NBA Player News

Morey’s decision to move on marks the official end of an era in Houston, even more so than Mike D’Antoni no longer serving as head coach. Under Morey’s direction the Rockets went with smaller lineups headlined by James Harden, even going far enough this season to either trade (Clint Capela) or waive (Isaiah Hartenstein) the only true centers on the roster. According to Wojnarowski, Houston plans to promote executive VP of basketball operations Rafael Stone to GM, with Eli Witus being promoted to assistant GM. Stone’s first order of business will be to hire a new head coach.

Smith was limited to 24 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to the Raptors, which factored into Guerschon Yabusele playing 33 minutes off the bench in his Bulls’ debut. Chicago would rely on Yabusele even more on Saturday if Smith can’t play, and Nick Richards will also be available.

Saturday’s game will be the ninth that Jones has missed, having last appeared in a game on January 22. With the Bulls adding Jaden Ivey, Anfernee Simons and Collin Sexton to the roster at the trade deadline, there’s little to gain from holding onto Jones in most fantasy leagues.

Acquired from the Knicks along with two second-round picks and cash in exchange for Jose Alvarado, Terry has been waived by the Pelicans. The former first-round pick failed to lock down a consistent role for himself in three-plus seasons in Chicago before being traded twice in 24 hours, and now he’ll look for a new home as an unrestricted free agent after he clears waivers.

McBride underwent the procedure on Friday, one day after the Knicks acquired Jose Alvarado from the Pelicans. With the reported timeline, there’s a chance the guard is available to play before the start of the postseason. While they await McBride’s return, the Knicks will rely on the combination of Alvarado (once he joins the team), Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson to fill the void.

Giddey was initially questionable for Wednesday’s loss to the Raptors, but did not play, which led to rotation minutes off the bench for Yuki Kawamura and Mac McClung. Jaden Ivey, who started his Bulls debut, is the player to target if he’s sitting on the waiver wire, and Collin Sexton will also be available on Saturday.

Curry has been dealing with “runner’s knee” for a few weeks. It’s unknown how much longer the star guard will be out, but at the very least, he will miss one more game. Gui Santos has been productive as a spot starter and is worth a look in deeper leagues while Curry sits.

The Trail Blazers and Grizzlies play on Friday and Saturday, so Wesley is likely to miss one of those games for injury management reasons. His availability does not affect fantasy basketball, especially with Scoot Henderson (hamstring) set to make his season debut.

Sabonis has appeared in just one of the Kings’ last three games, and he’s logged only 19 games this season due to lingering injuries. In Sabonis’ absence, Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell should continue to soak up minutes. The pair of backup centers has “silly season” appeal, as Sacramento has no incentive to play Sabonis down the stretch of a lost season.

Dončić suffered the left hamstring injury in Thursday’s win over the 76ers, and McMenamin notes that there is optimism the injury is not serious. Fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief for now, but the extent of Dončić’s injury is still unknown. Until we get more clarity on the situation, the Lakers will fill his vacated minutes by committee with Jake LaRavia, Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard logging some additional minutes.

Charlotte waived KJ Simpson in a subsequent move. Evbuomwan will offer forward depth, but he’s not likely to see enough run to be worth a look in most fantasy leagues.