NBA Player News

Birch has played a minimal role on the court across six NBA seasons, and with San Antonio strong in the frontcourt with Zach Collins and Victor Wembanyama, there’s no room for Birch on the roster. Even if Birch lands with a new team, he’s unlikely to have a fantasy-relevant role.

This is a brutal turn of events for the Suns, who, at 8-1, are off to the best start in franchise history. Durant was injured during Friday’s win over the Mavericks, a game in which he played 37 minutes. Ryan Dunn, who’s on track to play in Sunday’s game against the Kings, and Royce O’Neale are two possibilities to fill the void in the starting lineup. O’Neale offers a higher fantasy ceiling and is worth adding where available.

Smith is officially available for Saturday’s game and will serve as Nikola Vucevic’s backup. There’s no need to consider rostering Smith in fantasy leagues.

Cancar remains sidelined, and fantasy managers should consider him out indefinitely. His absence does not impact the Nuggets’ rotation or fantasy basketball leagues.

Toppin played 21 minutes off the bench in Friday’s loss to the Hornets, and he’ll be in line for a similar workload if cleared to play against the Knicks. Jarace Walker’s minutes would increase if Toppin cannot play, which would also be true for starters Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner.

Craig will miss another game due to injury, and his absence does not impact fantasy basketball. Rookie Matas Buzelis has played more with Craig sidelined but has not done enough to merit being rostered in most fantasy leagues.

Neither McConnell nor Nembhard played in Friday’s loss to the Pacers, with Ben Sheppard replacing the latter in the starting lineup. If both play, Sheppard’s minutes will decrease significantly. That will not impact fantasy basketball, as Sheppard should not be rostered in most leagues.

LaVine is back after a three-game absence, with his return dropping Ayo Dosunmu out of the starting lineup. LaVine will be limited to 32 minutes on Saturday, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to hold onto Dosunmu for another game.

Whenever Giannis has shown up on the injury report due to patella tendinopathy, he’s been cleared to play. Fantasy managers should expect the same on Sunday, especially with Milwaukee having a 2-7 record.

One game after being demoted to the bench in favor of Jackson, Trent sat out Friday’s loss to the Knicks. Jackson has started Milwaukee’s last two games. While GTJ offers more scoring punch, neither is worth rostering in most leagues.

Payne has missed New York’s last three games, with McBride joining him on the injury report ahead of Sunday. Already light on perimeter options, the Knicks can’t afford to be without Deuce. If one (or both) cannot play, rookie Tyler Kolek will move into he rotation.