NBA Player News

The Pelicans have already begun paring down their roster ahead of the October 20 deadline, waiving McDaniels and Brooks on Monday. Both players were on Exhibit 10 contracts, meaning the organization holds their G League rights. If McDaniels and Brooks head to Birmingham and remain with the team for 60 days, they’ll receive an $85,300 bonus.

Thomas dropped 20 points against the Pacers in his first Summer League action on Friday and followed it up with a 30-point performance against the Pistons. The 34th overall pick in the draft, Thomas continues to display excellent scoring ability. The rookie is ticketed for a bench role with the Cavaliers, the question is how many minutes he’s able to earn.

Maluach followed up his double-double against the Trail Blazers on Friday with another double-double against the Pelicans on Sunday. The 19-year-old center was +10 in 28 minutes in a six-point loss for the Suns. Maluach continues to look improved in Summer League play.

Westbrook, 37, is an obvious fit for the Heat in the wake of the trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. He still has something left in the tank and would come cheap, which is a necessity for Miami at this point. Of course, Westbrook is out of the picture if LeBron decides to join Giannis in Miami. James is yet to make a decision in free agency and is reportedly also considering Cleveland, Golden State and Philadelphia.

Diallo, 29, won EuroLeague Best Defender award last year. Now he’ll make the jump to the NBA on a guaranteed contract with the Nuggets. While Diallo agreed to a relatively cheap contract, the fact a contending team like Denver decided to take a chance on him speaks volumes.

The 16th overall pick in the 2025 draft, Hansen recorded 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists in Friday’s loss to the Suns. With Donovan Clingan locked into the starting center role and Robert Williams III re-signed, Hansen will once again face long odds to earn consistent rotation minutes when the regular season begins. As for Sunday, his absence means more minutes will be available to Aliou Diarra, who was not selected in last month’s draft.

Initially a question mark to arrive in Las Vegas at all, Kayil received the necessary clearance from Alba Berlin and made his Knicks summer debut on Saturday. The 39th overall pick in last month’s draft logged 21 minutes off the bench and played well after getting over some early jitters. Kayil has said that his goal is to come over to the NBA immediately and not spend another season in Europe, but he also noted after Saturday’s loss that the decision isn’t up to him. Kayil remaining with Alba Berlin would give the Knicks a little more room under the second apron, which may impact the thinking of Knicks decision-makers.

A second-round pick in the 2024 draft, Newton has appeared in nine NBA games during his first two seasons, spending most of his time in the G League. The Rockets’ guard is coming off an excellent season with the franchise’s G League affiliate, and the hope is that Newton plays well enough in Las Vegas to earn a longer look in 2026-27. Newton didn’t have the best game against the Raptors, struggling from the field and not recording an assist. However, his production improved over his output in Friday’s win over the Nuggets, and the ball was in rookie Bruce Thornton’s hands quite often. Given Houston’s depth at point guard, Newton faces long odds of being fantasy-relevant next season.

After shooting 3-of-14 in his first summer league appearance on Thursday, de Larrea attempted just four shots on Saturday. He did have some nice assists and was once again active defensively in a decent overall showing. Through two games, it’s clear that some patience will be needed, but de Larrea has the basketball smarts needed to make an impact down the line. He is certainly worth stashing in dynasty leagues.

While he wasn’t as prolific offensively as in his first summer league appearance, Johnson remained impactful on defense. The ninth-overall pick in last month’s draft blocked four shots and recorded two steals in what would be a dream night for fantasy managers. Johnson was whistled for seven fouls, so some strides are needed in that area. That said, he can be an impact defender for the Mavericks immediately at power forward or center.