Portland Trail Blazers: Roster set at 14 players for start of regular season

By waiving three training camp players the Portland Trail Blazers have locked their roster at 14 players to start the season. Why is this a good move?

The Portland Trail Blazers waived Keljin Blevins, Troy Caupain and London Perrantes on Friday, bringing their roster to 14 spots. As all three of these were camp deals, it means the Blazers didn’t use any of their cap space this season on these three. How does this affect the team moving forward and why do we think they will leave the roster at 14 till at least the new year?

Roster Limits

The NBA limits teams rosters to 15 during the regular season and post season until the teams season is finished. After that respective teams can go over or under that number until the regular season starts again. The Blazers now have 14 on the roster, the minimum imposed by the league.

Cap Space

First and foremost, the Blazers are over the cap and are also deep into the luxury tax. By keeping 14 players on the roster they reduce any extra luxury tax penalties. An example of this saving would be signing a player to a two million contract today, rather than in January or February when it was necessary. If they signed the player in February then the salary is pro-rated, meaning that rather than earning two million the signed player would earn a fraction of the two million depending on how many days are left in the season. In the Blazers case they are in no rush to sign a fifteenth player so can save on some salary and luxury tax.

Roster Flexibility

Injuries are part and parcel when it comes to the NBA. You never know when they are going to happen. Having one roster spot up your sleeve is always a smart play. Being able to add a player to cover for when someone is injured could be vital come playoff time. Also having another spare spot means in the event of a trade, you can send one player away and bring two back. This makes it easier when it comes to matching salaries in trades.

Two-way Players

WIth the signing of Moses Brown, the Blazers now have both two-way players spots filled. This means that each two-way player can spend up to 45 days with the team. With Hassan Whiteside‘s recent injury, the signing of Brown means the Blazers can use those 45 days if they feel like they are light at the center position on a certain night.

Blazers management have made the right call by keeping the roster at 14 players for now. They have depth across the board and can wait and see how the season pans out before deciding on that last spot. With young players and new signings alike, Blazers management have again put together a strong roster. In a few days we can see how they perform.