5 NBA Rosters That Make Zero Sense

The NBA offseason is a time for introspection. No matter where they are at in their competitive life cycle, franchises use the summer to look inward and determine the best path forward. From powerhouses to early-stage rebuilders, the end result should be a roster that makes sense relative to either the short-term or long-term direction.

But it doesn't always work out that way.

Some teams invariably enter the dead days of the NBA's summer (i.e. right now) and beyond with a collection of talent that poses more questions than answers. These situations can range from singular-but-specific problem areas to sweeping incoherence, and they deserve to be spotlighted.

That's what we'll do here.

Nutshell sore spots will be provided in every case. Again: This isn't necessarily about the entire roster, though it certainly can be. It's more so about squads with smack-you-in-the-face obvious holes that should be addressed before the start of next season.

Charlotte Hornets

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Rookies Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley each have the size of a wing but don't really defend like one. Tidjane Salaün and Miles Bridges are more like tweener forwards, though Bridges' case is debatable. Brandon Miller looms as the only true wing on the roster.

Charlotte is also apparently content to roll forward with a center rotation of Moussa Diabaté, Mason Plumlee and...Ryan Kalkbrenner.

Diabaté is worth further exploration, but it'd be better to have a higher-end option alongside Knueppel, McNeeley, LaMelo Ball and Collin Sexton. A 6'6" Grant Williams doesn't do the trick.

It suddenly feels like the Hornets are over-indexing on guards. Tre Mann and Spencer Dinwiddie are also on the roster. Ditto for Nick Smith Jr.

Charlotte would do well to figure out how it can turn Josh Green or Pat Connaughton (or someone else) into true-wing depth and/or a center upgrade.

Boston Celtics

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Preparing to go through a gap year while Jayson Tatum recovers from an Achilles injury doesn't give the Boston Celtics a license to trot out their current frontline—unless the goal is to tank their hearts out. With both Jaylen Brown and Derrick White still in tow, we have to assume that's not plan A.

Beantown's 4-5 rotation is currently populated by Sam Hauser, Georges Niang, Xavier Tillman, Neemias Queta, Josh Minnott and Luka Garza. That is rough. Especially when it's only a matter of time before Hauser or Niang ambles his way onto the chopping block as the Celtics continue to slash operating costs.

Perhaps Boston will snare another 4 and/or 5 as part of subsequent trades. Or maybe it's secretly hoping Al Horford will get tired of being held hostage by restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga and return on the minimum.

Whatever the Celtics are doing here, no matter how out-of-the-mix they're attempting to be, the frontcourt needs more juice.

New Orleans Pelicans

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Flipping the No. 23 pick and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder to move up 10 spots and draft Derik Queen is a clear-cut signal the New Orleans Pelicans are planning to be really good. You do not surrender an unprotected first otherwise.

Here's the thing: being "really good" while heavily dependent on two rookies (Queen and Jeremiah Fears), an injury-prone cornerstone (Zion Williamson) and an absentee-for-the-time-being lead guard (Dejounte Murray) is a long-shot.

New Orleans' outlook is made all the more complicated by Queen's left wrist injury that required surgery, which won't be re-evaluated until basically the regular season starts.

You can absolutely talk yourself into Zion remaining relatively healthy and lighting it up, because that at least looms as a possibility. The Pelicans also have a smattering of other impact players on the roster, including Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Yves Missi and Jordan Poole.

But that core doesn't have the bones of a contender. At the very least, the Pelicans feel one floor-spacer and elite rim protector short. (Fears and Queen, for the record, check neither of those boxes.)

Which raises the question: If the plan is to be really good, why hasn't New Orleans done more to be, you know, really good? Its offseason is either half-baked or woefully out of touch with the conference in which it plays.

Phoenix Suns

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Buying out Bradley Beal leaves the Phoenix Suns with one fewer shooting guard. They now have, approximately, 11 left.

I'm kidding. Sort of. The depth chart is funny-looking, but this is mostly a callout to the complete absence of a point guard.

Devin Booker is capable of some serious playmaking lifts but overtaxed when saddled with primary facilitation and scoring responsibilities. He has also always seemed at his best alongside more dynamic bigs. Phoenix has exactly one of those (Oso Ighodaro).

The rest of the Suns' center rotation is stockpiled with a bunch of rim-running 5s: Khaman Maluach, Mark Williams and Nick Richards. All of them will be at a disservice without a higher-end lob-throwing tactician by their side.

This rings doubly (and painfully) true for Maluach, the No. 10 overall pick in this past June's draft who looked desperate for a veteran floor general during his summer-league stint.

Counting on Booker, Jalen Green and Collin Gillespie to undertake point guard responsibilities will work in dribs and drabs. It is not a recipe for optimizing the current roster and its overall offensive ceiling.

Sacramento Kings

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Domantas Sabonis specifically called for the Sacramento Kings to add a point guard this summer. They responded by overpaying the point guard-adjacent Dennis Schröder.

Between him, Keon Ellis, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk and Devin Carter, Sacramento seems obsessed with beating out the Phoenix Suns for the "Team with the Most Guards Who aren't Actually Point Guards" throne.

DeMar DeRozan is a forward on defense but a guard on offense, and I'm giving Nique Clifford a fringe-wing designation because he's awesome.

Then, we have the whole Jonas Valančiūnas thing. Landing him in advance of last year's trade deadline was an excellent move by Sacramento. Now the Kings are sitting on a big-man rotation behind Sabonis headlined by Dario Šarić, Drew Eubanks and Isaac Jones.

After all of this, there is only one question left to ask: Why is Doug McDermott back? Which current member of the Chicago Bulls will Sacramento deal for next?

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Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.