Wed Nov 6 8:30pm ET
Field Level Media
A left heel contusion kept Los Angeles star big man Anthony Davis from playing Wednesday night against the host Memphis Grizzlies.
Davis, who entered the day leading the league in scoring at 32.6 points per game, aggravated the injury in a road loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday. He determined during a pregame workout Wednesday that he could not play.
Los Angeles coach JJ Redick said Davis, 31, has not had any imaging on the foot since Monday's game.
"From my understanding, it is something that off and on has bothered him a little bit throughout the summer and so far this season," Redick said, according to ESPN. "We'll obviously miss him a lot."
The Lakers also were missing forward Rui Hachimura because of an illness.
"I think for all of us, we want to take a long-term view on all of our players' health for an 82-game season," Redick said. "I just spoke with (Davis) before coming and talking to you guys. He was very positive about how it felt, but we recognize we got a long flight back to L.A., we got to turn around and do it again on Friday. So, hopefully, the extra 48 hours of rest will be good."
Redick said Davis could be available for Friday's home game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Davis is averaging a career-best 32.6 points per game along with 11.6 rebounds, three assists, 1.6 steals and 1.7 blocks in 36.3 minutes in starting all seven previous games this season.
The nine-time All-Star has career averages of 24.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks (best among active players) in 743 games (736 starts) for New Orleans (2012-19) and Los Angeles (2019-present). New Orleans selected him No. 1 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Hachimura, 26, started the first seven games and is averaging 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 34.1 minutes. His career averages are 12.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 285 games (173 starts) for the Washington Wizards (2019-23) and Lakers (2023-present). In the 2019 draft, he was the No. 9 overall pick by the Wizards.
The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed on a one-year deal with Eric Gordon on Tuesday. Despite a rough first year in Philly, Gordon is back for another season with the Sixers. Gordon averaged a career-low 6.8 points with 1.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 39 games with the 76ers last season. He missed a good part of the season due to a wrist injury. It's a low-risk deal for the Sixers to bring in a veteran presence who is still a reliable three-point shooter. It's unlikely Gordon isn't going to offer much fantasy value, but he could be a decent contributor off the bench.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have reached a one-year deal with free-agent forward Larry Nance Jr. on Tuesday. After one injury-riddled season in Atlanta, Nance has decided to head back to Cleveland where he played from 2017-2021. Last season, Nance averaged 8.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists across 19.3 minutes per game in 24 games. At this point in his career, Nance isn't going to play big minutes, but could still contribute with minutes in the teens. He figures to play a primary role off the bench behind Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. It probably won't be a big enough role to warrant rostering in most fantasy leagues right away.
The Los Angeles Lakers have made a big splash and signed free-agent center Deandre Ayton on Wednesday. The two sides have reportedly agreed on a two-year deal. Ayton decided to opt-out of his deal with the Trail Blazers after two seasons in Portland. He averaged 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 40 games with the Blazers last season. Ayton has averaged a double-double in each of his first seven seasons in the league. He'll now be surrounded with some top talent such as LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Despite that, Ayton should be able to produce top-100 fantasy value, assuming he stays healthy. It's worth noting that has been limited to less than 60 games in three of the last four seasons. When healthy, Ayton can be a serious contributor on this Lakers roster.
On Wednesday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports that free-agent guard Dante Exum has signed a one-year deal to remain with the Dallas Mavericks. Exum has dealt with several injuries throughout his NBA career and played in only 20 regular-season contests in 2024-25, averaging 8.7 points, 2.8 assists, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.6 steals in 18.6 minutes per game. If the 29-year-old can stay healthy, he could see a significant increase in playing time with Kyrie Irving(knee) expected to be out through January.
