Khem

Birch

Birch has played a minimal role on the court across six NBA seasons, and with San Antonio strong in the frontcourt with Zach Collins and Victor Wembanyama, there’s no room for Birch on the roster. Even if Birch lands with a new team, he’s unlikely to have a fantasy-relevant role.

Bassey injured his leg on Tuesday night, and the initial diagnosis would be that he would be done for the rest of the season. The team confirmed the report on Wednesday, which means Zach Collins and Khem Birch should play the majority of the minutes at center for the rest of the season. Both of those guys will miss Wednesday’s game, so Gorgui Dieng should step into big minutes.

Birch has yet to make his debut for San Antonio, but even once he’s cleared to re-take the court, he’s not likely to see much playing time.

With Doug McDermott (thumb sprain) and Khem Birch (right knee) also ruled out, expect the uber-efficient Charles Bassey to see some extra frontcourt minutes in this one.

Birch has still yet to make his Spurs debut, and it is unknown when that will change. Consider the veteran big man to be out indefinitely until the team says otherwise. And with the Spurs having Zach Collins and Charles Bassey, Birch won’t get many minutes when he’s medically cleared.

Langford hasn’t played since January 23, Roby has missed the Spurs’ last three contests and Birch has yet to debut for his new squad. Langford is the only one of the trio worth considering once healthy, but with Malaki Branham balling and Devonte’ Graham now contributing, he’s not the most enticing option.

Birch has yet to play a game for the Spurs, who acquired him as part of the deal that sent Jakob Poeltl to Toronto. His eventual return will not impact fantasy basketball, as Zach Collins and Charles Bassey should continue handling the minutes at the center position.

Birch was traded to the Spurs ahead of Thursday’s deadline, but we’ll have to wait on his team debut until at least February 23 when the Spurs take on the Mavericks. It’s unclear how large a role he’ll have in a Spurs front court already featuring Zach Collins and Jeremy Sochan.

Poeltl was drafted by the Raptors in 2016 and spent the first two years of his career there, and he’ll return to the team in the midst of the best season of his career. Toronto is in need of a rim-protecting big man, and they’ll get a starting center who can record a double-double with multiple blocks on any given night. The Raptors were rumored to have been working on a deal for Poeltl that involved dealing Gary Trent Jr., so the fact that the team could acquire their target and hang onto GTJ should be considered a win. Fantasy darlings such as Precious Achiuwa and Chris Boucher are likely off the fantasy radar now, while Zach Collins should see a big bump in playing time and usage with Poeltl out of town.

Birch hasn’t appeared in a game since December 29, as Precious Achiuwa and Chris Boucher separated themselves in the competition for frontcourt minutes. What the future holds for him in San Antonio remains to be seen, but it’s unlikely he gets the minutes needed to be a viable fantasy option for the remainder of this season. Fantasy managers who stashed Zach Collins ahead of this week are in a good spot.