp Contracts with Best Chance to Make the Team
Training camp is a time of clarity in the NBA.
Chemistry is forged, systems are implemented and, most importantly, those who lack security are given a chance to create some.
Invites to training camp are usually condition-crammed. If players are lucky, they'll see some guaranteed cash. In many instances, however, they're on make-good pacts that pay them little or nothing unless they make their respective roster.
Most of the time players—both veterans and prospects—leave empty-handed. But a select few are always given an opportunity to begin next season on a roster.
Who will those players be this year?
Successfully beating the odds is dependent on a number of things. For our purposes, we're looking at players who fill positions of need with certain teams. If they fill holes and their skill set—be it as a shooter, defensive specialist or something else—poses a sensible fit for those holes, we're watching them.
*Contract information via ShamSports. Statistics from Basketball-Reference and NBA.com unless otherwise cited. Certain training camp roster information courtesy of ESPN.com (subscription required).
Honorable Mention: Wayne Ellington, Los Angeles Lakers
1 of 8
Age: 26
Years Experience: 6
Career Per-Game Stats: 17.9 minutes, 6.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 43.7 percent shooting
Consider this a housekeeping note.
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News says Wayne Ellington's deal with the Los Angeles Lakers is partially guaranteed, meaning he could be cut from the roster before his contract becomes fully protected. But let's face facts: He isn't going anywhere.
Why is Ellington a regular-season lock? We defer to Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley without hesitation:
"Well, it starts on the outside, where the sharpshooter has done his best work. He converted threes at a 42.4 percent clip last season, bumping his career three-point percentage to 38.6.
Now, the Lakers might not seem as if they need another perimeter gunner. After all, they finished last season ranked sixth in three-point attempts (24.8 per game) and third in percentage (38.1).
However, nearly all of the parties responsible for those numbers have left the purple and gold.
"
Nonexistent depth at small forward—in addition to Ellington's semi-reliable outside shooting—also helps his case. Ellington isn't going to see much time at the 3, but he does allow the Lakers to move players such as Kobe Bryant and Nick Young there when necessary.
Feel free to get your purple-and-gold tinged Wayne Ellington thigh tattoos immediately. He isn't going anywhere...for at least a few months.
Chris Singleton, Indiana Pacers
2 of 8
Age: 24
Years Experience: 3
Career Per-Game Stats: 17.6 minutes, 4.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 37.6 percent shooting
In the wake of Lance Stephenson's departure and Paul George's leg injury, the Indiana Pacers need help on the wing. Former first-round pick Chris Singleton will be one of the players they're looking at through training camp.
Singleton signed with the Pacers at the beginning of September—per Eurobasket.com's David Pick—after spending three years with the Washington Wizards. At 6'8", he's something of an unsettling tweener, having spent time at both small forward and power forward in Washington.
Touted as a superior defender upon entering the league in 2011, Singelton's offensive game remains unpolished. Loose handles make it difficult for him to create his own shots, while his lack of three-point range—31.8 percent for his career—disqualifies him from having a small forward's impact on offense.
Even so, as a serviceable defender who plays a position Indiana now needs to address, he stands a good chance of making the roster. The Pacers' George and Stephenson replacement committee doesn't stretch much deeper than Chris Copeland, Rodney Stuckey, Solomon Hill and C.J. Miles, only two of whom log minutes at small forward (Copeland and Hill).
Additional depth being the goal, don't be surprised if Singleton makes it out of training camp. And don't be surprised if, out of necessity, he appears in more than the 25 games he played in last season either.
Michael Beasley, Memphis Grizzlies
3 of 8
Age: 25
Years Experience: 6
Career Per-Game Stats: 24.9 minutes, 13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 45 percent shooting
Michael Beasley hasn't run out of fresh starts. Yet.
The Memphis Grizzlies are the latest team to throw a life vest Beasley's way, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. His deal is non-guaranteed, and he'll be competing for minutes as a backup forward.
