Elijah

Hughes

Hughes has appeared in 54 regular-season games for the Jazz and Trail Blazers across two NBA seasons. His last NBA appearance came during the 2021-22 campaign, and he shouldn’t be on the fantasy radar for the upcoming campaign given Cleveland’s wealth of talent across the roster.

Hughes spent time with both Utah and Portland during the 2021-22 season, but he wasn’t able to see many minutes. He played for the Wisconsin Herd last season, but he has spent the summer with Orlando. He’ll likely be back in the G-League next season, but he did have a decent performance on Saturday, even if he won’t ever be a fantasy contributor.

Brown will be the 22nd player to start a game for the Blazers this season, which extends a franchise record, and he’ll join Brandon Williams, Keon Johnson, CJ Elleby and Drew Eubanks while Elijah Hughes will come off the bench. When coming off the pine, Brown’s minutes have fluctuated between those in the 20s and the teens, but the fact that he’s starting could mean more floor time for him. He could be worth a dart through in DFS tournaments, but there are far more proven silly season options on this Portland roster.

Winslow will miss a fourth straight game which should open up more playing time for Trendon Watford and Elijah Hughes.

If this silly-season tank fest doesn’t get your blood pumping we’re not sure what would. Brandon Williams, Keon Johnson, CJ Elleby and Drew Eubanks will round out the starting lineup for the Blazers and we can’t wait to see who the Thunder roll out there.

In one week from now, the Trail Blazers will only have four games remaining on their schedule, and it seems unlikely that Watford will be fully recovered from a bone bruise in a week’s time, so he’s likely done for the year. Greg Brown III might be able to earn some starts over these final eight games for Portland, and there will be more opportunity for guys like Ben McLemore, Elijah Hughes and Keljin Blevins. All those guys are worth a dice roll, but we’ll have a better idea on who the true primary beneficiary is after Monday’s game vs. OKC.

Driving to the basket with 3:01 remaining in the fourth quarter, Watford stepped on the foot of Rockets guard Dennis Schroder and appeared to hyperextend his left knee. After some time on the court, he was helped back to the locker room and was unable to put any weight on his left leg. Watford’s done for the night, and the severity of the injury will be learned in the coming days. Elijah Hughes, Keon Johnson, and Ben McLemore are all players who could be in line for increases in playing time if Watford is sidelined for an extended period.

Brown got through just six minutes of this one, scoring four points with a board and a steal in what is currently a tight game. Brown randomly hauled in 14 rebounds back on Wednesday but otherwise hasn’t done all too much, so this won’t affect fantasy hoops in a big way. Maybe CJ Elleby and Elijah Hughes get a few more minutes each, but that’s about it.

Winslow sustained the injury Wednesday and was held out Friday. He’ll miss a second straight game, which should open up more minutes for the likes of Elijah Hughes and Trendon Watford.

Brandon Williams, Josh Hart, CJ Elleby and Drew Eubanks are also in the starting five with Trendon Watford coming off the bench. Coach Chauncey Billups said Anfernee Simons (knee) and Justise Winslow (Achilles) are nearing a return, so there’s no reason to grab Hughes in most leagues.