Keita

Bates-Diop

KBD was traded multiple times this summer, but he wasn’t able to make Minnesota’s final roster. He wasn’t going to play much anyway, so this won’t have any impact on fantasy basketball.

Minnesota is the lone team that has yet to reach the league max of 15 standard contracts, sitting at 16. Bates-Diop not practicing on Saturday may indicate that he’s the odd man out and will ultimately be waived. His status will not impact fantasy basketball, as KBD was unlikely to be in the rotation.

Due to Karl-Anthony Towns’s contract size, New York has some shuffling to make the acquisition official. As a result, the Hornets entered the deal as the third team and will acquire DaQuan Jeffries. According to SNY, the Knicks may also have to include Duane Washington Jr. and Charlie Brown via sign-and-trade deals to get the Towns trade over the finish line. Bates-Diop wouldn’t impact fantasy basketball in New York, which will likely remain true in Minnesota.

Milton inked a three-year, $9 million contract (the final two years non-guaranteed) and was sent to Brooklyn as part of the Mikal Bridges deal. Keita Bates-Diop was also sent to New York in the process. Milton should have plenty of opportunities for a rebuilding Nets team, making Milton a name to monitor at the end of 2024-25 fantasy drafts. In his final season with Philly in 2022-23, Milton averaged 20.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.2 dimes across 11 starts.

Bates-Diop spent 14 games with the Nets after being traded by the Phoenix Suns last season and played a minor role off the bench. He averaged just 1.6 points per game with Brooklyn.

Smith and Bates-Diop will remain sidelined, but neither absence significantly impacts fantasy basketball. Smith’s minutes were absorbed by Jacob Gilyard, who went scoreless with one assist and one steal in Monday’s loss to the Raptors. As for Bates-Diop, he hasn’t reached double digits in minutes since February 14.

The Nets have been dealing with multiple injuries across the roster for months, and Monday’s tilt with Toronto will be no different. Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroder should be the biggest beneficiaries of this trio of absences.

KBD wasn’t productive for the Suns this season, and it is unlikely that he is able to start contributing value with his new team. However, we should get an idea of what his place in the rotation looks like on Saturday.

The Suns acquired Royce O’Neale and David Roddy on Thursday, sending out four players who failed to earn consistent rotation minutes. This also frees up two roster spots for the Suns to use on the buyout market. Metu has some upside, especially on a Grizzlies team that lacks depth due to numerous injuries. Bates-Diop and Goodwin won’t be worth rostering in Brooklyn.

Bol is technically available for this game, but Vogel said that he won’t play. That means that Drew Eubanks and Keita Bates-Diop will continue to fill out the backup frontcourt minute, though neither has been able to impact fantasy much as reserves.