NBA Player News

Ayton (rest) won't play in Friday's preseason finale against the Jazz, Sean Highkin of RoseGardenReport.com reports.

The Blazers will give Ayton some much-needed rest with the start of the regular season only a few days away. Rookie sensation Donovan Clingan will get the nod at center and will pair with Jerami Grant in the frontcourt.

Ayton (rest) won't play in Friday's preseason finale against the Jazz, Sean Highkin of RoseGardenReport.com reports.

The Blazers will give Ayton some much-needed rest with the start of the regular season only in a few days. Rookie sensation Donovan Clingan will get the nod at center and will pair with Jerami Grant in the frontcourt.

Clarke will play a reserve role in Friday's preseason finale versus the Heat.

Clarke will come off the bench in favor of rookie Zach Edey. The latter is expected to start once the regular season tips off. As a result, Clarke, who returned late last season after recovering from an Achilles injury, figures to be the top depth center option.

Bryant is in the starting lineup for Friday's preseason game against the Grizzlies.

The Heat are resting most of their regulars in the preseason finale since the start of the regular season is right around the corner. Bam Adebayo (rest) is among the players who won't feature in this one, so Bryant will start at center over rookie Kel'el Ware.

Edey will start at center in the Grizzlies' preseason finale against the Heat.

Edey has been the primary starting center during the exhibition season, though Brandon Clarke got the starting nod in Memphis' previous game. The rookie from Purdue has looked like a steal throughout the preseason and projects to start at center once the regular season tips off. He finished with 23 points (10-15 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-4 FT), nine rebounds, one assist and one steal across 19 minutes in Monday's 120-116 preseason win over the Pacers.

The Spurs have exercised the third-year option on Wembanyama's contract Friday, Paul Garcia of ProjectSpurs.com reports.

This is far from a shocking decision from the Spurs' front office, as Wembanyama is already the team's most important player in both the short and long term despite having played less than 100 games in the NBA in his career to this point. This move ensures Wembanyama will be under contract with the Spurs until the end of the 2025-26 season, and the Spurs will likely choose to sign him to a maximum extension after that.

Bagley isn't in the starting lineup for Friday's preseason finale against the Knicks.

Jonas Valanciunas will replace Bagley in the starting five Friday after sitting out Washington's previous contest for rest purposes. Bagley is expected to compete for a depth role in the Wizards' frontcourt this season.

Sarr (calf) has been ruled out for Friday's preseason finale against the Knicks, Josh Robbins of The Athletic reports.

Sarr is still being listed with right calf soreness, so it doesn't appear like a major injury, though the rookie will miss a second straight exhibition. His status for next Thursday's regular-season opener against the Celtics will need to be monitored.

Sims is not in the starting lineup for Friday's preseason game against the Wizards, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News reports.

The Knicks have shifted their entire starting unit for this preseason finale, and Sims will head back to the bench since head coach Tom Thibodeau has decided to roll out what figures to be his starting lineup for the regular-season opener at Boston next Tuesday. Sims is competing with Precious Achiuwa for the backup center role behind Karl-Anthony Towns while Mitchell Robinson (ankle) is sidelined.

Valanciunas (rest) is available and in the starting lineup for Friday's preseason game versus the Knicks.

Valanciunas will return to action for Friday's preseason finale after sitting out the Wizards' previous contest for rest purposes. The veteran big man will replace Marvin Bagley in the starting lineup against New York.