NBA Player News

Westbrook’s agreement is now official over a week after he was traded to Utah with the expectation that he would eventually join the Nuggets. Russ will look to help bolster Denver’s bench unit after they ranked 25th in bench points per game last season.

Garland was as efficient as one could be inside the arc, shooting 6-of-6 on two-point shots, but his 0-of-11 shooting from deep left him completely unimpactful from behind the line. Yet, even with the shooting struggles, Garland was one of the Cavaliers’ highest scorers on the evening and concluded with a share of the most assists. Surely, fantasy managers will want more production from Garland going forward, but they must remain patient in the early stages of the season as he continues to work his way back from offseason toe surgery.

Green saw his first action of the season on Friday, so neither the minutes nor the production should be surprising. And his fantasy prospects moving forward don’t look all that promising, as Kon Knueppel has established himself as a key building block, and Sion James (14/4/1 with two three-pointers) offers a higher offensive ceiling than Green. While his defensive ability should get him on the floor, there’s no need to consider rostering Green in redraft leagues.

Despite the defeat, the Hornets had to be thrilled by what they saw from Knueppel on Friday. While he was efficient in recording a career-high point total, the rookie also did a good job of helping Charlotte compensate for LaMelo Ball’s absence. Knueppel matched his season-high in assists while committing only two turnovers. He’s still rostered in 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues, which is too low for a rookie of Knueppel’s caliber.

It’s safe to say that Bridges has snapped out of the mini-slump he found himself in after dropping 35 points on the Raptors back on November 29. He finished Friday’s defeat with his fifth 30-point game of the season, one shy of his total for the 2024-25 campaign. With LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller having missed extended time due to injury, Bridges has been one of the Hornets’ few constants in fantasy basketball this season. The Hornets end Week 8 with a road game against the Cavaliers on Sunday.

Okoro was back in the Bulls’ lineup after an eight-game absence. While it was announced before the game that he would be limited to 20 minutes, he wound up playing 26. The 15 points were four shy of his season-high, but the former lottery pick did not record any defensive stats in Charlotte. With Ayo Dosunmu (thumb) not seeing action, Patrick Williams picked up the slack off the bench, finishing with 16 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and three three-pointers in 26 minutes. While both had encouraging nights at the office, neither Okoro nor Williams should be considered in most redraft leagues.

After playing 21 and 19 minutes in his first two appearances of the season, Collins logged 20 minutes on Friday. While the production was good, the true attention-grabber was the fact that he was part of the Bulls’ closing lineup, with starting center Nikola Vučević (13/3/4 with one block and one three-pointer in 22 minutes) watching from the bench despite not being in foul trouble. With Jalen Smith (5/10/1/1/1 with one three-pointer) playing 17 minutes and sharing the court with Collins at times, this is a position to monitor in the short term. Chicago sticking with this setup would make Collins worthy of a look in deep leagues.

Of the eight games he’s played this season, White has scored at least 20 points in seven. While his field-goal percentage in Friday’s victory was lacking, the Bulls guard provided decent value in the rebounds category. With Josh Giddey running the show, White’s assist ceiling may be a bit limited, but he did enter Friday averaging 5.4 per game. The more significant issue for category league managers is the lack of defensive production, which limits White’s fantasy ceiling.

Giddey and the Bulls ended their seven-game losing streak on Friday, with the point guard recording an impressive stat line. He finished with his 15th double-double of the season and is halfway to his 2024-25 total. In his two prior appearances, Giddey totaled 27 points on 8-of-24 shooting from the field. Facing one of the NBA’s worst defenses, Giddey’s efficiency as a scorer improved, and he finished with a nearly 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Bulls end Week 8 with a game against the Pelicans on Sunday.

Curry is back after missing five games with a left quad contusion/strain, and his inclusion is the lone change to the starting lineup. He replaces rookie Will Richard, with Spencer remaining in the starting five due to his current hot streak. Richard will still get rotation minutes, but the move to the bench lowers his fantasy ceiling.

There’s just one change to the Timberwolves’ starting lineup, but it’s significant. Anthony Edwards is out with a foot injury, so Hyland will make his first start as a Timberwolf. With Mike Conley also out, this may be a spot where Rob Dillingham picks up rotation minutes off the bench, but Hyland should be the focus of deep-league managers looking for a streamer.