NBA Player News

With Jalen Duren out once again, Wiseman remained in the starting unit for this game. He had one of his best games of the season as he recorded a double-double before halftime and set a new career-high for rebounds. Wiseman has had some solid games to close the year, especially as a starter. However, if he returns to Detroit this summer, he won’t be an intriguing fantasy option with Duren healthy. If they don’t re-sign him or match an offer sheet, and he finds a team that needs a starting center, he may have some upside. The odds of that happening are incredibly slim.

Jeffries is part of a three-team trade that includes Karl-Anthony Towns (New York), Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo (Minnesota). Jeffries only appeared in 17 games for the Knicks last season and was essentially included in this deal to clear space for Towns’ salary. He is not going to impact fantasy basketball in Charlotte.

DiVincenzo is headed to Minnesota as part of the Towns trade after a stellar postseason performance for the shorthanded Knicks. With the addition of Mikal Bridges, he was likely headed to the bench in New York. While DiVincenzo stands to be a reserve in Minnesota, there may be more room for him to operate as a critical scoring option for the second unit. His fantasy status doesn’t change much regarding where the “Big Ragu” should be drafted, but his ceiling has been raised despite being ticketed for a bench role.

After five seasons in the Big Apple, Randle is reportedly headed back to the Western Conference. According to Charania, the package headed to Minnesota includes Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, and the deal has not been officially finalized just yet. Before a season-ending shoulder injury in late January, Randle averaged 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. There are questions regarding offensive spacing in Minnesota, but Randle may be a better positional fit at power forward. How good of a fantasy asset he is with the Timberwolves will depend on Randle’s 3-point shooting ability, especially playing off of Anthony Edwards.

While the news may have surprised many, there had been rumblings for quite some time that Towns could be a target for the Knicks. Playing alongside Rudy Gobert capped KAT’s fantasy value; that won’t be the case in the Big Apple, especially with Mitchell Robinson (ankle) sidelined until December or January. Fantasy managers may not get the “first-round Towns” that he was pre-Gobert trade, but he should be an excellent option as the featured big man in New York.

Williams suffered the injury during a workout on Thursday and will miss the Hornets’ entire training camp. The Hornets center will have a little under one month before the start of the regular season, and there’s no guarantee he’ll be fully cleared by then. Not only does this news knock Williams down a few pegs in drafts, but it also increases the short-term value of Nick Richards. Depending on the timing of the draft and the next Williams injury update, Richards may be worth a late-round flier in deep leagues.

After serving primarily as a reserve during his first four seasons, Mann was a fixture in the starting lineup in 2023-24. Starting 71 of 75 games, he averaged 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.9 3-pointers in 25.0 minutes. Mann didn’t offer great fantasy value last season. Still, Paul George’s departure and questions regarding Kawhi Leonard’s knee make him worthy of a late-round look in some leagues.

In addition to stars Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant only playing 863 minutes together last season, the Suns were also done in by their lack of a “true” point guard. The offseason signings of Jones and Monte Morris were meant to address this issue, with Budenholzer making it clear that the former would be a starter. “Certainly, we feel like Tyus has established himself as a great starting point guard in our league, and he will be our starter,” Budenholzer told NBA.com. “When you put him out there with Kevin, Brad, Book, and Nurk [Jusuf Nurkic], we feel like we’ve got a strong starting five. And a really strong bench behind them.” Jones being given that role means Grayson Allen will head to the bench after a career year, cutting into his fantasy value.

Bassey appeared in 19 games for the Spurs last season before a torn ACL put him on the shelf. The 2021-second-round pick agreed to a one-year deal with the Spurs in July, but he is not expected to figure prominently in the frontcourt rotation. There’s no need to consider drafting Bassey.

Collins underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder shortly after the conclusion of the 2023-24 season. The expectation was that he’d be ready for training camp, and the Spurs confirmed that news on Friday. With Victor Wembanyama locked into the starting center role, Collins’ fantasy value will be low heading into the 2024-25 season. At best, he’s a late-round pick in deep league as insurance for Wembanyama.

Due to their overseas preseason games, the Nuggets have gotten a head start on the preseason. Unfortunately, they’re already shorthanded due to Watson’s hamstring injury. While the team did not provide an official timeline for his return, he’s expected to miss at least the two preseason games in Abu Dhabi. Watson’s absence means there will be more opportunities for Julian Strawther and Zeke Nnaji to make a positive impression on head coach Michael Malone. Neither is a must-draft player, which was also the case for Watson before the injury came to light.