After a long four-monthoffseason, the 2023-24 NBA season officially kicks off on October24. Preseason action is currently underway, with teams evaluatingtheir roster and getting ready for the start of the regularseason.

There were a few roster rulechanges of note this offseason that were introduced as part of thenew CBA. Now, each team can sign up to three two-way players (upfrom two) who are able to play up to 50 games with their NBA teamand spend the rest of their season in the G League. Also, offseasonrosters were originally limited to 20 players but have sinceincreased to 21.

Each team needs to be at 15standard contracts prior to the start of the season, which means afew players on guaranteed deals will have to be cut prior to theseason. While some teams have a pretty set roster, others (like theOklahoma City Thunder) will be forced to part ways with talentedplayers to reach their roster limit.

Looking at the AtlanticDivision, let's see how each team’s lineup is shaping up and whatquestions they may need to answer before the start of theseason.

(This is part one of asix-part series, with more divisional previews comingsoon).

BOSTON CELTICS

Outside of the top-six players, who will be the mostreliable depth option?

After acquiring Jrue Holiday,the Boston Celtics may have the best top-six of any team in theleague. While we can add the Holiday trade to their list ofaggressive offseason transactions, their depth has taken somewhatof a step back.

They will have to replace fourrotation players from last year’s Conference Finals team with a fewplayers who don’t have much experience in playoff situations. Threeplayers who should definitely see more minutes are PaytonPritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet. Pritchard has played well onboth ends of the floor when given an opportunity, notably shooting40% from three-point range over his first three seasons. TheCeltics rewarded him with a team-friendly extension that should seehim take up about 5% of the salary cap over the next four years.Hauser has also been a stellar three-point shooter, knocking down42% since coming into the league.

The frontcourt is probably themost notable weakness on the team’s depth chart. Joe Mazzulla hasexpressed confidence that Kornet should be successful on both ends of thefloor and will be their go-to backup center to start theseason. The preseasonwill be important in determining who else (i.e. Oshae Brissett,Jordan Walsh, Svi Mykhailiuk, etc.) may stand out for Mazzulla andget an opportunity for playing time behind Al Horford and KristapsPorzingis.

Roster Decisions

The Celtics have the leastamount of players on guaranteed contracts in the league (10).However, their roster for opening night is likely set unless theywant to open up flexibility to sign other veteran players or buyoutcandidates later this season. If they choose to cut someone, itwould very likely be a player on a non-guaranteed deal. Mykhailiukand Dalano Banton each have a partial $200,000 guarantee thatincreases to over $1,000,000 if they make the roster. Kornet,Wenyen Gabriel and Lamar Stevens all have non-guaranteedcontracts.

Rotation

Current Roster Count: 19 players (10 guaranteed, 2 partiallyguaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 1Exhibit-10)

Projected Starters: G Jrue Holiday, G/F Jaylen Brown, F JaysonTatum, F/C Al Horford, F/C Kristaps Porzingis

Projected Rotation Players: G Derrick White, G Payton Pritchard, C LukeKornet (non-guaranteed), F Sam Hauser, F Oshae Brissett

Projected Reserves: F Jordan Walsh, G/F Svi Mykhailiuk ($200Kguaranteed), F Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed), G Dalano Banton($200K guaranteed), F Lamar Stevens (non-guaranteed)

Projected Two-Way Players: C Neemias Queta, G JD Davison, G Jay Scrubb(Injured)

Projected Roster Cuts: G DJ Steward (Exhibit-10)

BROOKLYN NETS

What is Ben Simmons' role?

Ben Simmons has only played 42games since being acquired by the Nets in February 2022, dealingwith physical and psychological hurdles that have made him somewhatof an afterthought. Head coach Jacque Vaughn has expressedconfidence that Simmons is now 100% healthy and ready to contributeagain at a high level.

He seems to be penciled in asthe team’s starting point guard, starting in the Nets’ firstpreseason game. Though it was just a small 14-minute sample size,Simmons looked a lot like his former All-Star self. Having notplayed since February 15, he looked athletic, aggressive andconfident before sitting out the second half.

“He attacked the rim, I think heplayed with pace, looked pretty natural out there getting up anddown the floor, communicating with guys into the flow of the game,”Vaughn said, praising his $38-millionman. “Really good tosee.”

