NBA Opening Night Rosters: Who Made Them And Who Didn't?

by Scott Schroeder on Oct 26, 2025 10:01 AM EDT in NBA Training Camp News

The opening night of the NBA is, well, tonight and even though that makes me happier than Screech the time he and Lisa were husband and wife for a class project, I can't help but look at the past month's roster cuts and think about what might have been.

I mean wouldn't it have been fun if Matt Rogers, the 6-foot-11 center out of Division II Southwestern Baptist University who describes himself as "tall, goofy and different", were able to make the Charlotte Bobcats roster? Who didn't want to see Anthony Mason (Junior!) sitting on the Miami Heat bench when Pat Riley decides to make his return to coaching? Lance Allred fit right in on the Indiana Pacers, but the NBA's silly 15-player maximum rule did him in and last, but not least, what if Tweety Carter and Longar Longer would have made the Oklahoma City Thunder's roster? We could have a "who has the best name in the NBA" contest and only have included Thunder players!

Instead, we'll be subject to see Melvin Ely, Brian Scalabrine, Joe Alexander, D.J. Mbenga and the always exciting Malik Allen - among others - sitting on the bench while browsing through NBA League Pass Broadband while bored on a Friday night.

Life isn't fair, really. There were 154 players that received some sort of contract during this preseason and just 44 of those players lasted until yesterday's roster cut deadline. There were 42 rookies in camp without guaranteed contracts, but only 11 were able to start their career in the NBA. There were 32 players that played in the D-League last season, but only five start the season with an NBA contract with a return to the D-League being the decision facing the other 27 who were thisclose to sticking this season.

As a reminder as to why life isn't fair, I've decided to list every player that didn't have a guaranteed contract after the jump (with some help from the always lovely ShamSports), breaking it down by players that were able to make today's opening day rosters as well as those that weren't so lucky (have fun in Serbia, Oliver Lafayette!).

First, the players that made it:

Boston Celtics - Von Wafer, Delonte West
Charlotte Bobcats - Derrick Brown, Sherron Collins
Chicago Bulls - Brian Scalabrine
Cleveland Cavaliers - Manny Harris, Samardo Samuels, Jawad Williams
Dallas Mavericks - Brian Cardinal, Steve Novak
Denver Nuggets - Melvin Ely, Gary Forbes
Golden State Warriors - Jeff Adrien, Rodney Carney, Jeremy Lin
Houston Rockets - Ishmael Smith
Indiana Pacers - Josh McRoberts, A.J. Price
Los Angeles Clippers - Jason Collins, Willie Warren
Memphis Grizzlies - Acie Law
Milwaukee Bucks - Darington Hobson, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Minnesota Timberwolves - Maurice Ager
New Jersey Nets - Ben Uzoh
New Orleans Hornets - Joe Alexander, D.J. Mbenga, Pops Mensah-Bonsu
New York Knicks - Shawne Williams
Orlando Magic - Malik Allen
Phoenix Suns - Matt Janning, Garret Siler
Portland Trail Blazers - Patty Mills
Sacramento Kings - Luther Head, Darnell Jackson
San Antonio Spurs - Alonzo Gee, Bobby Simmons, Garrett Temple
Toronto Raptors - Joey Dorsey, Sonny Weems
Utah Jazz - Jeremy Evans
Washington Wizards - Lester Hudson, Cartier Martin, Hamady N'Diaye

And now the players that didn't make it:

Atlanta Hawks - Evan Brock, Ricardo Marsh, Richard Delk
Boston Celtics - Mario West, Chris Johnson, Jamar Smith, Stephane Lasme, Oliver Lafayette, Tony Gaffney, Tiny Gallon
Charlotte Bobcats - Javaris Crittenton, Darius Miles, Matt Rogers
Chicago Bulls - Roger Powell, John Lucas III, Kyle Weaver
Cleveland Cavaliers - Cedric Jackson, Tasmin Mitchell, Loren Woods, Greg Stiemsma
Dallas Mavericks - Adam Haluska, Dee Brown, Rashad McCants, Sean Williams
Denver Nuggets - Courtney Sims, Eric Boateng, Shane Edwards
Detroit Pistons - Ike Diogu, Vernon Hamilton
Golden State Warriors - Aaron Miles, Cheyne Gadson, James Mays, Vernon Goodridge
Houston Rockets - Antonio Anderson, Patrick Sullivan, Jordan Eglseder, Jerel McNeal, Mike Harris
Indiana Pacers - Lance Allred, Magnum Rolle
Los Angeles Clippers - Marqus Blakely, Jake Voskuhl, Jon Scheyer, Stephen Dennis
Los Angeles Lakers - Drew Naymick, Anthony Roberson, Russell Hicks, Trey Johnson
Memphis Grizzlies - Damien Wilkins, Kenny Thomas, Josh Davis, Luke Jackson, Tre Kelley
Miami Heat - Anthony Mason Jr., Mickell Gladness, Shavlik Randolph, Kenny Hasbrouck, Da'Sean Butler
Milwaukee Bucks - Tiny Gallon, Brian Skinner, Billy Rush, Chris Kramer, Tory Jackson
Minnesota Timberwolves - Jason Hart, John Thomas, DerMarr Johnson
New Jersey Nets - Sean May, Eddie Gill, Andre Brown, Brian Zoubek
New Orleans Hornets - Mustafa Shakur, Curtis Jerrells, D.J. Strawberry, Darryl Watkins
New York Knicks - Patrick Ewing Jr.
Oklahoma City Thunder - Jerome Dyson, Elijah Millsap, Tweety Carter, Longar Longar
Orlando Magic - Stanley Robinson
Philadelphia 76ers - Chris Quinn, James Florence, Trent Plaisted
Phoenix Suns - Dwayne Jones, Zabian Dowdell, Chucky Atkins
Portland Trail Blazers - Dwight Lewis, Raymond Sykes, Seth Tarver, Steven Hill, Eric Williams
Sacramento Kings - Donald Sloan, Connor Atchley, Marcus Landry, Joe Crawford, J.R. Giddens
San Antonio Spurs - James Gist, Kirk Penney, Thomas Gardner, Marcus Cousin, Kevin Palmer
Toronto Raptors - Ronald Dupree
Utah Jazz - Sundiata Gaines, Othyus Jeffers, Demetris Nichols, Ryan Thompson
Washington Wizards - Adam Morrison, Kevin Palmer, Mardy Collins, Sean Marks

Kind of depressing, no?

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