Reactions to the signing were mixed. Jokes were made. Snark was delivered in excess. Some even have Beasley making the opening-night roster.
Others don't.
"Apparently Beasley came in twice for workouts, this week and last," wrote the Memphis Commercial Appeal's Chris Herrington. "Classic 'lightning in a bottle' gambit. Doubt he makes team unless a second open roster spot is cleared."
Although Beasley could be more experimental novelty than legitimate roster candidate, the Grizzlies do need what he brings: offense, offense and offense. And, well, even more offense.
Consistent playing time has been hard for Beasley to come by since 2010-11, but he's never averaged fewer than 17.6 points per 36 minutes. The Grizzlies, who ranked just 17th in points scored per 100 possessions last season, had just two players—minimum 20 appearances—match that output in 2013-14: Mike Conley and Zach Randolph.
Offense has long been their Achilles' heel. Though they added Vince Carter, the Grizzlies lost Mike Miller and Ed Davis. Holding on to Beasley—who can man either forward position—would help strengthen a puddle-deep offensive attack.
Khem Birch, Miami Heat
4 of 8
Age: 21
Years Experience: 0
Career Per-Game Stats (College): 25.4 minutes, 8.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 53.1 minutes
Khem Birch was one of the top undrafted players this past year. Now the Miami Heat have the opportunity to reap the benefits his exclusion.
Pat Riley was able to steal Birch from under the Washington Wizards' nose, according to CSN Washington's Ben Standig, and it's not hard to figure out why. The championship rings, the slicked back hair, the Goodfellas-y attire and vernacular—who could say no to him?
Fine. Potential playing time may have had something to do with Birch's decision. He has a real chance to make the Heat's roster. They still lack rebounding and dangerous shot-blockers this side of the LeBron James era, and Birch promises both.
The 6'9" forward was a shot-blocking fiend while at UNLV and during his brief stint with Pittsburgh. With the Heat's offense built to go through Chris Bosh, they need someone reliable outside Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen to bang down low and save Bosh from taking on the physical centers he's been guarding.
Those assignments take a toll that Bosh, as the primary offensive option, should no longer have to pay.
Interior defense figures to be problematic for the Heat like always anyway. Luol Deng will replace much of what James did on the perimeter, but this team still resembles the one that ranked 22nd in rim protection last season.
Undersized for an NBA center and limited offensively, Birch is tough enough to hit the glass and contest shots against opposing 4s and 5s. There's a real chance we'll be reading about him beyond training camp.
Jeremy Tyler, Los Angeles Lakers
5 of 8
Age: 23
Years Experience: 3
Career Per-Game Stats: 9.9 minutes, 3.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.4 blocks, 45 percent shooting
Jeremy Tyler is one of four new faces—Keith Appling, Jabari Brown and Roscoe Smith—the Lakers have added to their training camp roster. Of the four, Tyler has the best chance of making the team.
If we're to assume Ellington is a lock—he most definitely is—that leaves one available roster spot. Tyler keeps in theme with what the Lakers are building more than anyone else.
While they don't need him per se, the Lakers' sole mission this offseason has been adding talent that keeps them competitive. Tyler appeared in 41 games last year with the New York Knicks, showing flashes of offensive aptitude and frontcourt athleticism.
There's already plenty of that in Los Angeles, to be sure. Ed Davis and Jordan Hill—and Carlos Boozer and Julius Randle to lesser degrees—all offer explosion in some area of the game. Bringing on Tyler, in addition to housing Robert Sacre, gives them a glut of bigs and complicates their minutes distribution.
At the same time, the Lakers lack established, everyday talent at center. Sacre is still inexperienced, and Hill and Davis continuously waffle between the 4 and 5 spots. Most of Tyler's minutes, meanwhile, have come at the 5 in each of his first three seasons.
Keeping him, while not a boon for their defense, gives the Lakers more options up front. That Tyler is the most recognizable face of all their invites only increases the likelihood of him sticking to a team that values affordable distinction.
