NBA Player News

Haliburton played through the injury in Indiana’s decisive Game 6 victory, and there was never much of a doubt that he’d gut it out to play in the winner-take-all Game 7.

The full participation in practice is encouraging, but neither player will take the court for Friday’s preseason finale against the Celtics, likely for precautionary reasons. The Sixers play the Knicks on Tuesday for opening night, so fantasy managers rostering Bona and/or Simons should keep an eye on their respective statuses ahead of Tuesday’s tip-off.

New York released Drew Eubanks earlier in the day, and Bradley and Agbaji are the latest cuts as the team pares down its roster ahead of the 2026-27 season.

Eubanks was competing for a reserve role with the reigning champs, but he’ll have to look for a new team while recovering from his pectoral injury. Eubanks is not on the fantasy basketball radar ahead of the 2026-27 season.

The 35th overall pick in this past summer’s draft, Brazile had his most productive night of the preseason on Wednesday. The 6-foot-10 forward/center shot 80 percent from the field, and his final line lacked only an assist. Based on playing time, Brazile has already leapfrogged former first-round picks Zeke Nnaji and DaRon Holmes II in the frontcourt pecking order. He may not get the minutes needed to impact fantasy basketball once the regular season begins, but Brazile needs to be rostered in dynasty leagues.

Strawther was injured in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game when he fell awkwardly, landing with his left leg beneath him after being trapped by two Clippers defenders. Following the game, Nuggets head coach David Adelman said that Strawther will undergo an MRI on Thursday. If he misses time, the Nuggets will rely even more on DeMar DeRozan (who did not play on Wednesday) off the bench.

Murray and the other Nuggets starters were shut down at halftime of Wednesday’s game, their penultimate preseason contest. He looked sharp, shooting 75 percent from the field overall. No matter how much Murray plays in Friday’s finale against the Lakers, his fantasy outlook won’t change much. He’s worth a second-round pick in 12-team formats.

Whether with the Wizards or the Lakers, Hachimura never seemed consistently reliable in fantasy leagues. That may change with the Clippers, especially with Brandon Ingram recovering from a partially ruptured Achilles tendon. The scoring will need to come from somewhere, and Hachimura may be the team’s best currently healthy option outside of Darius Garland. The late-round ADP in Yahoo leagues is fair, with fantasy managers hoping that Rui starts the regular season off strong.

Wagler started Wednesday’s preseason finale and played 28 minutes. Even with Kris Dunn expected to be ready for the start of the regular season, injuries to Brandon Ingram, Bradley Beal and Max Strus mean that the lottery pick out of Illinois should play regular minutes immediately. Wagler may not be the most reliable option in redraft leagues, but he will be highly valuable in dynasty leagues.

Wednesday’s game was the Clippers’ last preseason game, so it’s fair to question how much of a “dress rehearsal” it was for Tyronn Lue’s team. Jackson started again and played 26 minutes, while veteran Brook Lopez (nine points, two rebounds, one assist and one three-pointer) logged eight minutes off the bench. If Jackson can lock down the starting job, his upside would make him worthy of late-round consideration in drafts. And even if he doesn’t start, the Clippers will be light on centers until Yanic Konan Niederhäuser is cleared to return from the foot injury that ended his 2025-26 season in March.

Jones, a former Marquette basketball star, returned to Milwaukee on a two-way deal in July. With numerous rotation players sitting, Jones went off against the Bulls, scoring 23 points on a high field-goal percentage. This changes nothing about his outlook in redraft leagues; there’s no need to draft or roster him. However, managers in deep dynasty leagues can afford to hold onto Jones a bit longer.