NBA Player News

After ten consecutive games on the sidelines, Kalkbrenner could be back in the lineup on Saturday. His availability affects Moussa Diabaté the most, as he has been the replacement in the starting lineup. Due to Kalkbrenner’s missed time, Diabaté may get another start on Saturday, but his minutes would decrease. Also, PJ Hall may fall out of the rotation entirely.

Carter, who has mononucleosis, is the only Celtics player on the injury report for Tuesday’s season opener. His absence won’t affect fantasy basketball.

Hours after reports emerged that the Suns would waive Brea, the team made it official. With CJ Huntley also being waived, the Suns have two open two-way contract slots. With Mark Williams injured, one of those contracts could go to Duop Reath, who was in training camp on an Exhibit 10 deal.

Not selected in the 2025 draft, Huntley agreed to a two-way contract with the Suns in late June. His being waived won’t affect fantasy basketball, as Huntley was expected to spend most of his first pro season in the G League.

Two days after reports surfaced that Claxton was ramping up his activity after injuring his hamstring early in the preseason, Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter said that the center will be out for another two weeks after being re-evaluated. Jalen Smith started most of the Bulls’ preseason games and should retain that role, increasing his fantasy value. Zach Collins (quad) was not restricted in Monday’s practice, setting him up to be available for Wednesday’s season opener against the Raptors.

The Grizzlies are among the teams still finalizing their Opening Night rosters ahead of Monday’s 5 PM Eastern cutdown deadline. As a result, Clayton is on the trade block, with Sacramento reportedly as a possible destination. With Ben Simmons (Achilles) suffering an injury expected to be season-ending during Sunday’s practice, Clayton may have room at the back end of the Kings’ roster. Wherever he is after the 5 PM deadline, Clayton’s status will be more impactful in dynasty leagues than redraft leagues.

Fall, whose contract was converted from an Exhibit 10 to a two-way deal, suffered a strained left hip early in the preseason. While his absence won’t affect fantasy basketball, the 76ers are thin at center. That also impacts Barlow, whose sore back may keep him out of Tuesday’s game against the Knicks. Jabari Walker may be asked to play some minutes at center if Barlow joins Adem Bona (calf) and Ariel Hukporti (Achilles) on the sideline.

After spraining his left ankle in Friday’s preseason finale against the Celtics, Wade did not practice on Sunday. He missed team segments of practice on Monday, but the 76ers forward did some individual work. If Wade can’t play, Jabari Walker may get rotation minutes off the bench in Tuesday’s opener against the Knicks.

Powell appeared in 63 games for the Mavericks last season, and there was hope he would remain with the team after agreeing to a non-guaranteed deal just before training camp began. However, with plenty of frontcourt options, the Mavericks waived Powell to get down to 15 standard contracts. His exit does not affect fantasy basketball, but the Mavericks lose a valuable voice in the locker room.

Wallace and the Thunder had until Monday at 6 PM Eastern to agree to a rookie-scale extension, and they got it done on Sunday night. With the Thunder trading Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins during the offseason, Wallace moves into a full-time starting role. He was close to a top-100 player in category leagues last season, and that may represent Wallace’s floor in 2026-27.

The 40th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Ighodaro appeared in all 82 games for the Suns last season, starting 24. In those outings, he averaged 6.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.9 steals in 22.0 minutes per game. With Mark Williams sidelined due to injury, Ighodaro could begin the season as Phoenix’s starting center, with Khaman Maluach as his competition. Regardless of who wins the job, both will play rotation minutes. The contract gives Ighodaro added security, but that doesn’t change much regarding his fantasy outlook. He’s a late-round option at best.