NBA Player News

Heat president Pat Riley issued a statement that Miami wouldn’t trade Butler in an effort to reduce the off-court distraction the trade rumors surrounding the 35-year-old small forward caused. Predictably, Butler didn’t back down from his desire to be traded. He capped off a press conference after Thursday’s game by expressing that he’d like to regain his joy for basketball and probably doesn’t see that happening with the Heat. Then his camp leaked to ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania that he’s indicated to Miami’s front office that he’d like to be traded to any other team. Riley and the Heat have responded by suspending Butler for seven games. Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess, but it’s possible he’s already played his last game in red and black.

Coulibaly did a little bit of everything Tuesday as he filled up the stat sheet against the Lakers. The 20-year-old shooting guard had 17 points, exceeding his season average of 12 points per game. Coulibaly added a steal and two blocks on the defensive as well as six rebounds and four assists. He’s worth rostering in some standard leagues, but given his age he’s more valuable in dynasty formats.

JJ Redick said before this game that DFS has been managing an ankle injury since he arrived in LA, and they have been keeping an eye on his minutes. However, Redick said that they planned to increase his minutes in this game, and they hope to eventually get him to around 30 minutes per game. He still didn’t play a significant role in this game, but he had his highest-scoring game as a Laker. He shouldn’t be considered a must-roster player now, but if the minutes continue to trend up, he will be difficult to leave on the waiver wire.

Poole led the Wizards in shot attempts Tuesday against the Lakers, but ultimately struggled going 5-of-18 from the field including 4-of-12 attempts from behind the 3-point line. His seven rebounds were a nice bonus as he’s only averaging 2.9 rebounds per game this year. Fantasy managers have come to accept that Poole will have his ups and downs as the good games have outweighed the bad ones this year on the way to top-60 fantasy value.

James continues to make history every night. In this game, he became the second 40-year-old to record a triple-double, joining Karl Malone, who did it back in 2003. The Lakers have now won three of their last four games, with LeBron scoring at least 20 points in each of them. He also has had at least eight assists in nine straight games. James is back to being an elite fantasy player despite a poor stretch earlier this season. They have two more games this week, with the Celtics up next on the schedule on Thursday.

After only scoring 16 points on poor shooting in their last game, Davis returned to his dominant self in this one. This was AD’s eighth straight game with multiple blocks, and he continues to be a lock for a double-double every night. The Lakers have two more games this week, with the Celtics coming to town on Thursday before they wrap up the week in Golden State on Saturday. Expect more big nights for Davis as the Lakers take on two of their biggest rivals during the NBA’s Rivals Week.

Westbrook started and played just 25 minutes, but was still only three rebounds and one assist shy of a triple-double in the victory. The 36-year-old point guard continues to start and see more minutes with the Nuggets bringing Aaron Gordon back slowly from a calf injury. Still, it’s impressive that Westbrook can flirt with a triple-double even when teammate Nikola Jokic is getting a triple-double every night. Westbrook can still put up solid production, but has an even higher ceiling when the Nuggets are missing a starter.

After missing their last two games with a knee contusion, Yabusele came off the bench in his return due to the availability of Andre Drummond. However, Yabusele was far more productive as a reserve than Drummond was as a starter. He also played 24 minutes to Drummond’s 20. Yabusele is rostered in just 16% of leagues, but with Joel Embiid’s status still unclear, he should be worth rostering moving forward. They have a back-to-back coming up on Friday and Saturday, which could result in an absence for Drummond, which would only benefit Yabusele more.

Braun now has at least 20 points in three of his last four games. He was efficient making 8-of-11 field goal attempts without attempting a 3-pointer. The 23-year-old shooting guard played 25 minutes. He also got to the foul line five times and made four free throws. Braun has been scoring while he continues to start and play more minutes ahead of Aaron Gordon, though it’s unclear how much longer that will last.

Maxey continued his offensive tear in this game, though it wasn’t enough to snap their losing streak. He has scored at least 28 points in eight straight games, and this was the third time during this stretch that he has recorded a double-double. Maxey has stepped up with Joel Embiid sidelined, and it has resulted in him being a top ten player in 9-cat leagues over the past two months. Maxey will continue to be one of the best players in fantasy basketball, and with a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, he will likely see even more usage with Paul George potentially sitting out one of those games.

The triple-double was Jokic’s fourth in a row and fifth in his last six games. The 29-year-old center added four steals and a block to his stat line on the defensive end as well. The Joker is still the top overall player in fantasy. The Nuggets are back on the court Thursday against the Kings.