Nick

Richards

Williams suffered the injury during a workout on Thursday and will miss the Hornets’ entire training camp. The Hornets center will have a little under one month before the start of the regular season, and there’s no guarantee he’ll be fully cleared by then. Not only does this news knock Williams down a few pegs in drafts, but it also increases the short-term value of Nick Richards. Depending on the timing of the draft and the next Williams injury update, Richards may be worth a late-round flier in deep leagues.

Richards and Williams sat out their last game, and Bertans will join them on the sidelines for this one. With Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges also out, there will be plenty of minutes at forward to go around. Aleksej Pokusevski and JT Thor should fill a lot of those, with Marques Bolden once again seeing most of the minutes at center.

While Bertans played 22 minutes off the bench in Friday’s loss to the Celtics, Richards and Williams did not play. Tre Mann, Nick Smith Jr., and Marques Bolden all played at least 29 minutes in Boston, and they are the safest options on the Hornets roster to target in active fantasy leagues.

Richards and Williams were initially questionable for Friday’s game. Their absences free up minutes for JT Thor and Marques Bolden, who are not worth the risk in most active fantasy leagues.

Richards and Williams were active for Wednesday’s win over the Hawks, with the latter playing 27 minutes as a starter and the former coming off the bench to log 19. If cleared to play on Friday, they will occupy similar spaces within the Hornets’ rotation. If Richards and Williams were sidelined, more minutes become available to JT Thor and Marques Bolden, who are not worth streaming.

Richards is back after missing three games but will come off the bench. This protects Grant Williams’ fantasy value, as he has flourished as a starter. As for Black, he may play a few minutes off the bench but is not in a position to impact fantasy basketball.

Richards has missed the team’s last three games, and there is a chance that he misses a fourth straight. Grant Williams will continue to start at center, where he has provided top-75 value over their last three games. Black’s status will not impact fantasy basketball, since he has only appeared in one game since the All-Star break.

Richards will miss his third straight game on Friday. Grant Williams (32% rostered in Yahoo leagues) will likely get the start at center and is worth streaming ahead of the weekend.

Williams appears poised to keep starting at center if Nick Richards (foot) continues to miss games. The undersized big man is posting 13.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists through six games as a starter for the Hornets.

Richards has missed their last two games, which has allowed Grant Williams to start in his place. If Richards returns, Williams will return to playing a role off the bench. However, if he remains sidelined, Williams will continue to be a strong streaming option.