NBA Player News

Just a few days after their former coach landed a gig in Detroit, the Suns have found their man who they hope can lead them to the promise land. Vogel most recently coached the Lakers, leading them to an NBA title in the bubble during the 2019-20 season. However, he was let go after a disappointing 2021-22 campaign. Before his Lakers tenure, Vogel had coaching stints with the Magic and most notably the Pacers, leading Indiana to the playoffs in five of his six seasons at the helm. In his 11 total seasons as head coach, Frank boasts a 52% winning percentage (431-389).

Duke Jr. signed a two-way deal with the Spurs in December, and now he has agreed to another one for next season. He only suited up for San Antonio four times last season, and he will likely spend most of the year in the G-League this upcoming season.

Edwards has proven himself to be solid depth piece in the NBA, but on a two-way deal, he will likely spend more time in the G-League this upcoming season. He can play a reserve role if Dallas needs him to, but he isn’t a player that will impact fantasy basketball next season.

Westbrook’s agreement is now official over a week after he was traded to Utah with the expectation that he would eventually join the Nuggets. Russ will look to help bolster Denver’s bench unit after they ranked 25th in bench points per game last season.

Ball said in May that he intends to be available to start next season, but next month should be a good indicator of his exact timeline. He said that participating in 5-on-5 will be his “first real test”, but that everything in his recovery has been going well recently. They’ll likely keep him on a strict load management plan, and he will compete with Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Josh Giddey for minutes in the backcourt.

After failing to do so with the Pistons, Hayes gets a second chance to establish himself in the NBA. The seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft, he averaged 6.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 0.9 steals in 24.0 minutes per game before being waived by Detroit at the February trade deadline. Fantasy managers should not have Hayes on their radars, even with the Nets embarking on a rebuild after trading Mikal Bridges to the Nets.

A second-round pick of the Thunder (who traded his draft rights to the Knicks) in the 2021 NBA Draft, Jokubaitis has yet to appear in an NBA game. He spent last season with FC Barcelona and is now headed to Israel on a three-year pact with Maccabi Tel Aviv. While Jokubaitis played well in Las Vegas, the additions of second-round pick Tyler Kolek and free agent signing Cameron Payne would make it difficult for him to earn rotation minutes behind Jalen Brunson.

Signed to a two-way contract immediately after the conclusion of last month’s draft, Pullin averaged 5.3 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 11.9 minutes during Miami’s run to the NBA 2K25 Summer League title. Pullin was waived due to the Heat’s need to free up a two-way contract for Josh Christopher, MVP of the championship game.

Christopher took a significant step forward in his quest to return to the NBA last week, as he performed very well on a Heat team that won the NBA 2K25 Summer League. As a result, he’s been rewarded with a two-way contract. Since the Heat had allocated all three of their available two-way slots before summer league, the team had to waive undrafted rookie Zyon Pullin to make room for Christopher. The 2021 first-round pick is unlikely to impact fantasy basketball next season.

Topic injured his knee in May, with it being reported in early June that he was dealing with a partially torn ACL. The resulting surgery turns the 2024-25 campaign into a “redshirt” year for the 6-foot-6 guard, making him a non-factor in redraft leagues. However, Topic is worth stashing in dynasty leagues due to his playmaking ability. Even with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being Oklahoma City’s primary building block, there’s the belief that Topic can lead the second unit once healthy.

Gill averaged 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds per game last season and isn’t likely to play a significant role in 2024-25 given the Wizards’ influx of young talent.