NBA Player News

“We wanted a big guy,” Cuban said when asked why he drafted Bhamara. “We believe in creating legends down in Dallas. He’s enormous. What we really liked about him he really could shoot the ball. He was one of the better 3-point shooters we brought through. It was shocking, but true. The guy is a knock down shooter. He’s intense. He works hard. He’s been at IMG academy working with them for several years. We’re excited that he’ll come and play on our summer league team. You guys will see what he’s able to do.” Bhamara is a 7'2 center weighing in at 290 pounds, so it’s impressive that he is able to knock down 3-pointers consistently. The 19-year-old is still a huge project, so he won’t make an immediate impact in Dallas.

Kawhi Leonard (ankle) is out, but John Collins (groin) and Zubac (ankle) are back. Brook Lopez will return to the bench, but Sanders will remain in the starting unit, with Batum filling in instead of Collins.

Castle hasn’t missed a game in over a month but could end up unavailable against Minnesota. Dylan Harper would be a strong candidate to fill in for Castle in the starting unit and would receive a nice bump in playing time and production.

Zubac will be back in the lineup after missing one game against the Wizards on Wednesday. His return will push Brook Lopez back to the bench after he logged 21 minutes as the starting center against Washington

Porter will fill Darius Garland’s spot in the starting lineup as he is sidelined with the same toe injury that has given him trouble all season. Porter has been able to stuff the stat sheet when he’s gotten the opportunity to play big minutes this year. It’s possible this ends up being more than a one-game absence for Garland, so Porter could hold some long-term value.

Collins missed Wednesday’s game against the Wizards, and after initially being listed as questionable, he’ll be back to take on Toronto. Collins’ return lines up with Kawhi Leonard being out, so Kobe Sanders should remain a starter for another game.

Embiid was initially listed as probable with left knee injury management, so his availability against the Cavaliers Friday isn’t a surprise. The 31-year-old center had 20 points in Wednesday’s loss to the Cavaliers.

Jones was a late addition to the injury report, but he will be able to suit up against New Orleans. However, his role has been minimal since he debuted last month, and there is no guarantee he sees the floor in this game.

George was initially listed as probable with left knee injury management, so his availability against the Cavaliers Friday isn’t a surprise. The 35-year-old small forward had 17 points in 30 minutes against Cleveland on Wednesday.

Brown is expected to remain available despite a lingering knee issue. He should continue to play his typical role off the bench, which hasn’t result in much fantasy production from him.

Gordon doesn’t appear to be in serious jeopardy of missing Saturday’s game against the Wizards. The 30-year-old power forward is listed as probable with a hamstring injury. With Nikola Jokic and Christian Braun sidelined, the Nuggets will need Gordon in this one.