Rosters are set: 17 open spots, four two-way seats and a waiver wire led by Porter, Knecht and Clayton

The NBA’s opening-night roster deadline passed at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, and the league starts the 2026-27 season with more empty chairs than usual. Bobby Marks tallied 17 open standard roster spots and four open two-way slots across the 30 teams, with roughly 95 percent of all contracts now guaranteed.

Start of the season roster tally

95% of contracts guaranteed

17 open roster spots

4 open Two Way's

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 19, 2026

Those openings matter right away, because Monday’s last-minute cuts put a group of real rotation players on waivers at the same moment. Kevin Porter Jr., Dalton Knecht and Walter Clayton Jr. were all released after the Bucks, Lakers and Grizzlies spent the final days looking for trades and could not find one they liked, Marc Stein reported. Any team with an open spot can try to claim them before they reach free agency.

Monday’s waiver class

Players placed on waivers Monday sit there for 48 hours, so this group clears at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 21. That is a day after opening night, and only hours before most teams tip off their first game.

Player	Released by	2026-27 salary at stake	Contract notes
Kevin Porter Jr.	Bucks	$5.39 million, fully guaranteed	Expiring; he picked up his player option in June
Dalton Knecht	Lakers	$4.2 million cap hit	No salary owed for 2027-28
Walter Clayton Jr.	Grizzlies	About $4.2 million	2025 No. 18 pick, on his rookie-scale deal
Micah Peavy	Grizzlies	About $2.2 million	Nothing guaranteed beyond this season
Dwight Powell	Mavericks	$1 million guaranteed	Minimum deal; 12 seasons in Dallas
Sean Pedulla	Rockets	Non-guaranteed	Released as Houston converted Oscar Tshiebwe and Julian Phillips to two-ways
Koby Brea, CJ Huntley	Suns	Non-guaranteed	Phoenix then claimed Drew Timme and moved Duop Reath to a two-way
Adam Flagler	Kings	Two-way	Sacramento’s two-way slot is now open

A claim is not a bargain signing. The claiming team takes on the player’s contract exactly as written, so it needs an open roster spot and either enough cap room or a trade exception big enough to absorb the salary. Minimum-salary players like Powell are the exception: any team with a spot can claim them. That is why Porter, at $5.39 million, is more likely to clear than to be claimed, even after averaging 17.4 points, 7.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds in 38 games for Milwaukee last season. If he clears, the Bucks keep paying him, and he can sign anywhere for whatever a new team offers.

Clayton and Knecht are the more interesting cases. Both are on rookie-scale contracts with team options ahead of them, and those option decisions are due within the next two weeks. A team that claims either player would take on this season’s salary at a moderate price and also inherit that option decision, which gives it a cheap way to look at a recent first-round pick without committing past this season.

Who has room

Most of the 17 open spots belong to teams that chose to sit at 14 for tax or apron reasons, not teams that are hunting for help. Chicago kept its 15th spot open by choice. Portland let Jeremy Sochan go and left its spot open. Indiana is hard-capped at the first apron and cannot fit even a full veteran minimum for now. Cleveland and Philadelphia are also at 14 under hard caps, and the Knicks stopped at 14 rather than keep Bruce Brown and climb toward the second apron.

Sacramento is the team to watch. The Kings carry 14 standard contracts, and releasing Flagler on Monday opened one of their three two-way spots, with Jonathan Mogbo and Leaky Black holding the other two. With Ben Simmons hurt, the Kings checked in on both Clayton and Porter before the deadline. They can now claim one of them outright or wait until Wednesday and try to sign a guard who clears for less.

The two-way market is even thinner. Sacramento’s opening is the newest of the four. Minnesota said over the weekend it would keep one two-way spot open to see who shook loose, and Milwaukee had a slot available as it weighed bringing Pete Nance back. Stein reported that several contenders were ready to offer Nance a two-way deal of their own once he cleared.

Already free agents

The players cut late last week cleared waivers before Monday’s deadline and are unrestricted free agents now. That group includes Sochan, Brown, Nance, Haywood Highsmith, Pat Connaughton and Kobe Bufkin. Because minimum salaries are prorated by the days left in the season, the cost of signing any of them goes down every day. The Pacers are counting on exactly that: they hope to bring back James Johnson once his prorated minimum fits under their apron.

A look at the Cason Wallace and Brandon Miller rookie extension.

Plus breaking down the Monday roster moves. https://t.co/Pw2pQyNehB via @YouTube

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) October 20, 2026

What to watch

• Wednesday, October 21, 5 p.m. ET: claims or clears for Porter, Knecht, Clayton, Peavy, Powell, Pedulla, Brea, Huntley and Flagler.
• Sacramento’s open two-way spot and 15th standard spot, with Clayton and Porter the obvious fits.
• The next two weeks: rookie-scale option decisions, including whoever ends up holding Clayton’s and Knecht’s.
• January 7: the last day to waive players on non-guaranteed deals before their salaries become fully guaranteed on January 10.