NBA Player News

Bell is a veteran guard who plays solid defense, but his NBA career has run its course. He played in Italy early in his career with Treviso, Virtus Bologna and Mabo Livorno.

Branham was traded to Dallas as part of the Anthony Davis trade, but now he’ll be back in the Southeast division. Branham should be a solid depth scorer, though with Charlotte trying to push for the postseason, he likely won’t play enough minutes to make much of an impact.

Two players that have already been moved at this deadline will be swung once again. Jones will provide a veteran ball handler for a young team that has lacked a consistent option at point guard this season. Having Jones in the rotation will help Cooper Flagg’s development without resulting in extra wins. Jones could be a solid source of assists if he is able to playing at least 20 minutes per game, though he will likely come off the bench.

Waters will miss a second straight game, though he has only played 6.8 minutes per game this season and isn’t a consistent part of the rotation when healthy. His continued absence won’t impact the Spurs’ rotation.

This will be a fifth straight absence for Sochan, though he hasn’t been part of the rotation when healthy. His continued absence won’t alter the Spurs’ rotation.

Harper missed Thursday’s game against Dallas and could miss a second straight game. Jordan McLaughlin filled out 13 minutes off the bench in that game and could fill a similar role if Harper remains out, though he isn’t a player to consider streaming.

The 2023 first-round pick will be an add-on as part of the trade that was centered around Ivica Zubac being sent to Indiana. Brown was only playing 8.7 minutes per game for the Clippers this year, but with the Pacers now needing to finish with a top-four pick to avoid sending it to the Clippers, Brown should get an opportunity to play big minutes as the team tanks.

Jackson was a popular sleeper heading into this season after Myles Turner left town, but he battled an injury at the start of the season and was passed on the depth chartby Jay Huff. Jackson is averaging just 6.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in under 17 minutes per game and has averaged just 12 minutes in his last nine games. He fits well alongside John Collins, so the Clippers could give the 24-year-old a chance to carve out a role as their starting center as they look to build towards the future.

Mathurin will be the headliner back for the Clippers and will provide them with a young scorer with upside. When healthy this season, Mathurin was a high-level scorer in an increased role, and he should be able to keep that going with the Clippers. The former lottery pick was never able to develop into the player the Pacers hoped he would become, but he’ll get the chance to reach his potential on a Clippers team that is starting to pivot towards the future.

Kornet has been filling the backup center minutes recently, but that role will fall to Kelly Olynyk for this game if he is available. He is questionable with left foot soreness, which means Bismack Biyombo would be next in line to fill the role.

Even though the Pacers are not in contention this season, Zubac is signed through the 2027-28 season with his three-year, $58.6 million deal. The 28-year-old is averaging 14.4 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 43 games this season. He will slide into the starting center role for a team in desperate need of a big man, and then will form a strong core with Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam next season. This trade is also good news for the Thunder, who own the rights to the Clippers’ first-round pick. With the Clippers trading away Zubac and James Harden, that pick figures to be pretty high in the upcoming draft. The Pacers are also sending their 2016 first-round pick to the Clippers, but that pick is top 1-4 and 10-30 protected. Given that the Pacers currently have the third-worst record in the NBA, it would be a huge risk for them to play their best lineup going forward and risk picking in that 5-9 range. As a result, we may see a lot of rest days for their better players, including Zubac, in the days ahead.