The Ideal NBA Team: A Roster of Valuable Contracts
Salary management in the NBA has never been so crucial. With the severe penalties imposed by the current collective bargaining agreement for teams that exceed the luxury tax limits, it is imperative that franchises intelligently manage their finances, both to accumulate as much talent as possible and to maintain continuity.While some teams are willing to exceed the tax, others see it as a salary cap. This is the basis of the second edition of the “NBA All-Contract Team”, a concept that debuted last year. The goal is to create the best possible roster without exceeding the luxury tax, which this season is $187.89 million. In this way, this team could theoretically exist in any of the 28 league markets.
The tax line is not the only restriction for building this template. There will also be no maximum salaries or rookie scale contracts, nor minimum one-year contracts. Injured players who would normally be under consideration are unavailable, as the goal of this exercise is to build a team that can take the court and compete today, rather than a theoretical team “if they were healthy”. Here is the 15-player roster, with a trio of All-Stars and some returning names from last season’s group.Base
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks (Captain)Contract: $34.9 million No player has better embodied the idea of a valuable contract than Brunson since he arrived in New York in 2022. Brunson has become one of the best players in the league, but also one of its best bargains. The four-year, $100 million deal he agreed to that offseason is one of the best free agent contracts in league history. Brunson’s most recent extension, signed in 2024 and taking effect this season, is also well below market value, which has allowed New York to build a deep roster around him, including OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns. On the court, Brunson’s production continues to speak for itself. He remains an efficient and high-volume scorer, averaging 26.7 points and 6.2 assists for New York this season. And after being named NBA Clutch Player of the Year in 2025, Brunson remains in the top 10 in clutch points per game this season.Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics
Contract: $7.2 million Pritchard returns after going from NBA Sixth Man of the Year to a full-time starting role this season in Boston. Pritchard is averaging career highs in points (17.1), rebounds (4.1), and assists (5.4) per game in an expanded role after Jrue Holiday’s departure and with Jayson Tatum missing the season to date with his Achilles tendon tear. Pritchard’s $7.2 million salary represents less than 5% of the salary cap, and he is under contract for two more seasons at $7.8 and $8.3 million, respectively.Ryan Rollins, Milwaukee Bucks
Contract: $4 million After playing a total of 25 games in his first two NBA seasons with the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards and the Bucks, Rollins has matured this year with Milwaukee. The 6-foot-3-inch point guard, who doesn’t turn 24 until July, has become a full-time starter in the wake of Damian Lillard’s Achilles tendon rupture last season and his subsequent resignation last summer. Rollins is recording career highs in several categories, including points (16.8), rebounds (4.7), assists (5.5), and steals (1.5) per game, and has a fantastic contract worth $4 million both this year and next, before a $4 million player option for the 2027-28 season.Bodyguards
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta Hawks
Contract: $15.1 million Alexander-Walker received a $10 million raise in the offseason and still makes this list for the second consecutive season. In a league where all teams are looking for guards who can shoot from three and defend, as well as make some plays for others, Alexander-Walker has shown the ability to do all three things as a starter in Atlanta, where he signed after leaving the Minnesota Timberwolves in free agency last summer. He’s another player on this roster who is posting career highs in points (19.8), rebounds (3.5), assists (3.7), and steals (1.2) in an expanded role in Atlanta, and should remain a bargain over the final three years of his four-year, $62 million contract.Sam Merrill, Cleveland Cavaliers
Contract: $8.4 million After wandering the league for a couple of years at the beginning of his career, Merrill has found a home in Cleveland, where the front office essentially chose him over Ty Jerome last summer. While Merrill has had some injury issues, he has justified that investment with a fantastic year. Merrill, who will turn 30 in May, has been one of the league’s best three-point shooters this season, with 45.8% from the 3-point line on more than seven attempts per game. He is also a credible defender, as the Cavs’ unit is a few points stingier with him on the court. His four-year, $36 million contract will age well and gives Cleveland a valuable third guard to play with Donovan Mitchell or James Harden.Cam Spencer, Memphis Grizzlies
Contract: $2.5 million In another season plagued by injuries in Memphis, Spencer’s growth has been positive. The number 53 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, Spencer has become a reliable starter for the Grizzlies this year, averaging 11.4 points and 5.5 assists while shooting 44% from the 3-point line. Spencer’s contract is worth less than 2% of this year’s salary cap and two more seasons. A team option at the end of the contract will give the Grizzlies the opportunity to keep him for a long time.Eaves
Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers
Contract: $14.4 million While Brunson might be the captain of this team, it could be argued that Avdija is the best value in the entire league after becoming an All-Star since being traded to Portland from the Washington Wizards. Every team is looking for a 6-foot-8-inch forward who can dribble, pass, and shoot, all of which Avdija has demonstrated as the Trail Blazers’ primary option over the past year. Between this season and the next two, he is earning less than $40 million in total. He would easily get more than that annually if he were an unrestricted free agent this offseason.Ayo Dosunmu, Minnesota Timberwolves
Contract: $7.5 million While Minnesota has felt the loss of Alexander-Walker after he left as a free agent this summer, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly found a suitable replacement for him at the trade deadline when he acquired Dosunmu from the Bulls in exchange for a collection of second-round picks. Dosunmu has become a quality three-point shooter, hitting over 44% this season in his time in Minnesota and Chicago, and can do enough defensively and with the ball to give coach Chris Finch the change of pace this group has needed all season. He is likely to get a considerable raise from his $7.5 million as a free agent this summer.Julian Champagnie, San Antonio Spurs
