In the NBA’s second apron era, deep rosters can unravel quickly, team identities can flip in an instant and financial moves reshape lineups, according to getmoresports. This summer provided several stark examples: the 2026 champion New York Knicks lost backup center Mitchell Robinson, the 2025 champion Oklahoma City Thunder parted with three rotation players in cost-cutting trades, and the 2024 champion Boston Celtics traded Finals MVP Jaylen Brown. The Minnesota Timberwolves traded frontcourt depth to assemble a backcourt duo, and LeBron James departed the Los Angeles Lakers after eight seasons.
With the offseason settled and the preseason underway, getmoresports notes that salary-cap rules make it difficult for teams to pile talent, so every roster has a notable shortcoming. The Atlanta Hawks, for example, have built a balanced rotation bolstered by offseason additions Luguentz Dort and Aaron Wiggins, but the biggest question is whether 24-year-old Jalen Johnson can grow from All-Star to bona fide superstar. Johnson’s regular-season numbers dropped in a first-round loss to the Knicks, and he enters year two of a five-year, $150 million team-friendly extension. Atlanta retains salary flexibility and draft assets, and none of its other core pieces carry contracts above $25 million this season, according to the report.
The Celtics’ primary hole is replacing Brown’s inside scoring and ability to draw contact after the trade for Paul George, getmoresports states. That move reduced Boston’s on-court free-throw generation: George played under half as many minutes as Brown last season and attempted 111 free throws in 2025-26 compared with Brown’s 536. Boston ranked last in free-throw attempts while Brown was fifth in the league. Jayson Tatum remains an obvious candidate to shoulder more, but he is still working back from a 2025 Achilles injury, and new addition Mitchell Robinson shot 40.8 percent from the stripe last season.
Brooklyn’s most glaring need is a starting center following the departure of Nic Claxton, who was sent to the Chicago Bulls in a multiteam trade that brought back three-time All-Star Julius Randle, according to getmoresports. Pairing Michael Porter Jr. with Randle should help an offense that struggled in 2025-26, but proven options at center are thin. Day’Ron Sharpe and Moritz Wagner are career backups, and the Nets project to have a below-average defense for a seventh consecutive season.
Getmoresports cataloged each team’s primary shortcoming as the league heads into the new season, underscoring that even title contenders enter camp with something to fix.