Vaughn has some options when itcomes to starting lineups where he could go smaller, with abackcourt of Simmons and Spencer Dinwiddie, or decide to startDorian Finney-Smith and use Mikal Bridges as a bigtwo-guard.

Roster Decisions

Darius Bazley, Harry Giles andTrendon Watford are all on non-guaranteed deals and are vying forthe final two roster spots. The Nets also have an open two-wayspot, which I believe they could potentially use on a playerlike Summer League standout and former Memphis Grizzlies second-rounderKennedy Chandler.

Rotation

Current Roster Count: 18 players (13 guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 2two-way)

Projected Starters: G/F Ben Simmons, G Spencer Dinwiddie, F MikalBridges, F Cameron Johnson, C Nicolas Claxton

Projected Rotation Players: F Dorian Finney-Smith, F Royce O’Neale, GCameron Thomas, G Dennis Smith Jr., C Day’Ron Sharpe

Projected Reserves: G/F Lonnie Walker IV, C Noah Clowney, F DariqWhitehead, F Darius Bazley (Non-Guaranteed), C Harry Giles(Non-Guaranteed)

Projected Two-way Players: G Armoni Brooks, F Jalen Wilson,G Kennedy Chandler* (ProjectedSigning)

Projected Roster Cuts: F Trendon Watford (Non-Guaranteed)

NEW YORK KNICKS

Who will be the first option off the bench?

New York Knicks coach TomThibodeau has his fair share of options to headline his secondunit. In his third year, Immanuel Quickley had his best season todate, finishing as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Yearaward behind Malcolm Brogdon. Quickley was the primary scorer forthe second unit, but he shouldn’t have to carry the entire load onoffense with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo.

DiVincenzo impressed last seasonwith the Golden State Warriors as a reliable bench shooter andshould spot minutes for Quentin Grimes and R.J. Barrett whenoffensive pushes are needed. Josh Hart could also be the team’ssixth man, just like he was during the Knicks’ playoff run. Afterbeing traded from Portland, Hart averaged 30 minutes per gamedespite coming off the bench most of the time. It is worth notingthe Knicks-Villanova connection between Hart, DiVincenzo and JalenBrunson, who should fit seamlessly together on the floor thanks totheir pre-existing chemistry. While unlikely to be the first offthe bench, Isaiah Hartenstein also deserves mention since he hasbeen one of the league’s better backup centers and could see moretime if Mitchell Robinson gets in foul trouble. In terms ofrotation issues, Thibodeau should see this as a good problem tohave regardless of who he brings off the benchfirst.

Roster Decisions

The Knicks have three spots upfor grabs between Ryan Arcidiacono, DaQuan Jeffries, Isaiah Robyand Duane Washington Jr. All are on non-guaranteed deals that won’tbe fully guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date on January10.

Rotation

Current Roster Count: 21 players (12 guaranteed, 4 non-guaranteed, 3two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)

Projected Starters: G Jalen Brunson, G Quentin Grimes, G/F R.J.Barrett, F Julius Randle, C Mitchell Robinson

Projected Rotation Players: G Josh Hart, G Immanuel Quickley, G DonteDiVincenzo, C Isaiah Hartenstein, G Miles McBride

Projected Reserves: G Evan Fournier, C Jericho Sims, F Isaiah Roby(non-guaranteed), G Ryan Arcidiacono (non-guaranteed), G/F DaQuanJeffries (non-guaranteed)

Projected Two-way Players: F/C Nathan Knight, G/F Dylan Windler, F JaylenMartin

Projected Roster Cuts: G Duane Washington Jr. (non-guaranteed), GCharlie Brown Jr. (Exhibit-10), F Jacob Toppin(Exhibit-10)

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Will Tyrese Maxey become more of a creator and how canthat adjust the rotation?

The Sixers’ ceiling iscontingent on how much Tyrese Maxey can improve this season. Maxeyhasn’t needed to be the team’s primary distributor since JamesHarden joined the team, allowing him to blossom into a reliable20-PPG scorer. Regardless of whether Harden’s trade situation isresolved, Maxey will need to become a better creator anddistributor if he wants to take his game to the next level. Priorto Harden’s arrival, Maxey had an impressive 4:1 assist-to-turnoverratio despite his small frame and risk-aversetendencies.

