NBA Player News

Exum, who agreed to a one-year deal in July that did not become official until late August, has not participated in training camp or either of Dallas’ two preseason games with a sore right knee. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said Saturday that the team was cautiously approaching the guard’s recovery but did not offer a timeline for his return. With Kyrie Irving (knee) also out, there may be room in the rotation for Brandon Williams once he returns from his hamstring injury. That isn’t enough to make Williams a draftable option in most leagues, but Dallas’ current point guard depth chart enhances D’Angelo Russell’s early-season value.

Tristan Vukčević (illness) is out on Wednesday against Cleveland, so Anthony Gill could see big minutes. Assuming he’s healthy, Vukčević has a clear path to meaningful minutes post All-Star break, and he could be a “silly season” hero down the stretch.

The news come out of left field, and Haynes notes that JJJ underwent surgery after a localized PVNS growth was discovered post trade. Fantasy managers should have already planned for him to miss fourth quarters, but now he’ll be totally unavailable. With Jackson Jr. sidelined and Utah already in active tank mode, it won’t be long before other starters begin to get shut down. “Silly season” heroes will emerge from this rotation, and some of the best are Kyle Filipowski, Brice Sensabaugh, Isaiah Collier and Vince Williams Jr.

Starting for the injured Keyonte George, Collier put together another high-assist effort in Utah’s blowout of the Kings. He’s recorded at least nine assists in five straight games, hitting double digits in four. Regardless of George’s availability, Collier will be worth rostering for the silly season, especially after the Jazz traded Walter Clayton Jr. to the Grizzlies as part of the Jaren Jackson Jr. deal.

Moody enters the All-Star break having scored at least 15 points in three consecutive games. However, the lackluster production outside of points, three-pointers and rebounds limits his fantasy ceiling. Over the past two weeks, Moody has been a 12th-round player in eight-cat formats. Because the Warriors have been without Stephen Curry, there’s been more room for Moody to score. However, with Curry expected back immediately after the All-Star break, Moody’s rostership (18 percent, Yahoo!) may decrease.

Melton’s stat line on Wednesday was evidence of why he can be valuable to fantasy managers, even with the lack of defensive stats. The Warriors guard made five of his six three-point attempts and provided solid value in the rebounds and assist categories as well. Over the past two weeks, Melton has provided 10th-round value in eight-cat formats. Stephen Curry’s expected return after the All-Star break should not do much, if any, harm to Melton’s prospects in category leagues.

Green put forth one of his better performances this season on Wednesday, finishing two assists shy of a triple-double. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, nights like Wednesday have not been the norm for the veteran forward, and that isn’t considering the points category. Entering the season with an ADP of 100, Green heads into the All-Star break ranked just inside the top-150 in eight-cat formats. Hopefully, getting Stephen Curry and Kristaps Porziņǵis into the rotation after the break will enhance Green’s value by extension.

Unsurprisingly, Wembanyama encountered far more resistance on Wednesday than he did in Tuesday’s blowout of the Lakers. However, even with Draymond Green leaning on him for most of the night, the 7-foot-4 phenom still recorded a complete stat line on good percentages. Wembanyama continues to provide top-5 fantasy value regardless of format, and that won’t change anytime soon. Next for him is Sunday’s All-Star Game, where he’ll be a starter for the first time.

After scoring 25 points in a February 4 win over the Thunder, Johnson totaled 26 points in the three games that followed. He was far more impactful against the Warriors, providing excellent value in his 29 minutes. Over the past two weeks, Johnson has been ranked outside the top-200, mainly due to a lack of production outside of points and rebounds. That’s been the case for most of this season, limiting him to a deep-league option in category leagues.

He was only one turnover away from this being an unglamorous quadruple-double. It certainly wasn’t an efficient performance for Jokić. He struggled from the floor and the free throw line as well to go with the abundance of turnovers. Still, it was a fourth straight triple-double, and it was enough to get a win, which is a great way to enter the All-Star break. He’ll continue to be the best player in fantasy basketball over the final two months of the regular season.

Fox only played 17 minutes in Tuesday’s win over the Lakers, as the Spurs were never challenged. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday, and the speedy guard stepped up with one of his best performances of the season. In scoring 27 points, Fox shot 11-of-16 from the field and provided excellent value in the assist and steal categories. The Spurs will complete their Week 17 schedule with two games after the All-Star break, starting with the Suns on February 19.