NBA Player News

Porzingis, Kornet and Al Horford all sat Tuesday. Horford is on track to return to the lineup, but Porzingis could miss both legs of the back-to-back set. Torrey Craig started at center on Wednesday, though he only logged 15 minutes. Neemias Queta saw 20 minutes off the bench and was the better fantasy option. If Porzingis is ultimately ruled out, expect Horford to be the biggest beneficiary, with Queta offering some deeper-league value.

Despite reports during training camp that the Hornets hoped to keep Connaughton around for his locker-room influence, the team has reportedly decided to move on. The veteran guard appeared in 42 games last season, averaging just over seven minutes per appearance. Connaughton’s exit won’t affect fantasy basketball because he was unlikely to log consistent rotation minutes in Charlotte.

Dickinson signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pelicans earlier this week. If he sticks with the organization’s G league affiliate the Laketown Squadron for 60 days as expected, he’ll receive a bonus. While Dickinson was waived one day after he was signed, not much has materially changed with his outlook for this season.

Brooklyn head coach Jodi Fernandez noted that Brown Jr.'s minutes will have to rise above 24 before he’ll be in consideration to start, and it’s yet unknown when that might happen. Fantasy managers who drafted Brown Jr. will need to be patient as he ramps back up from an ankle injury suffered in the offseason.

Gilgeous-Alexander was -24 in 26 minutes in the 116-89 loss to the Rockets. Still, he was able to score 17 points on 12 attempts and made all five of his free throws. The reigning two-time NBA MVP typically comes off the board third overall in fantasy drafts this year.

Şengün played 24 minutes and filled up the stat sheet in the 116-89 victory over the Thunder, though he missed both of his three-point attempts. The 24-year-old center is coming off a down year by his standards, but is still an early second-round pick in most fantasy drafts this year.

Bogdanović might want to save some for the regular season. The 34-year-old shooting guard came off the bench, played 16 minutes and dropped 15 points on five made three-pointers. Bogdanović should provide valuable floor spacing and outside shooting when he plays, but isn’t expected to be much of a factor in fantasy basketball this season.

Hart was ruled out with an ankle injury ahead of the Knicks’ preseason game against the Raptors on Thursday. Knicks coach Mike Brown told reporters he doesn’t think the injury will impact Hart’s status for the Knicks’ season opener against the 76ers on Tuesday, which is great news for fantasy managers. The game will air at 7:00 PM ET on NBC and Peacock.

Brunson was back in the lineup after skipping Tuesday’s matchup against the Raptors, which was the second night of a preseason back-to-back. The 30-year-old point guard led the Knicks with 20 points in the 122-120 victory. Brunson has averaged at least 26 points in each of the last three years, making him a rock solid pick late in the second round of fantasy drafts.

Barnes torched the Knicks’ backups for 19 points on Tuesday. With most of the Knicks’ starters playing Thursday, the results were pretty much the same for Barnes, who had another excellent game. The 25-year-old forward is a fantasy stud that can be had in the second round of drafts this year.

Dickinson appeared in five games with the Pelicans as a two-way player last year. Terms of his new deal with New Orleans weren’t disclosed. Dickinson averaged 17.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 30.3 minutes per game in the G league last season. Unless he’s able to carve out a more significant role with the Pelicans this time around, he could spend most of the season in the G league again.