NBA Player News

The Suns officially relieved Monty Williams of his head coaching duties Saturday night, and this is an attractive job, to say the least. While there are questions to be answered regarding the futures of Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, the Suns still have Devin Booker and Kevin Durant to build around. Nurse and Budenholzer have both won NBA titles in the past, while Young’s name has been a hot one within coaching circles. It’s important to note that Haynes reported that the Suns are formulating a list, so Nurse, Budenholzer, and Young should not be viewed as finalists at this point in the process.

The Trail Blazers will be without their top three centers on Thursday, as Hansen, Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III are all unavailable due to injury. Duop Reath should slide into the starting lineup, and he’s worth rolling the dice on in deep leagues due to Portland’s lack of available options.

With Donovan Clingan already out, Williams will join him on the sidelines for Thursday’s game. Portland will also be without Yang Hansen, leaving Duop Reath as the lone healthy center on the roster. While the Blazers can go without a center on occasion, Reath is worth streaming on a four-game night.

Thompson is available after sitting out Saturday’s win over the Rockets with a sore knee. His return likely means fewer minutes for D’Angelo Russell and Jaden Hardy, with the latter possibly falling out of the rotation entirely. Thompson is mainly an option for deep-league managers needing three-pointers.

Gafford has missed two straight and four of Dallas’s last five games as his right ankle continues to be an issue. With Dereck Lively II (foot) done for the season, the Mavericks will continue to start Anthony Davis at the center position. Dwight Powell will pick up rotation minutes off the bench if Gafford remains out.

Markkanen was held out of Sunday’s blowout loss to the Thunder, with Kyle Filipowski replacing him in the starting lineup. While he would remain in the rotation, Filipowski has a lower fantasy ceiling when Markkanen and starting center Jusuf Nurkić are available.

Morant was a full participant in Thursday’s practice and did not experience any issues. If he can play on Friday, Vince Williams Jr. would head to the bench. Morant’s return would also affect Cam Spencer, who has been more efficient than Williams recently.

Cooper has missed Washington’s last three games, but he does not usually play rotation minutes when healthy. Leave him on the waiver wire.

Jackson strained his right hamstring during a November 3 game against the Bucks and has not been available since. That may change on Friday, with Ethan Thompson potentially losing out on playing time. However, neither he nor Jackson moves the needle in fantasy.

Proctor is back after missing Cleveland’s last two games for personal reasons. His return will not affect fantasy basketball, even with the Cavaliers not having Sam Merrill or Max Strus.

Branham, who played 14 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s loss to the Hawks, is dealing with a sprained right thumb. However, with Tre Johnson and Cam Whitmore absent from the injury report, Branham will likely fall out of the rotation if he’s available on Friday.