NBA Player News

This was to be expected. Chicago waived Craig and Duarte to make room on its roster for Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter and Zach Collins after the trade headlined by De’Aaron Fox and Zach LaVine became official. Craig is likely to draw interest from a contending team in need of wing depth.

Despite Grayson Allen having a real good game on Wednesday, Sion James is still the starter for this game. Given that Sion did start 19 games last year, it seems like he will stay in the starting lineup until players return to help balance out the starters. Grayson Allen can still be rostered in some spots until players start getting back, but he’ll be a streamer in most cases.

Powell was the Bulls’ leading scorer in the victory over the Bucks on Wednesday. While he had 25 points, Powell’s typically excellent shooting from behind the three-point line was noticeably absent. The 33-year-old shooting guard went 2-of-12 from behind the arc and is now 4-of-18 (22.2 percent) from long distance this season. Powell is a career 39.6 percent three-point shooter and should have better shooting games in his future as he’s due for positive regression.

Sheppard was initially listed with a sore left knee, but the Pacers have since updated the injury report. With a torn meniscus, he’ll likely miss more time than the two weeks Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle initially said during his pregame media availability.

Jarace Walker will take Kelly Oubre’s spot in the starting lineup after he started the first game. The Pacers also have Aaron Nesmith available to play tonight. It’s possible that Rick Carlisle is trying to match the size of the Mavericks by putting Walker in to start.

Sean Pedulla was waived by the Rockets on Monday and it didn’t take long for him to find another landing spot. The Ole Miss product has bounced was the G League Rookie of the Year last year averaging 23.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals, shooting 44/37/85 shooting splits during the G League regular season. The Kings do not have a lot of point guard options outside of Darius Acuff and Malik Monk, who really isn’t a full time point guard. If there are injuries, Sean Pedulla might get some run and will be worth monitoring in deeper leagues.

Irving played 23 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to the Rockets, his first game since suffering a torn ACL on March 3, 2025. Given the time away from competitive basketball, Kyrie’s limited minutes are not a surprise. May did not disclose in his pregame availability whether Irving will be available for Saturday’s game against the Spurs.

Howard’s continued absence will not affect fantasy basketball, as he is not guaranteed to receive rotation minutes even if healthy.

Despite the Pacers listing Sheppard as questionable for Friday’s game against the Mavericks, he’s expected to miss time with a left meniscus injury. Carlisle said on Friday that the reserve guard could miss two weeks or more. With Aaron Nesmith cleared to return from a strained hamstring, he’ll absorb most of the minutes that would have gone to Sheppard.

Nesmith will return after missing Wednesday’s win over the Pelicans, according to Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. With Nesmith back, Kelly Oubre Jr. will head to the bench for Friday’s game against the Mavericks.

Peavy was waived by the Grizzlies earlier this week and went unclaimed. Now the former 18th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft will try to carve out a role for himself on the Thunder. He reportedly picked Oklahoma City over Toronto as the Raptors had also offered him a two-way contract.