5 NBA Rosters That Make Absolutely No Sense
The NBA offseason is all about collecting roster pieces in hopes of one day completing the puzzle.
From win-right-this-second contenders to long-term rebuilders with both eyes on the future, every franchise has a vision of what it hopes to put together.
Or, that should be how things work, anyway.
With that kind of alignment, outside observers should be able to discern the overall aim and the general timeline. Look at the following five rosters, though, and you'll struggle to make sense of what they're hoping to accomplish and how they envision it ever getting done.
Boston Celtics
1 of 5
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
For ages, the Celtics have made the short list of the league's most consistent clubs, both in their purpose and their production. If they weren't direct participants in the championship race, they were at least a big worry for the teams that were.
But something happened this summer that convinced them they had to break apart the title-winning tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Like, immediately. And no matter what the market offered in return, apparently.
The Celtics, as president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told reporters, gained "optionality" with the trade by not having 70 percent of the cap tied up in the Jays. That financial crunch would've made team-building tricky.
Counter point: Boston had already constructed a heavyweight contender.
Without Brown—an All-NBA second-teamer this past season—the Celtics just lowered their ceiling with the 28-year-old Tatum, a four-time All-NBA first-teamer, in the heart of his prime.
Where is this all headed? Not super long-term, because a team following the lead of Tatum, 32-year-old Derrick White and 36-year-old Paul George clearly isn't thinking in those terms. If the window to win wasn't bolted shut by this baffling blockbuster, then it's open right now with incredible urgency to act.
So, where's the urgency with the rest of this roster? The downgrade from Brown to George isn't going to be completely covered up by the development of Hugo González, Baylor Scheierman and Jordan Walsh. Is the arrival of seldom-upright reserve Mitchell Robinson supposed to offset the downgrade at forward?
Boston backtracked at a time when its best player should be having his best years. And it did so while strengthening a division rival and seeing several Eastern Conference clubs make major splashes.
Even with time to process this trade, it remains a big-time puzzler.
Miami Heat
2 of 5
The Miami Heat were obviously obsessed with the idea of adding Giannis Antetokounmpo. He'd been the focus of their annual whale hunts for years. They needed a difference-maker, and they found one of the league's truest examples of one.
But, uh, they do know he can't actually conquer the Association by himself, right?
He has another All-Star alongside him in Bam Adebayo, but that's an awkward fit. For all of the digital ink spilled about Adebayo's growth as an outside shooter—a theoretically crucial component of these two co-existing—he made fewer than 32 percent of his long-range looks this past season. It was a bottom-20 splash rate among the 707 times someone has launched 400-plus threes.
These bigs will clearly need help from Miami's perimeter players to make this work, but the Heat basically shipped out all the viable ones they had to get Giannis. At this point, they might be rolling out a starting perimeter group with Davion Mitchell (three teams in five seasons), Andrew Wiggins (a one-time All-Star) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (shooting specialist).
There is one quanity-plus-quality shooter (Hardaway), and that's all he brings to the table. Perimeter shot-creation looks even more sparse. Does Pelle Larsson have a star turn no one sees coming? Is rookie second-rounder Ryan Conwell ready for rotation minutes? And will he shoot it better than he did at Louisville (41/35/83 slash)?
Coach Erik Spoelstra mines hidden gems better than anyone in the profession, but even his sorcery will be tested with what little Miami has left behind after emptying the asset collection.
New Orleans Pelicans
3 of 5
The Pelicans remain firmly committed to a core that hasn't proved it can stay healthy or make any kind of on-court noise if it ever does. Despite amassing an atrocious 117 losses over the past two seasons, New Orleans doesn't sound remotely interested in fielding trade offers.
Why not? This has perpetually been a seller's market—well, for everyone but the Celtics. And the Pels could've used that to their advantage. Teams are ready, willing and able to pay a small fortune for Trey Murphy III. Herbert Jones should appeal to everyone in need of a big-wing stopper. Even Zion Williamson might be movable after making more than 60 appearances in two of the past three seasons.
But nope. New Orleans isn't remotely interested in changing things up. Not even with obvious overlap and redundancy with some veteran holdovers and key members of its young core (like Williamson and Derik Queen or Dejounte Murray and Jeremiah Fears).
They don't have nearly enough shooting. Or size. Or defense. Or playmaking.
These are the kinds of across-the-board warts you'd expect to see in a starting-from-scratch rebuilder. But a big chunk of this roster, which isn't particularly cheap, is either already in its prime or right on the cusp of it.
This is just a confounding level of commitment to this journey on the road to nowhere.
Portland Trail Blazers
4 of 5
The Trail Blazers realize that positionless basketball isn't actually positionless, right? Traditional designations might be more blurred than ever, but they do still exist.
That makes you wonder what exactly Portland has planned for its mass of point guards and centers. Or its total dearth of frontcourt depth.
Only the Blazers' brass looked at this roster and somehow pictured Ja Morant as the missing piece on a team already featuring Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday. Not to mention, its best player, Deni Avdija, works best on the ball. And you'd think Shaedon Sharpe, who is a 20-points-per-game player and split his time between point and shooting guard last season, needs plenty of touches, too.
Yet, Portland reportedly "does not feel it is essential to unload one of its guards," per The Athletic's Jason Quick. Of course, that report also characterized the Blazers being "in the market to make another deal" and noted "they want more big-man depth and realize they have a logjam of four point guards," so connect these dots as you see fit.
But hey, at least the crowded backcourt helps distract from the Blazers bringing Robert Williams III back on a three-year, $43.5 million deal to keep the center rotation just as congested. Even if the plan is to piggyback Williams with Donovan Clingan to fill the 48 minutes at the 5, does that mean hope is already abandoned for 2025 first-round pick (and annual Summer League sensation) Yang Hansen?
Throw in the fact there's almost literally no one behind Avdija and Toumani Camara at the forward spots, and this reads more like a fantasy team than an NBA roster.
Sacramento Kings
5 of 5
It isn't entirely Sacramento's fault that it winds up here. Or rather, the current Kings are stuck paying for the sins of their past.
While they've managed to extract enough value to start the young-core-forming process with Maxime Raynaud, Darius Acuff Jr., Nique Clifford and Dylan Cardwell, they're forced to work around the margins to due to previous major misfires. And it definitely doesn't help that Keegan Murray seems a less-than-certain member of that core, given his statistical regression.
Still, Sacramento is stuck between eras. It's surely hoping for a clean break from its previous chapter, but folks aren't buying what they're trying to sell. So, they're stuck giving prime payroll space and tons of touches and floor time to leftover veterans like Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Malik Monk and De'Andre Hunter.
The Kings aren't as much "confusing" as they are depressing. There seems to be a clear objective to orchestrate an overdue reset. It just isn't clear when or how that will happen.
So, they're left doing what they can to make the most of a tough situation. And that means carrying around one of the least coherent rosters. They have too many bigs, too many score-first guards and not enough competence on the wings.
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