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The NBA offseason felt terribly busy, with free agency opening just two days after the draft and training camps starting about 10 days later. As hectic as those two weeks were, however, they didn’t really feature much player movement relative to a typical offseason.
A year ago, for example, when we analyzed the teams with the greatest and least continuity in the squad from year to year, we discovered that only one team was bringing in 13 players (counting back and forth) from their previous squad, while a total of four had 11 or more returning players.
This time, seven clubs will bring back 13 or more players from their 2019/20 season-ending rosters, and a total of 18 teams will have 11 or more returning players. the Bulls and Pacers lead the way, having led over 14 players each.
While the condensed offseason was an exciting November, quick turnaround likely also played a role in teams’ decisions to stay relatively calm. Without a Summer League or the opportunity for offseason mini-camps, teams haven’t had much time to integrate new players and have generally opted for as much continuity as possible.
Of course, while that may have been the rule of thumb for the 2020 offseason, it certainly doesn’t apply to all teams. A year ago, seven teams, including eventual champion Lakers, recovered just six players from their 2018/19 rosters. This time, two clubs had such a turnover.
Of those two clubs, one – the Pistons – exhibited impressive disregard for the continuity of the roster, retaining only four players (Blake griffin, Derrick Rose, Rescue Doumbouyaand Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk) from last season’s roster. That’s the lowest number of returning players a team has had to start a season since the Celtics in 2017.
Here is the number of returning players for each of the 30 NBA teams, from highest to lowest:
- Chicago Bulls: 14
Indiana Pacers: 14 - Boston Celtics: 13
Brooklyn Networks: 13
Memphis Grizzlies: 13
Miami Heat: 13
San Antonio Spurs: 13 - Golden State Warriors: 12
Orlando Magic: 12 - Cleveland Cavaliers: 11
Los Angeles Clippers: 11
Los Angeles Lakers: 11
Minnesota Timberwolves: 11
New York Knicks: 11
Sacramento Kings: 11
Toronto Raptors: 11
Utah Jazz: 11
Wizards of Washington: 11 - Charlotte Hornets: 10
Dallas Mavericks: 10
Denver Nuggets: 10 - Portland Trail Blazers: 9
- Atlanta Falcons: 8
Houston Rockets: 8
New Orleans Pelicans: 8
Phoenix Suns: 8 - Milwaukee Bucks: 7
Philadelphia 76ers: 7 - Oklahoma City Thunder: 6
- Detroit Pistons: 4
