NBA Player News

Dallas had an open two-way spot, and Monday was the deadline to sign players to two-way deals. Fudge will likely spend most of his time in the G-League, so this won’t have much of an impact on fantasy basketball.

The Pacers’ bench outscored the Thunder’s 30-11 in the first half of Game 3, which Indiana led by four at halftime, and Mathurin was a big part of that. The 22-year-old small forward’s 27 points were the third most off the bench in NBA Finals history. Mathurin joined Jason Terry and Manu Ginobili as the only bench players to have at least 25 points in an NBA Finals game in the last 25 years. Even more impressive was that Mathurin played only 22 minutes and took just 12 shots. His +16 in his time on the court was a game-high. It was an exceptional effort from the Pacers’ No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

The count of interview requests the Knicks have had denied is up to five with Donovan joining Chris Finch, Ime Udoka, Jason Kidd and Quin Snyder. On one hand, the Knicks are doing their due diligence in seeing what coaches around the league they could potentially speak with. On the other hand, New York is repeatedly getting the door slammed in its face. The Knicks are the only NBA without a head coach at the moment and should be in no rush to fill the position just a week after parting ways with Tom Thibodeau.

Another one bites the dust. On Tuesday, Charania reported that Chris Finch, Ime Udoka and Jason Kidd were all blocked from interviewing with the Knicks by their respective teams. Now Snyder joins this seemingly ever-growing list. At some point, the Knicks will have a new head coach. However, in the week after Tom Thibodeau was let go, New York only has rejection letters.

No surprises here, as rumors of a potential Durant trade have been floating around since February’s trade deadline. The teams most likely to land Durant are the Spurs, Rockets, Timberwolves, Knicks and Heat, though Charania notes several other teams have inquired. At this point, a Durant trade seems imminent, and no matter where he lands, he should be an elite fantasy option thanks to his ability to rebound, facilitate, play defense and score efficiently.

Haliburton sported a notable limp following Sunday’s Game 2 loss, but he should face no restrictions in a pivotal Game 3. He scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2, and he emphasized his need to be more aggressive on offense early in the game. Expect him to make a concerted effort to score early and often on Wednesday.

Brown finished the season with a partial tear in his right meniscus, and after much consultation, he’ll undergo surgery. With Jayson Tatum (Achilles) set to miss an extended part of the upcoming campaign, Brown’s availability carries some extra weight.