From late September to late October, NBA teams trim their rosters from a maximum of 20 players invited to training camp to 15 on opening night. The “affiliate player rule” allows them to retain up to four of the players that they waive.
Players designated by an NBA team as affiliate players are automatically allocated to that team’s NBA Development League affiliate if they choose to sign an NBA D-League contract.
Unlike in baseball, affiliate players remain free agents available for any of the 30 NBA teams to sign. Still, the designation is a vote of confidence for prospects. It’s an indication of which players NBA teams are interested in developing, allowing front offices to closely monitor certain players on and off the court, keep them within the same offensive and defensive systems using the same terminology and many of the same plays, and work on their skills with their own coaches.
Click here to read more about the affiliate player rule
Below is a list of the affiliate players for the 2015-16 season.
| NBA Team | NBADL Affiliate | Player | Position | Height | Weight | School |
| Boston Celtics | Maine Red Claws | Coty Clarke | F | 6-7 | 225 | Arkansas |
| Boston Celtics | Maine Red Claws | Malcolm Miller | F | 6-7 | 215 | Holy Cross |
| Boston Celtics | Maine Red Claws | Levi Randolph | G | 6-4 | 205 | Alabama |
| Boston Celtics | Maine Red Claws | Corey Walden | G | 6-2 | 189 | Eastern Kentucky |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Canton Charge | Quinn Cook | G | 6-2 | 184 | Duke |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Canton Charge | Nick Minnerath | F | 6-9 | 207 | Detroit |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Canton Charge | DJ Stephens | G/F | 6-5 | 190 | Memphis |
| Dallas Mavericks | Texas Legends | Brandon Ashley | F | 6-9 | 230 | Arizona |
| Dallas Mavericks | Texas Legends | Tu Holloway | G | 6-0 | 187 | Xavier |
| Detroit Pistons | Grand Rapids Drive | Ryan Boatright | G | 5-11 | 175 | Connecticut |
| Golden State Warriors | Santa Cruz Warriors | Xavier Henry | G/F | 6-6 | 220 | Kansas |
| Golden State Warriors | Santa Cruz Warriors | Juwan Staten | G | 6-1 | 190 | West Virginia |
| Golden State Warriors | Santa Cruz Warriors | Chris Udofia | F | 6-6 | 200 | Denver |
| Houston Rockets | Rio Grande Valley Vipers | Will Cummings | G | 6-2 | 185 | Temple |
| Houston Rockets | Rio Grande Valley Vipers | Denzel Livingston | G | 6-4 | 178 | Incarnate Word |
| Houston Rockets | Rio Grande Valley Vipers | Josh Smith | C | 6-10 | 350 | Georgetown |
| Houston Rockets | Rio Grande Valley Vipers | Chris Walker | F | 6-10 | 220 | Florida |
| Indiana Pacers | Fort Wayne Mad Ants | Kadeem Jack | F | 6-9 | 235 | Rutgers |
| Indiana Pacers | Fort Wayne Mad Ants | Terran Petteway | G/F | 6-6 | 215 | Nebraska |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Los Angeles D-Fenders | Michael Frazier | G | 6-4 | 200 | Florida |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Los Angeles D-Fenders | Robert Upshaw | C | 7-0 | 250 | Washington |
| Memphis Grizzlies | Iowa Energy | Michael Holyfield | C | 6-11 | 270 | Sam Houston St. |
| Memphis Grizzlies | Iowa Energy | Lazeric Jones | G | 6-0 | 185 | UCLA |
| Memphis Grizzlies | Iowa Energy | Alex Stepheson | F/C | 6-10 | 249 | USC |
| Miami Heat | Sioux Falls Skyforce | Keith Benson | C | 6-11 | 229 | Oakland |
| Miami Heat | Sioux Falls Skyforce | Corey Hawkins | G | 6-2 | 195 | UC Davis |
| Miami Heat | Sioux Falls Skyforce | Briante Weber | G | 6-2 | 165 | VCU |
| Miami Heat | Sioux Falls Skyforce | Greg Whittington | F | 6-8 | 212 | Georgetown |
| New York Knicks | Westchester Knicks | Thanasis Antetokounmpo | F | 6-7 | 215 | Greece |
| New York Knicks | Westchester Knicks | Darion Atkins | F | 6-8 | 234 | Virginia |
| New York Knicks | Westchester Knicks | Wesley Saunders | G | 6-5 | 215 | Harvard |
| New York Knicks | Westchester Knicks | Travis Trice | G | 6-2 | 177 | Michigan State |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Oklahoma City Blue | Michael Cobbins | F | 6-8 | 229 | Oklahoma State Cowboys |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Oklahoma City Blue | Mustapha Farrakhan | G | 6-4 | 175 | Virginia |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Oklahoma City Blue | Michael Qualls | G | 6-6 | 205 | Arkansas |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | Oklahoma City Blue | Dez Wells | G/F | 6-5 | 215 | Maryland |
| Orlando Magic | Erie BayHawks | Nnanna Egwu | C | 6-11 | 250 | Illinois |
| Orlando Magic | Erie BayHawks | Melvin Ejim | G | 6-6 | 220 | Iowa State |
| Orlando Magic | Erie BayHawks | Jordan Sibert | G | 6-4 | 187 | Dayton |
| Philadelphia 76ers | Delaware 87ers | Jordan Railey | C | 7-0 | 245 | Washington State |
| Phoenix Suns | Bakersfield Jam | Deonte Burton | G | 6-1 | 185 | Nevada |
| Phoenix Suns | Bakersfield Jam | Kyle Casey | F | 6-7 | 225 | Harvard |
| Phoenix Suns | Bakersfield Jam | Terrico White | G | 6-6 | 215 | Ole Miss |
| Sacramento Kings | Reno Bighorns | Marshall Henderson | G | 6-2 | 175 | Ole Miss |
| Sacramento Kings | Reno Bighorns | Vince Hunter | F | 6-8 | 208 | UTEP |
| San Antonio Spurs | Austin Spurs | Youssou Ndoye | C | 7-0 | 250 | St. Bonaventure |
| San Antonio Spurs | Austin Spurs | Deshaun Thomas | F | 6-7 | 220 | Ohio State |
| San Antonio Spurs | Austin Spurs | Keifer Sykes | G | 6-0 | 180 | Green Bay |
| San Antonio Spurs | Austin Spurs | Julian Washburn | F | 6-8 | 209 | UTEP |
| Toronto Raptors | Raptors 905 | Michale Kyser | F | 6-10 | 200 | Louisiana Tech |
| Toronto Raptors | Raptors 905 | Shannon Scott | G | 6-1 | 185 | Ohio State |
| Toronto Raptors | Raptors 905 | Axel Toupane | G/F | 6-7 | 197 | France |
| Utah Jazz | Idaho Stampede | Eric Atkins | G | 6-2 | 182 | Notre Dame |
| Utah Jazz | Idaho Stampede | Treveon Graham | G | 6-6 | 220 | VCU |
| Utah Jazz | Idaho Stampede | J.J. O’Brien | F | 6-7 | 228 | San Diego State |
| Utah Jazz | Idaho Stampede | Phil Pressey | G | 5-11 | 175 | Missouri |