NBA Player News

Hill’s always iffy with his sore knee, but will give it a go tonight. Either Hakim Warrick or Markieff Morris will start in Frye’s place, but Morris is the stronger bet for a good fantasy line.

Two days removed from putting on a show with a 32-point effort against the Hornets, Filipowski was not as effective on Sunday. He still surpassed 20 points, but sometimes the Jazz forward/center was not as decisive as he needed to be offensively. Instead of making quick moves to take advantage of mismatches, Filipowski was too deliberate at times, thus eliminating whatever advantage he had. With Utah trading John Collins, there’s an opening in the starting lineup. While Filipowski may be a candidate, the same can be said for Brice Sensabaugh, who played so well in Salt Lake City that the Jazz shut him down before arriving in Las Vegas.

Williams has surpassed 20 points in two straight games, a positive development for a player who struggled mightily as a rookie. However, the perimeter shot remains a work in progress. Williams was 1-of-6 from deep on Sunday, two nights after going 3-of-11 in the loss to the Hornets. He isn’t going to turn into a knockdown shooter overnight. Williams remains a player worth the risk in dynasty leagues, but managers in redraft leagues can afford to leave him on the board.

Richard was not as productive offensively as he was in Friday’s blowout loss to the Trail Blazers, but he once again provided value in multiple areas. The second-round pick out of Florida is in a similar position to Alex Toohey, with both yet to sign contracts with the Warriors. Not only does Golden State have two available two-way slots, but it also has multiple open standard contract slots. Some notable free agents are still available on the market, including restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, so Richard may be in a holding pattern of sorts as the Warriors’ front office sorts things out.

After getting blown out by Portland in their first game in Las Vegas, Toohey and the Warriors bounced back on Sunday. The second-round pick was solid, leading the Warriors’ starters in scoring and nearly filling the stat sheet. Toohey has yet to sign a contract, and with the Warriors still having work to do in free agency, he may have to wait a bit longer. Gabe Madsen was the true standout on Sunday, as he came off the bench to contribute 22 points and six three-pointers.

While Konan Niederhauser turned 22 in March, these early games in Las Vegas have reminded us that he’s still a bit of a project. The rookie notched his first made basket on Sunday, an alley-oop dunk, and he was also responsible for two steals. Konan Niederhauser will be more of an asset for dynasty leagues than redraft leagues, but he will have the opportunity to learn from Ivica Zubac and Brook Lopez next season.

Christie is one of the few players on the Clippers’ summer roster whose contract is guaranteed for the 2025-26 season. The second-round pick could not earn rotation minutes as a rookie, and it will be challenging to change that next season due to the Clippers’ perimeter depth. Christie shot 3-of-6 from beyond the arc against the Bucks, and he’ll need to be a consistent shooter to have any chance of providing tangible fantasy value.

Baldwin is one of the Clippers’ three two-way contract players, and he performed well on Sunday after sitting out Friday’s win over the Rockets. The former first-round pick was never able to establish himself with the Warriors or Wizards, making him a low-risk gamble for the Clippers. Baldwin won’t be a player worth considering in fantasy drafts due to the Clippers’ wing depth and title aspirations, but he’ll look to change that.

Livingston is doing all he can to earn another opportunity with the Bucks, who waived him on July 2. If that transaction was meant to motivate the 2023 second-round pick, it’s had the desired effect based on Livingston’s production. He’s been efficient in all three of Milwaukee’s games in Las Vegas, providing solid value in multiple areas. Milwaukee has already allocated all three of its two-way contracts, so that may not be possible for Livingston. However, there are 29 other teams, and at a minimum, he may be able to earn an Exhibit 10 deal that gets him into training camp.

After offering little production in his first two appearances of the summer, Marković looked far more comfortable on Sunday. The second-round pick out of Serbia shot 50 percent from the field and finished a blocked shot shy of a complete stat line. On draft night, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported that Marković is expected to play overseas next season, so the performances in Las Vegas are unlikely to have much of an impact. And being stashed overseas likely guarantees Marković will receive ample game reps, which would not happen in Milwaukee.

While Demin’s overall field goal percentage on Sunday left something to be desired, 10 of his 13 attempts came from beyond the arc. He made four, a solid percentage for a player who shot 27.3 percent from beyond the arc during his lone season at BYU. With Nolan Traoré (7/6/3) and Ben Saraf (7/2/6/1/1) coming off the bench, the Nets relied on veteran Tristan Etienne to run the show, and the change made the team more competitive than they were on Friday. That will be something to watch the rest of the summer, especially with the Nets losing D’Angelo Russell in free agency.