Ben

Saraf

Traoré and Williams were held out of Thursday’s loss to the Hawks, with the former being replaced in the starting lineup by fellow rookie Ben Saraf. While Traoré will likely reclaim his spot in the starting lineup, Williams may be asked to come off the bench.

The Nets are without Nolan Traoré and Michael Porter Jr. for Thursday’s game, opening two spots in the starting lineup. Saraf and Wolf have been tabbed to fill the voids, with the latter offering the higher fantasy ceiling.

Traoré will get a night off for rest, opening a spot in the starting lineup. Ben Saraf could be allowed to start, but he is not a player who should be rostered in redraft leagues. However, he should be in dynasty formats.

Saraf has logged five straight appearances, and he’ll play through a back issue against the Grizzlies. He’s likely to handle his usual allotment of minutes, but Saraf isn’t doing enough in the box score to be viable in season-long fantasy leagues.

While Saraf is in line to play rotation minutes off the bench, he has not been productive enough to affect fantasy basketball. He should only be rostered in dynasty leagues.

While Sunday’s game is not part of a back-to-back, the Nets are still resting Dëmin for left plantar fascia injury management reasons. With Drake Powell being optioned ot the team’s G League affiliate, the Nets may give another rookie, Ben Saraf, more rotation minutes. He is not worth the streaming risk in redraft leagues.

Two days removed from combining with Egor Dëmin to become the first Nets rookie tandem to score 20 points or more in the same game since 1982, Traoré had another solid outing. While the overall numbers were modest, the rookie point guard committed just one turnover in 24 minutes. With Dëmin (4/2/2/1/1) getting his minutes at the off-guard spot, the Nets have relied on Traoré and another rookie, Ben Saraf (10/4/4/2 with one three-pointer in 24 minutes) to run the show. Dëmin is the safest fantasy option of the three perimeter rookies, but Traoré is worth watching.

Brooklyn kept Thomas around on a one-year deal, but it appears they didn’t intend to sign him to a long-term deal. They weren’t able to move him at the deadline, so they’ll cut their losses two months early. Thomas will get a head start on finding a new team to join, and he should still be able to provide offense wherever he signs. However, the only path to fantasy production for him is if he signs with another rebuilding team. With Thomas gone, Drake Powell and Ben Saraf should see a few extra minutes consistently.

Agbaji was acquired from the Raptors on Wednesday, but the deal is still being finalized, so he will not suit up on Thursday. His next chance to make his Nets debut will be on Saturday against the Wizards. That should mean more minutes for Ziaire Williams and Ben Saraf on Thursday.

Thomas has been playing a reserve role for Brooklyn recently, which has led to some decent scoring nights, though he hasn’t popped. Drake Powell and Ben Saraf should take on extra minutes with Thomas unavailable.