NBA Player News

Two days after the Kings announced that Carter would not participate in the California Classic or Vegas Summer League, Charania reports that the first-round pick will undergo shoulder surgery. While the former Providence standout is expected to fully recover without any long-term issues, it’s unknown if Carter will be healthy when training camp begins. In addition to having Keon Ellis on the roster, the Kings also signed Jordan McLaughlin to a one-year contract. Carter’s value in redraft leagues won’t be determined until the Kings announce a recovery timeline, but he does take a hit due to the uncertainty.

Prince spoke to reporters on Thursday for the first time since surgery. He admitted that “the only way to hoop again was to get the surgery.” He said he is “100 percent” certain that he’s going to play again, but there is no timeline for his return. At this point, Prince is just thankful that he’s “still here to speak and be able to have an opportunity to hoop again.”

Jones practiced fully on Thursday for the second straight day and is now expected to suit up on Friday. He has missed three games, and the Bulls can certainly use him with both Ayo Dosunmu (thumb) and Kevin Huerter (hamstring) still out.

Huerter was injured on December 1st and was to be re-evaluated after one week. Still, after that evaluation, he will not travel with the team to Charlotte and will miss yet another game. There is no more information on when he might return.

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan confirmed that neither Ayo Dosunmu nor Kevin Huerter will travel to Charlotte for Friday’s game. Dosunmu returned to action on Sunday after missing one game with his thumb injury, but then he was unable to practice on Monday and will now miss Friday’s game. It remains to be seen how much longer he will miss. With Tre Jones also out, Jevon Carter has seen an uptick in playing time.

Oubre has been out since November 14th, and the team said last week that he would be re-evaluated this week. It seems that the evaluation didn’t change much in terms of his recovery time. Quentin Grimes will continue to play big minutes and put up top-60 value in fantasy formats.

McBride has been sidelined since December 7th, and it now appears he will be out at least a week longer. Even though he is no longer starting, McBride is a key part of the Knicks’ rotation and has made clear gains as a scorer this season. In his absence, Jordan Clarkson will continue to be relied on for bench scoring, and Tyler Kolek will see an uptick in minutes.

Horford will have missed three games as he deals with his sciatica. The Warriors could get both Stephen Curry and Draymond Green (foot) back for that game, which would likely mean fewer minutes for guys like Pat Spencer and Quinten Post. It remains to be seen when Horford will be able to return to the court.

Curry has missed the last five games with a left quad contusion/strain. In that time, Brandin Podziemski has averaged about 26 minutes per game and been a borderline top-100 player in fantasy leagues, and Pat Spencer has gotten a chance to become one of the better stories in the NBA, playing over 26 minutes per game over his last three and averaging 15.7 points, 5.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds. Curry’s potential return could dampen the run that Spencer has been on.

The 25-year-old was signed to a standard deal back on November 20th and will now be released to make room on the roster for Garrison Mathews. Robinson-Earl was playing just 14 minutes per game over the last two weeks and had not entered either of the last two games.

Mathews had been on a 10-day contract, but he will now join the Pacers on a standard NBA deal. The 29-year-old has seen his playing time increase of late, averaging almost 18 minutes per game over his last six games. He’s scoring 7.2 points per game with 1.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists, so he remains firmly off the fantasy radar.