On Wednesday, the Memphis Grizzlies announced forward Jaren Jackson Jr. underwent successful surgery to repair a turf toe injury in his right foot and will be re-evaluated in 12 weeks. Jackson will likely be good to go for the start of the regular season. The 25-year-old just signed a massive five-year, $240 million extension with Memphis. Despite the offseason setback, he is deserving of a new contract extension based on the numbers he has been producing over the last few years. During the 2024-25 campaign, the big man averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists across 29.8 minutes per game in 74 appearances. When healthy, Jackson holds plenty of fantasy value and should continue to do so during the 2025-26 season.
Free-agent point guard Spencer Dinwiddie agreed to a one-year deal with the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, per Shams Charania of ESPN. Dinwiddie spent last season with the Mavericks, posting averages of 11.0 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 27.0 minutes per contest across 79 games. Charlotte will be the sixth team Dinwiddie has suited up for in his NBA career since his rookie campaign in 2014-15. The 31-year-old will join newly acquired guards Collin SextonandTre Mann in the Hornets' backcourt.
Shams Charania of ESPN reports that forward Taurean Prince has agreed to a two-year, $7.1 million contract to remain with the Milwaukee Bucks. In 2024-25, Prince started 73 of his 80 regular-season outings during his first year in Milwaukee. He also averaged 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 steals in 27.1 minutes per contest, while shooting a career-best 43.9 percent from three-point range. The 31-year-old could remain in the Bucks starting five, but he will likely struggle to stay a fantasy-relevant asset during the 2025-26 regular season.
Houston Rockets forward/centerJeff Green signed aone-year, $3.63 million contract to remain with the franchise. This upcoming campaign will be the third consecutive season for Green in a Rockets uniform. The 38-year-old veteran posted averages of 5.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.1 blocks across 12.4 minutes per contest during 32 regular-season outings. At this point in his career, the big man won't factor into fantasy in 2025-26.
The Los Angeles Lakers have added some depth in the form of forward Jake LaRavia on Monday. According to Shams Charania, LaRavia has agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with the Lakers. The 23-year-old is averaging 6.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists across three NBA seasons. He has spent most of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies before being traded to the Sacramento Kings mid-way last season. This is a nice depth move by the Lakers to add a player like LaRavia who can do a little bit of everything. He figures to play a fairly significant role off the bench, but probably won't be anything more than a streaming option in most fantasy formats.
The Orlando Magic added some depth at the point guard position by signing free-agent guard Tyus Jones on Monday. According to Shams Charania, Jones signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the organization. Jones has bounced around quite a bit during his career, but last played with the Phoenix Suns. He averaged 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 26.8 minutes per game in 81 games with the Suns last season. It's unclear if he'll see that much playing time in Orlando, but that is also dependent on the health of Jalen Suggs. Jones figures to be the primary backup point guard, so he'll likely be asked to step up if the oft-injured Suggs goes down. Jones probably won't have standard league fantasy value on draft day.
The New Orleans Pelicans signed free-agent center Kevon Looney on Monday. According to Shams Charania, Looney agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the Pelicans. Looney has spent each of the last 10 years with the Golden State Warriors. Last season, Looney averaged 4.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 15.0 minutes per game across 76 contests. Looney is an experienced player who won three championships during his time in Golden State. He doesn't offer a ton of upside outside of his elite rebounding skills. He figures to play a role off the bench, which probably won't result in a ton of fantasy value. He'll probably end up being more of a streaming option than an everyday contributor in fantasy leagues.
The Milwaukee Bucks have signed center Jericho Sims to a new deal on Tuesday. The two sides have come to terms on a two-year deal. Sims was acquired by the Bucks mid-season from the New York Knicks. He didn't do too much damage as he averaged 2.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists across 15.0 minutes per game in a career-high 53 games. It's worth noting that Sims did play in all the postseason games for the Bucks. Despite that, Sims figures to have a minimal role in the rotation behind newly acquired center Myles Turner. Sims is unlikely to bring much to the table while Turner is healthy.
