NBA Player News

Zion had a rough shooting night and failed to make much of an impact as a scorer. Fortunately for fantasy managers, he buoyed his poor offense with strong rebounds, assists and defensive contributions. Williamson finished the 2023-24 season with 22.9 points, 5.8 boards, 5.0 dimes, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks while shooting 57.0% from the floor. The rebounds and FG% are career lows, but the assists are a career high, and most importantly, so are the games played. Williamson appeared in 70 contests after playing fewer than 30 in two of his first three campaigns, so NBA fans and fantasy managers alike are hopeful this is the start of a new trend of availability. He’ll be back in action Tuesday for the first game of the Play-In Tournament in a rematch with the Lakers.

After shooting a career-high 44.0% from three last season, Mathews’ option has been picked up by the Hawks. While Atlanta has added Zaccharie Risacher (draft) and Dyson Daniels (reported trade) this week, Mathews’ 3-point shooting ability will allow him to earn rotation minutes next season. However, he only played 15.0 minutes per game last season, so fantasy managers should not consider him a “must-draft” player in most leagues.

With it being reported in mid-June that the Suns intended to re-sign O’Neale, Saturday’s news is unsurprising. Acquired from the Nets at the February deadline, the versatile wing averaged 8.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.9 steals, and 2.0 3-pointers in 25.1 minutes with the Suns. O’Neale provided 12th-round per-game value in 9-cat formats from the trade deadline onward. Whether he starts or comes off the bench, Royce will merit consideration as a late-round pick in standard leagues.

Bey’s qualifying offer was worth $8 million, so the Hawks declining it is unsurprising given the current circumstances. Bey suffered a torn ACL in March and is facing a lengthy rehabilitation period. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent on June 30, and while a return to Atlanta is not off the table, the chances have decreased. Atlanta selected Zaccharie Risacher with the first overall pick and acquired Dyson Daniels in the trade that sent Dejounte Murray to New Orleans.

This news is unsurprising, even with the Lakers selecting LeBron’s son Bronny with the 55th overall pick in the NBA Draft. While James was due to make $51.4 million next season, this allows him to negotiate a new deal with the Lakers. Look for LeBron to remain in Los Angeles and play for new Lakers head coach JJ Redick next season.

Boston lead executive Brad Stevens has made it clear that the team wants to keep Hauser, and this report aligns with that desire. Hauser is in line to make $2.1 million next season, and the decision to pick up his option allows the Celtics to negotiate an extension. Talks on an extension cannot begin until July 9, per league rules. Hauser provided Boston with reliable 3-point production as the team won the NBA championship this season, and he’ll have added value in 2024-25 due to Kristaps Porzingis likely missing 5-6 months after undergoing left leg surgery.

Tate, who appeared in 65 games last season, will make approximately $7.6 million in 2024-25. The versatile forward averaged 4.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.6 steals in 15.2 minutes, with his production and playing time decreasing due to the arrivals of Dillon Brooks and Amen Thompson. And this was with Tari Eason missing most of the season with a leg injury. A healthy Eason in the rotation lowers Tate’s fantasy ceiling even more.

Had he opted into the final season of his contract, Love would have made approximately $4 million in 2024-25. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent, but Wojnarowski also reported that Love and the Heat are “enthusiastic” about being able to work out a deal. Love will likely have limited fantasy value if he returns to Miami, as the Heat have Bam Adebayo as their starting center and selected Indiana’s Kel’El Ware with the 15th overall pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft.

After making 21 regular-season appearances for the Clippers during the 2022-23 campaign, the 2023-24 was Westbrook’s first full season with the team. Appearing in 68 games, the veteran point guard averaged 11.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 3-pointers in 22.5 minutes. He shifted to the backup point guard role after the Clippers acquired James Harden from the 76ers (he started James’ first five games with the team). Westbrook’s fantasy potential in 2024-25 will be impacted by multiple factors, including Harden’s free agency and whether or not the Clippers sign another point guard if The Beard re-signs.

Acquired from the Celtics at the February trade deadline (Boston received a trade exception), Banton’s play was one of the few positives for the Trail Blazers last season. In his 30 games with Portland, the 2021 second-round pick averaged 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 1.9 3-pointers in 29.2 minutes. It should be noted that, by that point in the season, Portland had been decimated by injuries, freeing up additional minutes for Banton. Regardless of how the opportunities came about, he did enough with them to get his contract guaranteed for next season.

While Ingles will be an unrestricted free agent when free agency opens on Sunday evening, this does not mean his time in Orlando is over. According to Wojnarowski, the two sides will continue to have dialogue on a potential agreement. Ingles appeared in 68 games during his first season with the Magic, averaging 4.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 3-pointers in 17.2 minutes. Given the presence of Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner, Ingles’ fantasy impact was muted last season.