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Free Agent

The 14th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Hawkins could not carve out a consistent role for himself in New Orleans. The Pelicans traded him and Micah Peavy to the Grizzlies in early September, but the former lottery pick went from one crowded backcourt to another. According to Charania, the Grizzlies and Hawkins mutually agreed to part ways, allowing the guard to find a new team once he clears waivers. Regardless of where he lands, Hawkins is unlikely to impact fantasy basketball.

Signed to a two-year, two-way contract in late August, Castro is coming off a final season of college basketball in which he averaged 15.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game at George Washington. With Thursday’s reported transaction, the Rockets have freed up a two-way contract slot. Guards Quadir Copeland and Sean Pedulla occupy the other two slots.

Olynyk appeared for eight teams in 13 NBA seasons. Most recently, he was a frontcourt depth option for the Spurs in 2025-26 when they lost the NBA Finals to the Knicks.

Two days after acquiring him from the Bulls, the Hornets have waived Dillingham. The eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft, the 6-foot-3 guard couldn’t carve out a role in Minnesota before being traded to Chicago in February. Given the number of point guards on Charlotte’s roster, Dillingham faced long odds to make the team’s Opening Night roster.

Acquired from the Bucks in early July in the trade that sent Caris LeVert and future draft capital to Milwaukee, Harris faced long odds to crack the Pistons’ rotation had he made the Opening Night roster. Injuries have limited the veteran guard to 54 games or fewer each of the last four seasons, and Harris has not exceeded 65 games since 2017-18. The Pistons’ decision to waive Harris will not affect fantasy basketball.

Signed to a two-way contract on August 7, Sharp is still working toward his official NBA debut. The 7-foot-5 center spent the last two training camps with the Mavericks on Exhibit 10 deals, playing for the franchise’s G League affiliate after being waived on both occasions. Waiving Sharp frees up a two-way contract slot for the Clippers, who now have two available.

Friday’s news was unsurprising, as it was reported in late July that the Grizzlies were working with Russell to find the veteran point guard a new home. He appeared in 26 games for the Mavericks last season before being sent to Washington in the Anthony Davis trade. Russell never reported to Washington and was then sent to Memphis as part of a six-team deal in early July. Russell is unlikely to find a situation that makes him fantasy-relevant this season.

Broome was dealt to the Clippers in July to help keep the 76ers under the aprons, and the only return LA had to part with was cash. That wasn’t enough for them to keep him around, as this move will get them under the roster limit. Broome will likely find a two-way contract on a different team ahead of the season.

Ball reflected on his NBA career in a podcast appearance that made the rounds Wednesday morning. The 28-year-old point guard spoke about how he had given everything to the game of basketball and even candidly admitted he never reached the peak of his potential due to chronic knee injuries. Still, Ball never explicitly said he was retiring and cleared up confusion over whether he intends to continue his NBA career in a tweet Wednesday. He indicated that he’s waiting for a team to show interest in signing him and also mentioned the length of the NBA season, implying he might be willing to join a team midseason as an injury replacement. For now, it doesn’t seem like the last chapter of Ball’s NBA career has been written just yet.

Ball missed all of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons with knee injuries and wasn’t the same player in his last two seasons. The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Lakers, Ball spent two years each with Los Angeles, New Orleans and Chicago before spending his last season in Cleveland. Ball was selected to the All-Rookie team in 2017-18 and averaged 10.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists across 322 career games in the NBA.