Interestingly, team presidentDaryl Morey has held off on giving Maxey an extension thisoffseason, electing to wait until next summer to pay his buddingyoung guard. Maxey will likely demand near max-level money thatcould harm Philly’s flexibility to go after star players nextoffseason. If he can improve his ball-handling and distributiontendencies, the Sixers’ offense should benefit tremendously,helping the offensive output of players like P.J. Tucker and PaulReed and easing the reliance on De’Anthony Melton and PatrickBeverley.

Roster Decisions

Two players will likely befighting for the Sixers’ final roster spot. The team re-signedveteran Danny Green, who played for the team from 2020 to 2022, toa non-guaranteed deal. They also brought over young big FilipPetrusev, who was drafted by Philadelphia in 2021. Petrusev signeda multi-year deal that was partially guaranteed for $559,782 thisseason and non-guaranteed next year. Although unlikely, the 76erscould also elect to waive Montrezl Harrell despite his deal beingfully guaranteed, as he should miss this season with a tornACL.

Rotation

Current Roster Count: 21 players (14 guaranteed, 1 partiallyGuaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2Exhibit-10)

Projected Starters: G Tyrese Maxey, G James Harden, F P.J. Tucker,F Tobias Harris, C Joel Embiid

Projected Rotation Players: G De’Anthony Melton, G Patrick Beverley, F/CPaul Reed, F/G Kelly Oubre Jr., F Danuel House

Projected Reserves: C Mo Bamba, F Furkan Korkmaz, G Jaden Springer,G/F Danny Green (non-guaranteed), C Montrezl Harrell(injured)

Projected Two-way Players: G Terquavion Smith, G Ricky Council IV, FAzuolas Tubelis

Projected Roster Cuts: F/C Filip Petrusev ($559,782 guaranteed), GDavid Duke Jr. (Exhibit-10), G Javonte Smart(Exhibit-10)

TORONTO RAPTORS

What style does Darko Rajakovic bring to Toronto and whowill benefit the most?

New coach Darko Rajakovicinherits an interesting Raptors team with plenty of talent, butthey may be facing a crossroads in terms of how successful they canbe as a group. Rajakovic is in his first NBA head coaching gigafter three seasons as an assistant with the Grizzlies and is knownaround the league as a pick-and-roll guru.

The idea of the Raptors being aprimary pick-and-roll team became less appealing when they wereunable to retain Fred VanVleet in free agency, replacing him with aless reliable shooter in Dennis Schröder. Instead, Rajakovic willlikely rely on Schröder and his newly paid center Jakob Poeltl formore ball movement and playmaking. Rajakovic compared Poeltl toDomantas Sabonis before the Raptors’ preseason win over theSacramento Kings on October 9 and could use him in a similar role.If Poeltl can be 70% of what Sabonis was last season, it can be ahuge boost to an inconsistent offense.

Roster Decisions

The Raptors have 15 players onguaranteed deals going into the season, but also carry Jeff DowtinJr. on a non-guaranteed deal. Dowtin played on a two-way contractwith Toronto last season, appearing in 25 games. With the rosterfull, Dowtin is unlikely to make the regular-season roster but hehas still impressed the coaching staff thispreseason. If any playeris in danger of losing their roster spot to Dowtin, it would likelybe former first-round pick Malachi Flynn. Dowtin’s deal becomesguaranteed for $900,000 on October 21, four days before the team’sseason opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves. I would expectthe Raptors to make a decision on Dowtin beforethen.

Rotation

Current Roster Count: 21 players (15 guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed,3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)

Projected Starters: G Dennis Schröder, F/G Scottie Barnes, F OGAnunoby, F Pascal Siakam, C Jakob Poeltl

Projected Rotation Players: G Gary Trent Jr., F Precious Achiuwa, F/C ChrisBoucher, F Jalen McDaniels, G/F Gradey Dick

Projected Reserves: F Thaddeus Young, G Malachi Flynn, F OttoPorter Jr., C Christian Koloko, G/F Garrett Temple

Projected Two-way Players: G/F Ron Harper Jr., G Markquis Nowell, G JavonFreeman-Liberty

Projected Roster Cuts: G Jeff Dowtin (non-guaranteed), F MouhamadouGueye (Exhibit-10), C Makur Maker (Exhibit-10)

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