NBA Player News

Rivers took over as the Bucks’ head coach in early 2024, replacing Adrian Griffin, who had Milwaukee at 30-13 at the time. Since then, Rivers led them to a 97-103 record, which included two first-round exits. Now, they’ve missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Rivers speculated that this would be the case in recent interviews, and it doesn’t seem like he’s ready to take over a different team. The Bucks will begin the search for a new head coach.

Shipped to Milwaukee after one season as part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, Jakučionis started Wednesday because the Bucks held out Ryan Rollins, Tyler Herro and Kevin Porter Jr. The second-year guard had his moments, leading the Bucks in assists and making 11 free throws. However, Jakučionis also committed five turnovers, which isn’t surprising for a young guard who played limited minutes as a rookie. Given Milwaukee’s perimeter depth, Jakučionis may struggle to earn consistent minutes this season. While that makes him a non-factor in redraft leagues, he should be rostered in dynasty leagues.

While this is a classic MPJ stat line, Porter will continue to be one of the main focal points of the offense in Brooklyn. Julius Randle hasn’t supplanted Porter in the offensive hierarchy. If Porter continues to be healthy, he should be a very good contributor going forward.

If you bought low in dynasty leagues on Beringer before summer league, congratulations! He has the fantasy profile to be an impactful player in redraft and dynasty leagues going forward. If Gobert misses any time, Beringer becomes an immediate add. We might only be a year or two away before he’s a starter and putting up top 60 numbers at least.

It wasn’t the best game for Anthony Edwards, but he got to the line really well. The Timberwolves struggled in a 22 point loss to the Pistons. Edwards should bounce back and still be a target in the first round of redraft leagues.

The Suns were missing multiple key contributors on Wednesday, including Collin Gillespie, so Bouyea started at point guard. He had a productive night, dishing out eight assists with two turnovers, but that doesn’t change his fantasy outlook. You don’t need to consider drafting Bouyea, but injuries may make him worth streaming in the occasional game.

Cade looked like his usual self as the primary creator of the offense. It is important to note the nine assists to the five turnovers he had. Detroit lost some ball handling this summer which will put even more responsibility on Cade. It would not be a shock if he leads the league in turnovers this year because he’s the only starter that can handle the ball.

The Suns sat their expected starters on Wednesday, with Dunn among those tabbed to fill the resulting voids. Not known much for his offense during his first two seasons, Dunn didn’t miss a shot from the field or the foul line in his 23 minutes. Once the regular season begins, however, he’s unlikely to provide reliable value in most fantasy leagues. There may be times when Dunn is worth streaming due to someone sitting out with an injury.

Jalen Duren’s first game since getting his new contract was a loud one. He was aggressive in scoring the ball and looked like he was in regular season form. With Tobias Harris leaving, Jalen Duren will need to be a more consistent scorer this season if the Pistons are going to win as much as they want to.

Peat, the 30th overall pick in June’s draft, logged 16 minutes off the bench in San Antonio. Given Phoenix’s current crop of forwards, rotation minutes may be challenging to come by early in the season. However, this group has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, which may open the door for Peat. He played well against the Spurs, but the rookie should only be rostered in dynasty leagues right now.

Poulakidas started to play more when the Mavericks were trying to lose down the stretch of last season. The Yale sharpshooter showed some promise last season and has continued to look good shooting the ball here. He likely won’t be an impact player this season, but considering how this roster lacks some shooting outside of Kyrie, its possible he gets a role off the bench at some point.