Doron Lamb, Dallas Mavericks
6 of 8
Age: 22
Years Experience: 2
Career Per-Game Stats: 12.7 minutes, 3.5 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 38.1 percent shooting
There's no such thing as too many shooters.
Especially when you don't have enough shooters.
Doron Lamb didn't get any guaranteed money when he signed with the Dallas Mavericks, according to ESPN Dallas' Tim MacMahon, but his touch from behind the rainbow gives a him solid chance at making the roster, more so than someone like Charlie Villanueva.
Of the 323 field goals Lamb has attempted through two seasons in the NBA, 127 (39.3 percent) have come from deep. He's actually converting more of his treys (39.4 percent) than his two-pointers (38.6).
Any long-range acuity should be welcomed on a team that lost one of its premier marksmen in Vince Carter. The Mavericks have plenty of point guards and floor-spacing forwards, and sophomore shooting guard Ricky Ledo could see more playing time, but Lamb can be cheap deep-ball insurance.
Prematurely predict his pink slip at your own risk.
Lou Amundson, Cleveland Cavaliers
7 of 8
Age: 31
Years Experience: 8
Career Per-Game Stats: 12.6 minutes, 3.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.7 blocks, 49.1 percent shooting
This is what desperation looks like.
Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and James give the Cleveland Cavaliers the NBA's best Big Three. They do not give Cleveland a rim protector.
No one—except for maybe haters of awesome—is going to paint the Cavaliers' offseason as poor. Even without a legitimate rim protector they should be the Eastern Conference favorite. But when your best shot-blocker and interior defender could be James himself, you have issues to address.
Lou Amundson—who recently signed with the Cavaliers, per HoopsHype—gives the team a hustle guy who doesn't shy away from contact or contesting shots. He's played in just 58 total games over the last two seasons, but Cleveland cannot be choosy.
Its last line of rim defense is Anderson Varejao at the moment, and he ranked 135th in rim protection last year among 187 players who appeared in at least 50 games and defended two or more point-blank shots a night, according to NBA.com.
Other options are scant in that they don't exist. The Cavaliers are already wild cards when it comes to perimeter defense. They need paint presences not named Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson.
"Our rim protection is going to be an issue moving forward," general manager David Griffin said, per Northeast Ohio Media Group's Chris Fedor. "We would definitely like to improve it. I can't just talk people into getting off of centers, but right now it's something that we look at and think that's an area where we can improve."
In lieu of fruitlessly forcing rival teams to trade centers or watching their interior defense be worse than it needs to be, the Cavaliers can, they should, hang on to Amundson.
Bryce Cotton, San Antonio Spurs
8 of 8
Age: 22
Years Experience: 0
Career Per-Game Stats (College): 33.2 minutes, 15.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 42.1 percent shooting
Need additional proof that the San Antonio Spurs are, in fact, not even close to fair? You've come to the right place.
Bryce Cotton signed a non-guaranteed multiyear deal with the Spurs in July after going undrafted, per RealGM's Shams Charania. With Patty Mills recovering from shoulder surgery, coach Gregg Popovich and crew need a third point guard behind Tony Parker and Cory Joseph, leaving Cotton's chances at sticking somewhere between "really good" and "he'll be a Spur for life."
During his final season at Providence, Cotton set the world on fire, averaging 21.8 points and 5.9 assists in 39.9 minutes per game. He has three-point range—36.7 percent long-ball conversion rate his senior year—and knows how to move the ball, making him an ideal fit for San Antonio's selfless system.
Summer league struggles aren't enough to damage his potential value. Cotton is undersized and a defensive liability against aggressive point guards, but he has the offensive chops to warrant an extensive look.
Plus, it's like David Vertsberger of Hardwood Paroxysm said in July: "He’s still got a long way to go, but Bryce Cotton has shot out of the gates as a potential long-term win for the Spurs. If you need any other reason to believe in Cotton, it’s that the Spurs do, and they’re usually good with this basketball stuff."
So good, they'll recognize Cotton shouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.
