NBA Player News

Robinson underwent two separate surgeries on his left ankle during the 2023-24 season, the second occurring in mid-May after suffering a stress injury during the playoffs. At the time, it was reported that an update would be provided in 6-8 weeks. Given Begley’s recent update, there’s still work for Robinson to do rehab-wise before he’s given full on-court clearance. With Isaiah Hartenstein leaving in free agency, the Knicks need a healthy Robinson on the court as they look to contend in the East. As for his fantasy value, it will be difficult for managers to fully trust a player who appeared in 31 regular season games last season.

Clifford is averaging just under 15 minutes per game over his last five games, but he had 16 points, seven rebounds, and one steal in 32 minutes in the G-League on Tuesday and will now be back up with the Kings and in the starting lineup. We wouldn’t go ahead and run to add him yet, but it does make sense for the Kings to give their rookie more playing time in what’s looking to be a lost season.

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.