NBA Player News

To begin with a positive, McCollum recorded a full stat line as the Pelicans earned the 8-seed in the West. However, he had another quiet night on offense, with Friday’s effort occurring with Zion Williamson (hamstring) sidelined. The good news for the Pelicans is that their bench stepped up, with Jose Alvarado (10/5/2/2/1 with one 3-pointer) and Naji Marshall (13/4/3/2) reaching double figures. The bench contributions will be critical against the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs, but the Pelicans will need more from McCollum regardless of how well the reserves play.

Grimes fell out of the New York Knicks’ rotation last season before being traded to the Detroit Pistons and is trying to regain fantasy relevance. The 3-and-D wing posted his bet stat line yet for the shorthanded Mavericks, but there’s no evidence to suggest that he’ll get many shots with Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, and Klay Thompson running the team’s offense.

Legal troubles caused the Houston Rockets to release KPJ ahead of the 2023-24 season and now he’s trying to find his way into the rotation on a new team. The lefty combo guard has his work cut out for him backing up one of the league’s top playmakers in James Harden, but he could have some major performances in 2024-25 in games where the Clippers’ health or foul trouble open opportunities for him to play more.

Sanogo made the most of his start and was dominant as a scorer and rebounder. He’s productive when he gets enough minutes but they’ll be hard to come by playing behind Nikola Vucevic and Jalen Smith.

Walker drew a start and logged a team-high 38 minutes with no Pascal Siakam in the mix. Fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him to carry a heavy workload or high shot volume into the regular season, though.

Edey is trending in the right direction. The rookie big man flirted with a double-double and posted his highest point total yet despite playing 19 minutes off the bench. His fantasy outlook is strong ahead of his first NBA campaign.

George didn’t return to the bench after tweaking his knee in the first half of the contest. He recorded eight points, two rebounds, and an assist in 12 minutes. Whether his regular-season debut will be pushed back remains to be seen.

Gilyard is looking for a new team after averaging 4.7 points and 3.5 assists for the Grizzlies last season. He seems unlikely to play a significant role for any team at this point, as the regular season is right around the corner.

It appears like McDaniels won’t be in San Antonio for long. The Kings wanted to clear up roster space and he doesn’t fit the Spurs’ vision. McDaniels averaged 6.9 points and 3.3 rebound across his first five NBA seasons.

Murray scored an underwhelming two points in the 10 minutes he played against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. He averaged at least 20.0 points per contest for a third consecutive season in 2023-24 and should be considered a strong fantasy point guard option until there’s a stronger indication that his health and conditioning are struggling.

Podz is getting fitted for a mask, so he should be fine by the time the regular season starts. He was limited in practice on Monday, and his absence on Tuesday will mean extra minutes for De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Moses Moody. This isn’t a great time for Podz to get injured, since he’s still competing for a starting spot. However, he’ll play a large role regardless.