The Denver Nuggets have agreed on a one-year deal with free-agent guard Tim Hardaway Jr. on Tuesday. After one season in Detroit, Hardaway has departed and will try his luck in Denver. Hardaway made 77 starts with the Pistons last season, but saw his offensive numbers take a hit. He averaged 11.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists and 2.2 three-pointers per game last season. Some of those numbers were the lowest Hardaway has produced in nearly a decade. He's a reliable shooter that should rebound with his new organization. However, Hardaway is unlikely to make 77 starts in Denver. In fact, Hardaway will probably come off the bench, so his fantasy value is uncertain right now.
The Detroit Pistons are having a busy offseason as they've acquired guard Duncan Robinson on Tuesday. The Pistons and Miami Heat have agreed on a sign-and-trade that sends Robinson to Detroit in exchange for Simone Fontecchio. After that, Robinson signed a three-year, $48 million deal with Detroit. The Pistons are aggressively adding talent as they signed Caris LeVert on Monday. The combination of the two figures to help fill the void if Malik Beasley misses time due to gambling allegations. Last season, Robinson averaged 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.6 three-pointers across 74 games with the Heat. Robinson is a reliable three-point shooter, but doesn't offer a ton of upside elsewhere. Fantasy managers know what they're going to get when adding Robinson.
Charlotte Hornets guard Tre Mann signed a new deal with the organization on Tuesday. The two sides have agreed on a three-year, $24 million deal. Mann was acquired by the Hornets from the Oklahoma City Thunder at the trade deadline in 2024. He only managed to play in 13 games last season due to a back issue. Before going down, Mann averaged 14.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists across 24.5 minutes per game. There is certainly good upside here, but Mann figures to mainly play off the bench behind LaMelo Ball. That being said, Mann probably won't see enough playing time to warrant rostering in most fantasy formats.
On Tuesday, free-agent guard Gary Harris signed a two-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, per Shams Charania of ESPN. Harris joins the Bucks after spending the last five seasons in Orlando. Milwaukee remains active in the offseason, and it is unclear what the team has planned for the 28-year-old. Despite averaging only 3.0 points and 1.3 rebounds last season, Harris still provides the Bucks with veteran leadership and depth at guard, as he has demonstrated key rotational contributions throughout his time in the league. However, he is not considered a valuable fantasy asset at this point in his 11-year NBA career.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Charlotte Hornets signed free-agent center Mason Plumlee to a one-year, $3.6 million contract. The veteran big man played in 74 regular-season contests with the Phoenix Suns during the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 4.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 0.6 blocks per game. Going into his 13th NBA season, the 35-year-old will have to battle for minutes with rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner and Moussa Diabate, who are both 23 years old.
Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl has agreed to a four-year, $104 million contract extension with the organization through the 2029-30 season, per Shams Charania of ESPN. Poeltl picked up his 2026-27 player option at $19.5M and adds three more years to his deal. The 29-year-old had an excellent 2024-25 regular season, registering career-highs with 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest in 57 games. He will likely continue to be a solid fantasy contributor going into the 2025-26 campaign.
ESPN's Shams Charania reports that the Charlotte Hornets have traded 31-year-old guard Vasilije Micic to the Milwaukee Bucks for guard/forwardPat Connaughton. Charlotte also receives two second picks in 2031 and 2032. Milwaukee has been very active this offseason, so it is unclear what the organization has planned for Micic. During the 2024-25 campaign, the 31-year-old veteran guard suited up for 36 games with the Hornets and five with the Suns, averaging 6.6 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per contest.
On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks traded guard/forwardPat Connaughton and two of their second-round picks in 2031 and 2032 to the Charlotte Hornets for guard Vasilije Micic, per Shams Charania of ESPN. Connaughton heads to the Hornets after exercising his $9.42 million player option for 2025-26. Last season, the 32-year-old averaged 5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.3 blocks, and 0.6 three-pointers in 14.7 minutes per game.
Rotate for more data.