Bol

Bol

Bol will not return to Phoenix for a third season, and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The stretch five will likely garner interest from a number of teams, with the center-needy Lakers a potential suitor.

Beal and O’Neale have been downgraded from questionable to out, joining Kevin Durant on the sidelines. Their absences free up playing time for Grayson Allen, Tyus Jones and Bol Bol. Whoever receives the starting nod for Durant will be worth streaming, especially if it’s Allen who moved into the lineup.

Nick Richards (calf) was a late scratch after being injured during his pregame workout. Ighodaro will replace him in the starting lineup at center. Bol Bol should also take on a larger role off the bench as the other option down low.

Richards reportedly injured his calf during his pregame workout, which is why he is a late scratch after not being on the injury report. With Mason Plumlee out, Oso Ighodaro and Bol Bol should split the center minutes.

The Suns have made two changes to their starting lineup. Plumlee will replace the injured Nick Richards, while Bol Bol has been demoted to the bench in favor of O’Neale. While O’Neale will have deep-league streaming value, Plumlee isn’t worth the risk in most leagues.

The Bol Bol experience is full of ups and downs, and Tuesday’s game was a down. He only played nine minutes as a starter, and O’Neale started the second half in his place. It wouldn’t be surprising if that change continued against Denver on Friday O’Neale’s fantasy upside is limited, but when he gets the chance to play big minutes, he can pour in the points from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, the Suns only have two more games this week, which will come on Friday and Sunday.

The Suns re-inserted Bol into Friday’s game after the outcome was no longer in doubt, seemingly to see if they could get him the two points needed to establish a new career-high. Either the other four players on the court misunderstood the assignment, or they decided Bol had shot enough because he didn’t get another attempt. On a serious note, Bol was outstanding offensively on a night when the Suns were without Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen. Rostered on 30 percent of Yahoo! leagues, the 7-foot-2 forward has been a fourth-round player over the past three weeks.

After excelling in two starts before the All-Star break, Bol fell in the pecking order and played no more than 13 minutes in any of Phoenix’s last three games. He’s back in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game, as the Suns use a bigger lineup, pushing Royce O’Neale to the bench. O’Neale is worth holding onto in deep leagues, but his value takes a hit with the move to the bench.

Richards, who struggled in most of Phoenix’s last 10 games before the All-Star break, performed well in Chicago. And with Mason Plumlee (10 points, six rebounds and one blocked shot in 17 minutes) also playing well, there wasn’t much time available to Bol Bol, who logged 13 minutes off the bench. If Richards can play well enough to crack the mid-20s in minutes, he can have value in deep leagues. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that fantasy managers can do to determine whether or not he’ll play well before setting their lineups.

Before the All-Star break, Bol was one of the hottest pickups in fantasy basketball. Unfortunately, in the Suns’ first game back, Mike Budenholzer wasn’t interested in optimizing the lineups of fantasy managers. Bol played just six minutes in the first half before playing four minutes after the break. Managers may not want to drop him immediately, but if Bol’s role continues to be this small, he won’t be worth rostering.