Al-Farouq

Aminu

The Celtics have eight players in league protocols, with five of those players playing down low. Aminu should get an opportunity for minutes on Christmas Day against the Bucks. He averaged 5.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and a steal in 21.6 minutes per game for the Magic last season.

Aminu wasn’t very high on the depth chart in San Antonio, and for a team that is going through a rebuild, there is no need to keep him on the payroll. He was not a fantasy target either way and if he is signed elsewhere, this will not change.

Aminu has never been all that fantasy-relevant, and that won’t change in his age-31 season. The Spurs will also be securing a protected first-round pick and two second-round picks as part of the DeMar DeRozan sign-and-trade deal.

This was a no-brainer for Aminu, who would not have been able to secure $10+ million annually as a free agent if he had opted out. Aminu was traded to the Bulls as part of the deal with Orlando for Nikola Vucevic at the deadline. In the six games he played for Chicago, Aminu averaged 1.5 points in 11.2 minutes.

The Bulls don’t even have Daniel Theis yet, so he may not be a rotation player. He’s miles off the fantasy radar.

Troy Brown Jr., Javonte Green and Al-Farouq Aminu will also be available, while Daniel Theis (personal) won’t debut until Monday. Zach LaVine was particularly excited about the Vucevic trade, saying that he always wanted to play with a dominant big and that he let out a yell in his home when he saw the news.

Shortly after it was reported that the Magic would require a “substantial package” in order to even consider trading Vucevic, the two-time All-Star is on the move. He’ll be playing with a guard in Zach LaVine who is a far more prolific scorer than any of his former Magic teammates were (save Terrence Ross), which could improve Vucevic’s already-high fantasy value. Chicago appears to be all-in on making a run at a playoff spot based upon this move. In return, Orlando receives Otto Porter, Wendell Carter Jr. and first-round picks in 2021 and 2023 (both 1-4 protected).

Aminu is headed to the Windy City in a trade that centers around two-time All-Star Nikola Vucevic. The veteran forward has been rounding into form recently, but his fantasy impact remains minimal. While Aminu is a capable rebounder and defender, he doesn’t bring as much to the table offensively as new teammate Thaddeus Young. Fantasy managers can leave Aminu on the waiver wire until his role in Chicago is clearly defined. Orlando will receive Otto Porter, Wendell Carter Jr. and two first-round picks (2021 and 2023) in the deal.

Aminu is rostered in just 1% of Yahoo leagues and with good reason, as he doesn’t offer much in the way of offensive production. He had himself quite the night in Orlando’s loss to Denver however, with the points, rebounds, assists and minutes numbers all being season-highs. This performance was anything but the norm for Aminu, so it would be wise to leave him on the waiver wire unless you’re playing in an extremely deep league.

Aminu has been playing nearly 24 minutes per game over the previous couple weeks, but has yet to emerge on the fantasy radar with 3.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.3 blocks. He’s safe to ignore for the time being.