Southwest has some space, except in Houston
The teams in the Southwest Division of the NBA have much better payroll cap situations than the tight-on-space teams in the Northwest Division. But they generally have more roster holes to fill. With the Southwest, we continue our daily look at the roster situations for each team as the NBA's free agency period nears:
San Antonio Spurs
Under contract: DeMar DeRozan $27.7M, LaMarcus Aldridge $26.0M, Patty Mills $12.4M, Davis Bertans $7.0M, Marco Belinelli $5.8M, Jakob Poeltl $3.8M, Bryn Forbes $2.9M, Lonnie Walker $2.8M, Dejounte Murray $2.3M, Derrick White $1.9M, Chimezie Metu $1.4M. Unrestricted free agent: Rudy Gay, Dante Cunningham, Quincy Pondexter, Donatas Motiejunas. Dead cap obligations: Pau Gasol $6.7M. Guaranteed total: $100.8M.
Payroll outlook: Spurs are under the cap, which is projected at $109 million. That's more space than most teams, but not enough to chase a big-name free agent.
Houston Rockets
Under contract: Chris Paul $38.5M, James Harden $38.15M, Clint Capela $16.4M, Eric Gordon $14.1M, P.J. Tucker $8.3M. Unrestricted free agent: Iman Shumpert, Gerald Green, Austin Rivers, Kenneth Faried. Restricted free agent: Daniel House. Player option: Nene Hilario $3.8M.
Team option: Chris Chiozza $1.4M, Isaiah Hartenstein $1.4M, Gary Clark $1.4M, Michael Frazier $1.4M. Guaranteed total: $125M. Payroll outlook: Maxed out. The Rockets have no space, and they have a few holes to fill, considering some rotational players are free agents.
Dallas Mavericks
Under contract: Tim Hardaway Jr. $20.0M, Courtney Lee $12.8M, Luka Doncic $7.7M, Justin Jackson $3.3M, Jalen Brunson $1.4M. Unrestricted free agent: J.J. Barea, Devin Harris, Trey Burke. Restricted free agent: Kristaps Porzingis, Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber. Player option: Dwight Powell $10.3M. Team option: Ryan Broekhoff $1.4M. Dead cap obligations: Ray Spaulding $0.7M. Guaranteed totals: $54.4M. Payroll outlook: Mark Cuban has lots of money to spend. Porzingis is the first priority, but the Mavs have space even beyond that.
New Orleans Pelicans
Under contract: Anthony Davis $27.1M, Jrue Holiday $27.0M, Solomon Hill $12.8M, E'Twaun Moore $8.7M. Player option: Julius Randle $9.1M.
Team option: Jahlil Okafor $1.7M, Christian Wood, Frank Jackson $1.6M, Kenrich Williams $1.4M, Dairis Bertans $1.4M. Unrestricted free agent: Elfrid Payton, Darius Miller, Ian Clark.
Restricted free agent: Stanley Johnson, Cheick Diallo.
Guaranteed totals: $88.8M.
Payroll outlook: Until an Anthony Davis trade is made, who knows? The Pelicans have more cap space than most teams, but until it knows what a Davis trade has brought, the Pelicans can't do too much planning.
Memphis Grizzlies
Under contract: Mike Conley $32.5M, Chandler Parsons $25.1M, Kyle Anderson $9.1M, C.J. Miles $8.7M, Jaren Jackson $6.9M, Jevon Carter $1.4M. Player option: Jonas Valanciunas $17.6M.
Team option: Avery Bradley $13.0M, Bruno Cabocio $1.8M, Ivan Rabb $1.6M, Dillon Brooks $1.6M. Unrestricted free agent: Justin Holiday, Joakim Noah, Tyler Zeller. Restricted free agent: Delon Wright, Tyler Dorsey. Dead cap obligations: Dakari Johnson $0.5M. Guaranteed totals: $86.5M. Payroll outlook: Not great. The Grizzlies were way over the cap this season and won't be far from the cap next season, with a roster that is completely deficient.