NBA

With Jalen Duren set to be the Pistons’ starting center when the regular season begins, Wiseman and Bagley are competing for the right to back him up. And in his post-practice comments, Williams sounded like a coach who believes there will only be room for one of those two in the regular season rotation. “It’s a work in progress right now to figure out which one of those guys is going to step up and be the, more than likely, backup big,” Williams said. The coach went on to say that both players have the talent to fill the role, and this is a competition that appears likely to run throughout the preseason. Whichever player comes out on top will have the potential to offer late-round value in deeper leagues.

Porter was seen leaving practice with his left foot in a boot, but the injury isn’t believed to be serious. He was dealing with some swelling, and an extended absence for MPJ would open the door for Christian Braun and Justin Holiday to take on expanded roles. Following the session, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said that Holiday spent some time on the court with the first unit and played well.

Harden skipped Philly’s media day and reported late to training camp. He was notably absent from practice Tuesday, and his return Wednesday is a step in the right direction. Rumblings around the Association are that Harden still wants to be traded and that he may try to make life difficult for those in the organization until he’s moved. If Harden ultimately plays for another team next season, the fantasy values of De’Anthony Melton, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre would get significant boosts.

Sabonis played a significant portion of last season with an avulsion fracture in his right thumb, appearing in 79 games for the Pacific Division champions. The injury didn’t impact his production much, as Domas was a top-25 player in 8- and 9-cat formats. The good news for Sabonis is that he did not need to undergo a surgical procedure on the thumb this summer, and he’s fully healthy going into the 2023-24 season. Fantasy managers should feel secure in using a second-round pick on Sabonis in standard leagues, given his current health and production since arriving in Sacramento via trade in 2021.

On Saturday, it was reported that Green could miss anywhere from three to six weeks after spraining his ankle in a preseason workout. While there has been no reported change to the timeline, with Green due to be re-evaluated in two weeks, the decrease in swelling is a sign that things are trending in the right direction. According to Slater, Green did some lifting and rode the stationary bike, but he still hasn’t been cleared for on-court work. With Green sidelined, Steve Kerr has an easy job when it comes to putting together the starting lineup, as Chris Paul and Kevon Looney will start the preseason opener on Thursday.

With Draymond Green (ankle) sidelined for 4-6 weeks, Steve Kerr will start both CP3 and Looney alongside Steph, Klay and Wiggins. Kerr did indicate that he’d experiment with other lineups as well, but this seems to be their preferred starting unit with Draymond can’t play as of now, which isn’t unexpected.

There has been quite a few encouraging quotes surrounding Zion through just two days of camp. However, this is the most practical. It makes sense to get one of the most athletic players in the league involved in pick and rolls, and we could see him finish a ton of alley-oops this year. Defensively, it may not work out as well, but players like Herb Jones, Trey Murphy and Dyson Daniels can help offset that.

Harden didn’t practice on Tuesday, but he’s expected to report today, which could mean he practices on Wednesday. However, it’s not out of the question for Harden to report and not be all in. There could be more drama out of camp, so there should be more updates coming. There haven’t been reports that Harden has rescinded his trade request, and he could be looking to force their hand.

Unless Erik Spoelstra plans to have a tough and honest conversation with Lowry about what his role will look like, the Heat will be rolling with Lowry as their floor general this season. He started last year as the starting point guard, but by the end of the year, Gabe Vincent had taken the job. With Vincent in LA, Lowry will likely start alongside Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and either Kevin Love or Caleb Martin. Miami doesn’t have many other point guard options, and at this point of his career, Lowry isn’t the fantasy friendly guy that he once was. He could be a decent pick in the final round, but he doesn’t have much upside. It’s also worth noting that Lowry said that he isn’t worried about being fined for flopping because he “doesn’t flop”. It could just be opposite day for him, and he’ll end up coming off the bench. We’ll find out soon enough.

Bullock was dealt to the Spurs as part of the Grant Williams trade, but they agreed to a buyout, which allowed him to join Houston. He’ll be a solid rotation piece for them, but he won’t be impacting fantasy hoops.