Fantasy News

• Gorgui Dieng - C - Minnesota Timberwolves

  ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported that league sources indicate that the Timberwolves prefer to package Jimmy Butler with Gorgui Dieng and the $48 million he’s owed over the next three years.

  Dieng was routinely pulling in top-60 value in 9-cat before Taj Gibson vame to town so a trade to a better situation might do him some good. We’re sure there will be a lot more updates on the Jimmy Butler situation so stay tuned.

  Source: ESPN

  September 21, 2018, 10:29 pm

• Tyler Ulis - G - Golden State Warriors

  The Golden State Warriors have signed Tyler Ulis to an Exhibit 10 deal according to Anthony Slater at The Althletic.

  ESPN’s Marc J. Spears also reported that Ulis chose the Warriors over the Rockets and the Kings. Ulis will get to join the team for training camp and the Exhibit 10 deal offers a little more protection from the Warriors’ end, but it’s hard to see how Ulis will fit in their plans. If he sticks, he won’t have any fantasy value barring an injury, and if he ends up getting waived we’ll have to see if he signs with the Dubbs’ G-League squad or pursues other opportunities.

  Source: Anthony Slater on Twitter

  September 21, 2018, 9:12 pm

• Emeka Okafor - C - Philadelphia Sixers

  The Philadelphia Sixers have signed Emeka Okafor to a training camp deal one day before the start of camp.

  Even if the ancient Okafor manages to stick on the roster, he shouldn’t be anything more than a veteran presence.

  Source: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News

  September 21, 2018, 8:39 pm

• Bogdan Bogdanovic - G - Sacramento Kings

  The Sacramento Kings have announced that Bogdan Bogdanovic will have an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee on Monday.

  There was no time-table given but these usually have a recovery of 4-to-6 weeks. There should be an update after the surgery on Monday but it looks like Bogi will miss the beginning of the season. As we previously reported, this is the same left knee that he had surgery on earlier this summer to repair a slight medial meniscus tear. Two surgeries in the span of a few months doesn't sound good and this'll be a big red flag come draft time. It's good news for Buddy Hield however.

  Source: Marc J Spears on Twitter

  September 21, 2018, 7:38 pm

• Jimmy Butler - G - Minnesota Timberwolves

  Woj is reporting that despite rebuffs from Minnesota’s front office regarding Jimmy Butler, owner Glen Taylor informed participants of the NBA’s Board of Governors meeting that Butler is indeed available and that they should contact him personally if necessary.

  Wow. It looks like things are escalating behind the scenes with Taylor and Thibodeau issuing opposing directives regarding disgruntled Jimmy Butler. It seems like Butler is close to being moved and Thibs could be next to follow him out the door.

  Source: Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter

  September 21, 2018, 7:27 pm

• DeAnthony Melton - G - Phoenix Suns

  The Phoenix Suns have signed newly obtained De’Anthony Melton to a two-year, $2.3 million rookie deal.

  The Suns obtained Melton from the Rockets for Ryan Anderson and Brandon Knight earlier this summer so this signing was always going to happen at some point. With Devin Booker (hand) probably out to start the season and not a whole lot of options to start at point guard, Melton could be a nice surprise. We’ll have to see what the preseason brings.

  Source: Shams Charania on Twitter

  September 21, 2018, 5:36 pm

• Adam Silver - Commissioner - Invalid Team

  The NBA’s Board of Governors has approved three changes to the rule book for this season dealing with resetting the shot-clock on an offensive rebound, simplifying the clear path rules and expanding the definition of a “hostile act.”

  The first tweak is that the shot-clock will reset reset to 14 seconds after an offensive rebound instead of the usual 24 seconds. The second change is to the clear-path rule- now, it is defined as a personal foul against any offensive player during his team’s transition scoring opportunity so refs won’t have to determine if the defender was in front of the ball or not, or if the defender beat the offensive player to the frontcourt. The last chance will be expanding the definition of a “hostile act” to allow for additional replay for off-ball or other altercations.

  Source: NBC Sports

  September 21, 2018, 5:28 pm

• Markelle Fultz - G - Philadelphia Sixers

  Markelle Fultz denied having the “yips” last season and said his struggles shooting the ball were due to his shoulder injury.

  This is the opposite of what shooting guru Drew Hanlen said over the summer when he asserted that Fultz had the “yips” and “completely forgot how to shoot.” We’re thinking as a young player, Fultz probably wants to protect his ego and maybe his image- despite recent headway made in the NBA dealing with mental health issues, nobody wants to admit to being psychologically ‘soft.’ At this stage it’s rather irrelevant as to why; we just want to see if Fultz can shoot it or not. Preseason games start soon and we’ll have the popcorn ready.

  Source: Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News

  September 21, 2018, 4:54 pm