NBA Player News

Koprivica’s draft rights have been traded multiple times since the Pistons selected him with the No. 57 pick in 2021. The Clippers also sent $4.3 million and a second round pick swap in 2023 to facilitate the Westbrook trade.

Nesmith led Indiana in scoring to help them get back on track after they lost to the Thunder on Saturday. Six of his 24 points came in the final 20 seconds as he went 6-of-6 at the free throw line to seal the victory for Indiana. Nesmith has been a solid contributor as a starter for the Pacers, especially as of late. He has provided top-75 value in nine-cat leagues over the past two weeks with averages of 13.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 triples while shooting 52.1 percent from the floor.

DeRozan entered this game having scored at least 20 points in nine of his last 10 games without ever reaching 30 points, but he was able to achieve that mark in Monday’s loss. This was just DeMar’s fourth 30-point game since the All-Star break, but Sacramento has now lost six of their last seven games. They now hold a one-game lead over the Suns for the final play-in spot, but their next two games are against Washington and Charlotte, which should give them some breathing room. Regardless, DeRozan will continue to provide buckets with consistency.

Outside of Jordan Poole, who scored a game-high 35 points, Vukcevic was the only Wizard to score in double figures on Monday. That is something he has done in seven of his last 10 appearances, though his inconsistent role has made him a difficult player to trust. Vukcevic is only 22 years old and has shown plenty of flashes over the past two seasons that should encourage dynasty managers that have him stashed. Washington has three more games this week, including a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday.

After having the best game of his career as a starter on Saturday, Larsson remained in a starting role against Washington. He took advantage of the opportunity and had another strong night. Head coach Erik Spoelstra said on Monday that he doesn’t have a timetable for Andrew Wiggins’ return from a hamstring injury, which could mean a lengthy absence for him. If that ends up happening, Larsson should continue to start. He has averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals, one steal and one block during these last two starts.

Morant was once again able to turn in a strong stat line in his second game back after missing six games with a hamstring injury. The last time Morant scored less than 20 points in a game was February 20, which was the Grizzlies’ first game after the All-Star break. Availability has once again been an issue for Morant this season, but he hasn’t had any issues pouring in the points when he’s on the floor. This was the first night of a back-to-back, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Morant didn’t play against the Warriors on Tuesday. Keep an eye on the injury report, though that game is far more important for the playoff race out West, so it would be surprising if they opted to rest him against Golden State and play him against Boston.

Despite a rough shooting night from White, he was able to turn in a well-rounded stat line and nearly record a triple-double. Oddly enough, this was White’s second consecutive game shooting exactly 4-of-13 from the floor and finishing with eight rebounds and three three-pointers. The difference on Monday was that he was able to reach double digit assists for the third time this season. White has had at least six assists in five straight games now, and he’ll look to continue to dish out the dimes against the Heat on Wednesday.

Toppin’s strong stretch continued on Monday, and this was his sixth-straight game scoring in double figures, which is his longest streak since he scored at least 10 points in nine consecutive games in December. Toppin has provided top-100 value in nine-cat leagues over the past week in just 19.8 minutes per game, which is an incredibly small sample size. Still, it shows just how effective he has been. It is quite the hot streak, but small volume success is hard to maintain, which makes it difficult to consider rostering Toppin in standard leagues.

Playing against his former team, Sabonis had a great matchup with Thomas Bryant starting in place of Myles Turner, who was sidelined with an illness. Sabonis took advantage of the matchup, but his team did not. Sacramento is now 1-4 since Sabonis returned, though he has grabbed at least 12 rebounds in each game. Unfortunately, he failed to record an assist despite playing 40 minutes. This was the fifth time in his career that he played at least 30 minutes and didn’t dish out at least one dime. He’ll look to get back on track in Washington on Wednesday.

Simply put, Poole had no help in Monday’s game. The rest of the starting unit combined to score 29 points in the blowout loss. Poole got off to a quick start and score Washington’s first nine points of the game, but the score got out of hand quickly. The good news is that Poole was able to play 29 minutes after playing less than 25 minutes in four consecutive games. That isn’t something managers should expect to continue, since Washington hasn’t been shy about limiting his minutes to give their young players more minutes.

Vucevic played only 21 minutes in a game the Bulls lost by 28 points. The 34-year-old center was struggling anyway with 11 points on 12 shots including a 1-of-5 performance from behind the three-point line. Vucevic is still a top-50 fantasy player on the season, but his first half was much better than his second half.