Contract: $3 million San Antonio long ago earned its reputation as one of the savviest operations in the NBA, and the 6-foot-7 forward has become the franchise’s latest low-profile find. A perfect 3-and-D wing to play alongside San Antonio’s dominant ball-handlers, Champagnie is shooting over 38% from the 3-point line on over six attempts per game and has established himself as a full-time starter at the wing. That has made his current salary, $3 million with a team option for the same amount this summer, even more valuable.Wing-forwards
Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
Contract: $30 million The Hawks made a calculated gamble when they signed Johnson to a five-year, $150 million extension before the 2024-25 season. At the time, he was only 22 years old and had played a total of 148 games in his first three seasons. But Johnson rewarded that faith with an impressive 2024-25 season that was cut short by an injury before ascending to All-Star status this year in the first season of his extension. The 6-foot-8 forward has spent much of this season as Atlanta’s primary playmaker on coach Quin Snyder’s offense, posting career highs across the board without seeing much of a drop in efficiency. The Hawks signaled their intention to build around Johnson by trading former All-Star point guard Trae Young to the Wizards in exchange for what amounted to salary relief.Josh Hart, New York Knicks
Contract: $19.4 million The all-around forward remains a fan favorite in New York. He’s a solid defender who plays much bigger than his physique suggests (among players 6-5 or shorter, Hart’s 7.4 rebounds per game lead the NBA) and has become the Knicks’ second-best shot creator behind Brunson. Add in Hart’s 38.3% shooting from the 3-point line, and he remains a very valuable and versatile player. Hart is under contract for less than 15% of this year’s and next year’s salary cap, plus a team option for the 2027-28 season.Naji Marshall, Dallas Mavericks
Contract: $9 million Marshall was a discreet signing when he moved from New Orleans to Dallas in 2024, but he has become a strong rotation player for coach Jason Kidd from the moment he arrived. What Marshall returns as a 3-point shooter (he’s below 30% as a Maverick) he compensates for as a 2-point shooter (over 60%), and he has the size and strength to defend any of the forward positions. That makes him more than valuable for the $9 million owed to him this year and the $9.4 million owed to him next season, which should keep him as part of what the Mavericks hope will be a quick return to the playoff mix.Pivots
Mitchell Robinson, New York Knicks
Contract: $12.9 million As the last few seasons have put a greater emphasis on offensive rebounding, Robinson’s ability to crash the offensive glass has become a tremendous weapon for the Knicks. He’s probably better suited for a role off the bench to manage his workload (injury issues have made him more of a specialist than a 30-minute-per-game player), but Robinson’s huge presence as an elite offensive rebounder and rim protector is more than enough to justify his $12.9 million salary this season. It will also lead to an interesting free agency period this summer, when the 27-year-old will be unrestricted for the first time in his career.Isaiah Stewart, Detroit Pistons
Contract: $15 million “Beef Stew” might be better known for his temperamental outbursts at various points in his career. But Stewart, now in his sixth NBA season, has established himself as one of the league’s top interior defenders, and his partnership in the paint with All-Star Jalen Duren has allowed coach J.B. Bickerstaff to create one of the league’s best defensive units in Detroit. At $15 million this year and next, plus a player option for the 2027-28 season, Stewart has a deal that allows him to be a luxury as a high-level substitute, but in the right situation, he also has the opportunity to be a starter.Neemias Queta, Boston Celtics
Contract: $2.3 million When Boston got rid of Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet last summer, it left a void at center. And while Jaylen Brown and Derrick White have been the biggest drivers of this year’s surprising season in Boston, Queta’s impressive play in the paint has also been a fundamental piece. Queta, a legitimate 7-footer, is recording career highs in virtually every category. After starting only six games in his first four NBA seasons, he has 56 starts in 2025-26. He’s shooting well above 60% from the field, and the Celtics are nearly seven points per 100 possessions better when he’s on the court.Template Depth
BaseJalen Brunson
Payton Pritchard
Ryan Rollins
Guard
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Sam Merrill
Cam Spencer
Wing
Deni Avdija
Ayo Dosunmu
Julian Champagnie
Jalen Johnson
Josh Hart
Naji MarshallCenter
Mitchell Robinson
Isaiah Stewart
Neemias Queta How would the All-Contract NBA team fare this season? The All-Contract Team’s greatest strength is its depth. It has 10 players with an estimated plus-minus better than more than 1 point per 100 possessions, which is more than any real NBA roster has. (The Oklahoma City Thunder lead the league with nine). The shooting is also a big advantage. Four members of the All-Contract Team are shooting over 40% from three this season (Merrill, Dosunmu, Spencer, and Rollins), while five more players (Hart, Champagnie, Brunson, Alexander-Walker, and Pritchard) are in the high thirties with good volume. But two weaknesses in the roster limit this team’s potential. The first is perimeter defense, as most of the guards and forwards on this roster are profiled as acceptable to good defenders rather than elite shot blockers. The second concern is the lack of size. Hart and Marshall are playing a higher position if they are listed as power forwards, and centers Robinson and Stewart are prone to injury (or suspension, in Stewart’s case). The two big men have combined for only one season reaching 60 games since 2021-22. Even so, with so much depth, spacing, and high-level talent (Brunson, Avdija, and Johnson give the All-Contract Team three All-Stars, which is more than any real NBA team this season), the All-Contract Team would be one of the best teams in the NBA if inserted into the league.
Depending on the depth of the roster, real-life availability, and the quality of the players, the All-Contract Team would project a net rating of approximately plus 8 points per 100 possessions. That’s in the same range as the Pistons and Celtics, meaning the All-Contract Team would be in contention for a top playoff seed.
This projection predicts that the All-Contract Team would have the best offense in the league, but a defense that ranks as almost perfectly average. That imbalance could be a problem in the playoffs, where championship teams are usually in the top 10 on both ends. In all likelihood, the All-Contract Team would be a bona fide contender, but not the title favorite.
