Not every transaction from the 2018-19 offseason grabbed attention like the Kawhi Leonard trade or LeBron James signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.
But several signings and trades that went unnoticed four months ago have left an imprint through the first 20 games. Here are the standouts.
Oklahoma City not stretching Melo
The Oklahoma City Thunder did something in August with the Carmelo Anthony trade that the New York Knicks elected not to do with Joakim Noah. Instead of stretching the $27.3 million owed to Anthony over three seasons and creating significant financial savings, general manager Sam Presti took the soon-to-be-dead cap space and turned it into Dennis Schroder.
The $9.3 million that would have been a sunk cost with Anthony counting against the cap is now a $15.5 million guard who can play with Russell Westbrook or start if needed. Because the Thunder are capped out, they would not been able to sign a player like Schroder if he were a free agent in 2019.
Schroder has played a critical role in the success of the Thunder, especially with Westbrook missing six games with a sprained ankle. Schroder has averaged 30.1 minutes, 17.3 points and 5.2 assists per game, and OKC is 8.7 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.
Finding value in second-chance players
An Eastern Conference scout summed it up best when talking about minimum contracts: Finding cost-efficient players is comparable to an NFL team snagging value in the late rounds of the draft. However, the group of NBA players signed to minimum deals in late July or early August are ones who are looking for a second -- or third or fourth -- chance.
In total, there are six players starting -- Nik Stauskas, Nerlens Noel, JaVale McGee, Shelvin Mack, Derrick Rose and Noah Vonleh -- who were signed to veteran minimum contracts and have played key roles in the first 20 games.
To say that Stauskas and Portland are the perfect fit is an understatement. The former lottery pick -- now on his fourth team in five years -- was on the verge of being out of the NBA, with many league executives labeling him more likely to be in the G League in late October than becoming a productive rotation player. Now he's logging 17 MPG while shooting 38 percent from 3-point range.
Vonleh has a comparable path. Drafted one spot behind Stauskas in 2014, Vonleh is on his fourth team in five years. However, whereas Stauskas signed a guaranteed contract, Vonleh's $1.6 million salary will not be guaranteed until Jan. 7.
Originally signed as an insurance policy because of the uncertain depth at power forward, the 23-year-old is now the New York Knicks' permanent starter at the position and also their most efficient player. The big difference in the play of Vonleh has been his ability to stretch the floor. Per Cleaning the Glass data, Vonleh ranks in the 86th percentile for his position in 3-point shooting (42.1 percent). Last season, he ranked in the 10th percentile.
The July trade that went unnoticed
Back in the late morning on July 17, the Memphis Grizzlies acquired Garrett Temple from the Sacramento Kings. The deal sent Temple to his seventh team since entering the league in 2009, and former lottery pick Ben McLemore went back to Sacramento along with cash and a future second-round pick. Outside of Sacramento and Memphis the transaction received little attention.
Now four months later, Temple has started all 20 games, averaged a career high in PPG (11.0), MPG (32.5) and effective field-goal percentage (54.2 percent). Temple also brought stability to a position that saw 13 Memphis players log minutes at shooting guard in 2017-18.
Trading Temple had unattended but positive consequences for Sacramento as well.
Although a great influence on and off the court, Temple's departure removed a veteran safety net for head coach Dave Joerger and allowed the Kings to increase the minutes for Buddy Hield. The former lottery pick has already started more games than he did last year and is having his most efficient season since entering the NBA in 2016.
The other player in the CP3 trade
The LA Clippers can thank restricted free agency for the two-year, $12 million contract that Montrezl Harrell signed in late July.
After earning $3.5 million in his first three seasons, Harrell had the choice of doubling his career earnings and entering free agency in 2020 as an unrestricted free agent or signing the one-year, $1.6 million qualifying offer to become an unrestricted free agent in 2019.
Harrell chose financial security and the Clippers have a $6 million backup that Cleaning the Glass ranks in the 94th percentile in points per shot attempt and 93rd in effective field goal percentage for his position. He's converting 73 percent of his shots at the rim.
