NBA Roster Management Analysis

18 Sep 2023 • Sports

During the 2023 NBA playoffs I saw a lot of chatter about the Golden State Warriors’ roster and if their reported “two timelines” approach would work as they attempted to repeat as NBA champions. Of course, they did not repeat as champions as the Denver Nuggets ascended to the throne and claimed their first NBA title. However, it got me thinking about the makeup of contenders’ rosters and particularly how they allocate roster spots and minutes to younger players. Conventional wisdom is that contenders rely on star veterans for the main contributions, but use late career vets looking for a ring over a payday and cheap first contract players to balance out their rosters and offset the higher salaries of their stars. The goal was determining to what degree that is true, how it differs across subsets of teams, and if it has changed over time.

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