Johnathan

Motley

Coach Doc Rivers said the team will have 15 players, which means they won’t have their two-way guys. Joakim Noah is on the roster anyway, so Motley would’ve needed a lot to happen to get minutes.

He had some bright spots last season with the Clippers and even played two positions at times. The Clippers do lack some depth at the five, so Motley will likely get a handful of minutes during the NBA season.

He saw some minutes at both big spots last season, but he fell out of the rotation late in the year. Motley may wind up joining a summer-league roster to help his case as an NBA bench big.

After racking up five points and three rebounds in Sunday’s loss to the Nuggets, Motley did not play at all in the second game of a back to back. Having reached double figures in minutes just once this month, the rookie out of Baylor is not a viable fantasy option.

Motley was a DNP in his previous game and the minutes tonight were mostly garbage time. He’s vanished as quickly as he appeared on fantasy owners’ radars. As long as Ivica Zubac is starting and Montrezl Harrell is healthy, there’s no reason to touch him.

He might have been a hot pickup after the Marcin Gortat news, but the arrival of Ivica Zubac limits Motley’s opportunity at the five while JaMychal Green should occupy minutes at the four. Coach Doc Rivers said said he’ll go big at times and he’s used Motley at PF, so that could help him get to 20 minutes in some matchups -- he saw time at PF tonight. Still, he’s only worth a look in deep leagues.

The Clippers’ two-way big man is averaging 7.3 points in 10.0 minutes through three games, for what it’s worth. He had some big games late last season when Dallas unleashed him, but that’s unlikely to happen with L.A. -- his recent activity stems from Danilo Gallinari (back) being inactive. He can be ignored outside of the absolute deepest leagues.

He’ll be available for Wednesday’s game against the Kings, but that doesn’t mean he’ll actually get into the rotation.

An undrafted center out of Baylor, Motley had a strong junior season with averages of 17.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks. He was projected to be a late-first-round or second-round draft pick, but he was medically red-flagged by several teams with a concerning knee issue -- he tore his MCL against South Carolina. The Mavericks are rebuilding, so Motley will be brought along slowly in the G-League and is an intriguing project for the future.

The undrafted center out of Baylor was medically red-flagged after he tore his MCL, but was signed by the Mavericks to a two-way deal in June. “It’s just a testament to what they’ve got me doing off the court, running and lifting some weights on my knee, hamstrings and glute stuff,” Motley said. “My body is just feeling better and better, so that’s to credit for the success I’ve been having.” The 6-foot-10 big man is a project, but could become relevant in fantasy down the line for his rim protection. During the Orlando Summer League, he posted averages of 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 17.5 minutes per game.