NBA Player News

Given how well Whitmore played in Houston’s first two games in Las Vegas, seeing him on the court Monday afternoon was surprising. Playing his third game in four days, the 2023 first-round pick struggled mightily with his shot, and frustration may have gotten the best of Whitmore. Fantasy managers should not read too much into this performance, and it would be unsurprising if the Rockets decided to shut him down for the rest of the week.

Cain appeared in 37 games for the Pelicans last season after spending his first two seasons with the Heat organization. On a two-way deal, the 6-foot-6 wing appeared in 37 NBA games in 2024-25, averaging 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.6 minutes. Outside of the occasional solid performance as the Pelicans were playing out the string, Cain did not impact fantasy basketball. That’s likely to be the case in Orlando next season.

After appearing in 13 games over two seasons with the Bulls, Sanogo was waived in February, one month after suffering a knee injury. Not selected after a standout college career at UConn, the 6-foot-9 center most recently played for the Jazz in summer league competition. He’s headed to Italy for the next chapter of his professional career. Sanogo’s departure from the NBA will not impact fantasy basketball.

Council’s contract for the 2025-26 season was non-guaranteed, which put him at risk of being let go. In his second season with the team, the former Arkansas wing appeared in 73 games, averaging 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.8 three-pointers in 17.1 minutes. While a highly athletic player, Council struggled with his shot, shooting 38.2 percent from the field and 25.8 percent from the foul line. Given the veterans the 76ers re-signed during the offseason, the return of Jared McCain from a knee injury and the selection of VJ Edgecombe in the draft, Council was unlikely to get the minutes needed to impact fantasy basketball in 2025-26.

Gardner, who went undrafted in 2023, spent summer league with Miami, averaging 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.8 steals and two triples in 22.2 minutes per game across four appearances. He’ll likely spend most of next season in the G League, but his summer league performance was enough to earn him a two-way deal.

While Simmons’ career has not panned out the way many expected it to, his playmaking and defensive abilities mean there is interest in the free agent forward. In his report, Windhorst mentioned the Kings, Suns, Knicks and Celtics as teams linked with Simmons. The potential impact on fantasy basketball will depend on the location and Simmons’ health, which has been problematic for most of his NBA career. He played in 51 games last season between the Nets and Clippers, averaging 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 0.7 steals in 22.0 minutes.

After spending his first two NBA seasons with the Raptors, Harper signed a two-way deal with the Pistons before the start of the 2024-25 campaign. He appeared in just one game for Detroit, spending most of his time with the franchise’s G League affiliate. Due to Detroit’s perimeter depth, Harper’s departure will not impact fantasy basketball.

Quiñones was on a two-way contract, so the transaction frees up a slot for the Pelicans. After beginning last season with the 76ers, the Pelicans signed him to a contract in March. Quiñones played in 13 games last season, averaging 6.6 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 three-pointers in 14.1 minutes.

In the aftermath of Jayson Tatum’s ruptured Achilles tendon injury, the Celtics have made multiple moves to improve their salary cap situation. The latest transaction was the decision to waive Davison, which gets the Celtics beneath the second apron. The point guard’s contract for the 2025-26 season would have been fully guaranteed if he were still on the roster on January 10, 2026. Davison appeared in 16 games for the Celtics last season, doing most of his damage with the team’s G League affiliate.

The 28th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Springer has not been able to truly establish himself in the NBA. Traded to Houston by the Celtics at the February trade deadline, Springer was subsequently waived and would go on to sign with the Jazz. In 43 combined games for the Celtics and Jazz, he averaged 3.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 13.2 minutes. Once he clears waivers, Springer can sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent.

A few days after being waived by the Lakers, Milton is headed to Europe for the next phase of his career. He has agreed to a deal with Partizan Belgrade, which won the ABA and Serbian league championships this past season. Among the other former NBA players on the roster are Jabari Parker, Frank Ntilikina and Isaac Bonga.