Harrell -- acquired from Houston in June 2017 as part of the Chris Paul trade -- has also averaged 9.1 minutes in the fourth quarter this season. He is the perfect small-ball center for head coach Doc Rivers.
Parker finding fountain of youth in Charlotte
This is more about the Charlotte Hornets getting quality minutes out of Tony Parker on a two-year, $10 million contract and less about Charlotte not selecting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the draft. Those consequences could come at another time, especially if Kemba Walker leaves in free agency and Gilgeous-Alexander turns into a starting NBA point guard.
For now, Charlotte has a player on a $5 million contract (non-guaranteed next season) who not only serves as an extension of the coaching staff for rookie James Borrego but a reliable backup, something the Hornets have not had since Jeremy Lin departed in 2016.
Despite the Hornets managing his minutes this season (a career low 18.8 per game), Parker has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.84 and an average of 7.0 minutes in the fourth quarter, and Charlotte has been 2.0 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court.
The timing of the Embiid extension
We can debate if an All-Star should be on an under-the-radar list, but the reality is that the Philadelphia 76ers caught a financial break with Joel Embiid's contract extension.
Though the extension was inked a year ago, Embiid is featured here because he is a likely candidate to earn All-NBA first team at the center position (yes, ahead of Anthony Davis). Had this occurred a year ago, Philadelphia would have lost $5.5 million per year in cap flexibility because Embiid's extension would have increased from $148 million to $177 million.
The savings are significant, since Philadelphia is projected to have three max contracts in 2020: Embiid, Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons. The $5.5 million in savings in 2019 also will help Philadelphia replenish its depth after losing two starters (Robert Covington and Dario Saric) to acquire Butler.
The $85 million savings in Denver
A total of $200 million in salary and luxury tax costs would have been hard to justify for the Denver Nuggets. How can a team that had missed the playoffs since 2012-13 bring back the same roster but rank in the top two in salary and pay a staggering $50 million tax bill?
Instead, a series of cost-cutting transactions saved the team $85 million, improved the roster and cost Denver only three draft picks -- a protected first-rounder in 2019 and two seconds (2020 and 2021).
The timing of the transactions to trade Wilson Chandler, Darrell Arthur and Kenneth Faried was a result of Philadelphia (Chandler) missing out on its free-agent targets and Brooklyn (Arthur and Faried) continuing the path of replenishing draft assets.
The removal of Chandler also cleared the way for former first-round pick Juan Hernangomez to see an increase in playing time. After playing in only 25 games last season after a bout with mononucleosis, Hernangomez has averaged 25.0 MPG this season while shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range and proving he can start or come off the bench.
The moves also created three trade exceptions valued at $13.7 million, $12.8 million and $5.9 million that Denver could use either at the Feb. 7 trade deadline or in the offseason.
Milwaukee and New Orleans not having cap space
In the summer of 2016, the Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans -- like most of the NBA -- took a reckless approach with the rise of the salary cap. Both teams acted as if their $30 million in room would be wasted if not spent quickly.
Contracts were given to Mirza Teletovic, Matthew Dellavedova, Miles Plumlee, E'Twaun Moore, Solomon Hill and Langston Galloway. Now two years later, only Moore has proven to be cost efficient.
Because of that spending, both teams had just the $8.6 million midlevel and $3.4 million biannual exception to use in 2018. Coincidentally, that turned out to be a good problem.
That combined $24 million turned into strong contributors in Ersan Ilyasova, Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton, Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton. A good investment compared to the $200 million spent two years prior.
One more thing: The Melo buyout in Atlanta
One missing element when it comes to the future of Carmelo Anthony is the buyout agreed upon in late July with the Atlanta Hawks. As part of the agreement, Anthony would give back 100 percent of any future earnings if he signed a contract that was greater than $2.39 million, the amount that he shaved off his deal and eventually signed in Houston.
If Anthony is waived by the Rockets and not claimed by a team, the full amount of his next contract (if there is one) will be deducted from the $25.34 million that the Hawks currently owe him.
Nobody should blame Anthony or his representatives for agreeing to the language. After all, Houston was supposed to be his last stop this season.