NBA Player News

The writing has been on the wall for Russell in Los Angeles for some time. He struggled mightily in last year’s playoffs and those struggles carried over into this season. Russell didn’t mesh well with new Lakers head coach JJ Redick, who wasted little time in removing him from the starting lineup. The Lakers reportedly beat out several other contenders to acquire Finney-Smith, who is averaging a career-high 2.4 3-pointers and shooting a career-high 43.5 percent from 3-point range, by sending multiple draft picks along with Russell to Brooklyn.

Dick is back in the lineup after sitting out Tuesday’s loss to the Celtics. His return means Ja’Kobe Walter will head to the bench, where the rookie offers minimal fantasy value. While Walter will have value later in the season, as the Raptors are unlikely to be a playoff team, that isn’t the case right now.

Suggs injured his wrist Sunday against the Nets and didn’t return, but it’s no surprise he’s available Wednesday after he was listed as probable. With Anthony Black (back) out, Cole Anthony will serve as Orlando’s backup point guard.

Black will miss his second straight game due to back spasms. He’s been called on to start at times with the Magic dealing with a multitude of injuries, but isn’t consistent enough to be fantasy-relevant.

While Jalen Suggs is available to play after exiting Sunday’s win over the Nets with an injury, Queen has been ruled out (along with Anthony Black). The absences mean more rotation minutes for Cole Anthony, who had fallen in the pecking order before Suggs’ injury.

No surprise here as Terry was initially listed as probable for Wednesday’s game. Unfortunately, the 22-year-old shooting guard doesn’t play enough minutes off the bench to be worth rostering in fantasy at this time.

LaVine is back after sitting out Monday’s win over the Hornets. His return means Julian Phillips heads back to the bench, where he offers little fantasy value. There’s no need to roster Phillips in fantasy leagues.