NBA Player News

Capela is feeling healthy after trimming down his weight this offseason, per Ben DuBose of USA Today.

Capela could occupy the backup center role to open the season due to the uncertainty surrounding the status of Steven Adams, who's coming off ankle surgery. Alperen Sengun will handle the lion's share of the minutes at center, likely leaving Capela to fight for scraps off the bench in any event.

Sabonis (knee) remains a trade candidate heading into the 2026-27 regular season, per Matt George of ABC 10 Sacramento.

After sitting out for Lithuania during the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, Sabonis is ready for the start of Sacramento's training camp. The Kings could be preparing for a full-fledged rebuild after waiving veteran DeMar DeRozan over the summer, leaving Sabonis as a prime trade candidate. The star big man's market value isn't at its highest after he averaged 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, all his lowest marks since 2018-19, before undergoing season-ending knee surgery in February. However, he's primed for as much usage as he can handle as long as he's with the Kings.

Veesaar was diagnosed with a torn right ACL and is expected to miss the 2026-27 season, the Hawks announced Monday.

Veesaar suffered the injury during a Sept. 15 workout, and an MRI confirmed the diagnosis. The No. 52 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Veesaar was expected to spend a lot of time with Atlanta's G League affiliate this season.

Ike signed a two-way deal with the Warriors on Sunday, Luca Evans of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Ike signed an Exhibit 10 deal in June, but he now has a two-way deal after a strong showing in Summer League. The Gonzaga product averaged 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game as a fifth-year senior in the 2025-26 college season.

The door is open for Maluach to start at center for the Suns in the wake of Mark Williams' offseason shoulder surgery, Bobby Marks of ESPN.com reports.

The 2025 first-rounder is coming off a promising Summer League run, averaging 19.5 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 53.2 percent from the floor over four appearances. Williams is expected to miss around five months, so the runway with Phoenix's top spot at center could be a long one. Maluach does have Oso Ighodaro to overcome for the role, so fantasy managers should keep close tabs on what projects to be a fierce camp competition.

Kessler was highlighted as a strong fit with Luka Doncic after the Lakers paid a steep price to acquire him, Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports reports.

The Lakers' depth at center behind Kessler appears to be razor-thin, including veteran Kevon Looney as his primary backup, so Los Angeles could lean heavily on Kessler during his debut season in Los Angeles. He's slotting in as a distant tertiary scoring option behind Doncic and Austin Reaves, though the prospect of being the top lob threat for the dynamic backcourt duo bodes well for his efficiency; Deandre Ayton shot a career-high 67.1 percent from the field in that role last season. Kessler also seemed to be adding a three-point shot to his arsenal before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery last year, averaging 1.2 threes to go with a career-high 3.0 assists per game in his five regular-season appearances for Utah, so he looks to have plenty of nine-category fantasy upside if he's able to shoot a reasonable percentage from the free-throw line.

Ighodaro has a chance to begin the season as Phoenix's starting center after Mark Williams underwent shoulder surgery Thursday.

The expectation is that Williams will be on the shelf for about five months, likely ruling out the big man until sometime around the All-Star break. Ighodaro filled in serviceably when Williams was injured in 2025-26, as the former averaged a productive 8.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks in 27.4 minutes per game while shooting 67.4 percent from the field over 22 regular-season appearances with Williams unavailable. However, Ighodaro did shoot a paltry 40.8 percent from the free-throw line in those outings. Benjamin Garcia of the Locked On Podcast Network is hearing internal praise directed toward Khaman Maluach, who just averaged 19.5 points, 12.8 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.2 steals per game across four appearances in a dominant Summer League run, so the Suns appear to have an intense camp battle brewing for the top center spot in Williams' stead.

Williams underwent surgery Thursday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder and will miss an extended period, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

This is a tough blow for the center with training camp right around the corner. With Williams on the inactive list, Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach figure to see increased playing time, with the latter already drawing buzz during Summer League play. More clarity on Williams' timeline should be known in the coming weeks, and while nothing official has come from the Suns, Phoenix radio host John Gambadoro reports that the center could potentially miss around five months.

Bittle (lower leg) was spotted in a walking boot Wednesday, Esfandiar Baraheni of The Athletic reports.

Bittle missed Toronto's Summer League finale due to right knee soreness, though it's unclear exactly what he's dealing with now. The 23-year-old center out of Oregon signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Raptors in June and is set to compete for a spot on the regular-season roster at training camp, so his status will be worth monitoring moving forward.

Claxton is projected to start at center for the Bulls in the 2026-27 campaign, according to Law Murray of The Athletic.

The Bulls were left with a big void at the center position after dealing Nikola Vucevic to the Celtics for Anfernee Simons at last year's trade deadline, and they're looking for Claxton to help plug the hole in 2026-27 after coming over from Brooklyn. Claxton, who was a full-time starter with the Nets for the better part of the last four seasons, has generally been a strong source of boards and swats for fantasy managers, though his rebound and block rates as well as his shooting efficiency all essentially declined each year over that time. That said, the 27-year-old big man has an opportunity for a fresh start in Chicago, and he did take a step forward as a playmaker in 2025-26 in the form of a career-high 3.7 assists per game.