NBA Player News

Hartenstein (rest) will not be available for Monday's preseason game against the Mavericks, Nick Gallo of the Thunder's official site reports.

Hartenstein will miss the first two preseason games for rest purposes, but it would be surprising if he skipped Thursday's preseason home opener against the Hornets. Jaylin Williams and Ousmane Dieng figure to pick up the slack at the five-spot with Hartenstein unavailable Monday evening.

Holmgren (rest) won't play in Monday's preseason game against the Mavericks, Nick Gallo of the Thunder's official site reports.

Holmgren sat out Sunday's preseason opener against the Hornets and will remain sidelined Monday. Preserving the young big man's health is a priority for the Thunder after he was limited to just 32 regular-season appearances last year. With Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein (rest) both unavailable, Ousmane Dieng and Jaylin Williams should see extended frontcourt minutes against the Mavericks.

Okongwu will come off the bench in Monday's preseason game against the Rockets, Kevin Chouinard of the Hawks' official site reports.

Okongwu finished the 2024-25 campaign as a mainstay in the starting five, though he'll come off the bench in Monday's preseason opener. Over 74 regular-season appearances (40 starts) last season, the 24-year-old center averaged 13.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks across 27.9 minutes per game.

Carlson won't play in Monday's preseason game against the Mavericks due to right calf soreness, Rylan Stiles of SI.com reports.

Carlson will miss the second half of the club's back-to-back set due to the calf issue, and his next chance to play will come in Thursday's preseason game against the Hornets. The 26-year-old center posted seven points (3-8 FG, 1-6 3Pt), three rebounds, two assists and one steal across 11 minutes in Monday's win over Charlotte.

The Pelicans waived Brooks on Monday.

New Orleans will retain Brooks' G League rights, so he'll likely join the Birmingham Squadron for the 2025-26 campaign. The 26-year-old big man played for Wolves Twinsbet Vilnius in Lithuania during the 2024-25 campaign, where he averaged 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds across 20.0 minutes per game in 35 regular-season appearances.

The Jazz waived Crowl on Monday.

Crowl signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Utah in June but is now expected to join the club's G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, after being waived. The Wisconsin product appeared in just two Las Vegas Summer League games for the Jazz, during which he averaged 1.0 points and 2.5 rebounds across 10.0 minutes per contest.

Filipowski (back) didn't participate in Monday's scrimmage, Ben Anderson of KSL News Salt Lake City reports.

The severity of the back issue is unclear, though Filipowski has been limited in training camp thus far. Additionally, he was unable to go through warmups Monday, which bodes poorly for his status ahead of Wednesday's preseason opener against the Rockets. The second-year big man appeared in 72 regular-season games (27 starts) in the 2024-25 campaign, during which he averaged 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds across 21.1 minutes per game.

Williams (knee) still hasn't been cleared for contact, Sean Highkin of Rip City Radio 620 Portland reports.

Williams has participated in non-contact portions of training camp, and head coach Chauncey Billups in encouraged by the veteran big man's progress from his March arthroscopic knee surgery. Williams still remains unlikely to be available for Thursday's preseason opener in Golden State and perhaps more exhibition play beyond that. In the meantime, Yang Hansen and Duop Reath will battle for backup center minutes behind Donovan Clingan.

Kessler (shoulder) didn't participate in Monday's scrimmage, Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

Kessler is dealing with left shoulder soreness and also missed Saturday's practice. The 24-year-old big man's status will be worth monitoring ahead of Wednesday's preseason opener against the Rockets. He's coming off a career-best campaign in 2024-25, during which he averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks across 30.0 minutes per game in 58 regular-season outings.

Niederhauser (back) is set to be available for Thursday's preseason opener against the Guangzhou Loong Lions, Joey Linn of SI.com reports.

Niederhauser sat out the end of the Las Vegas Summer League with a back injury, but he's healthy for the beginning of exhibition play. That said, the rookie first-rounder would likely need one of Ivica Zubac or Brook Lopez to go down with an injury in order to realistically carve out a meaningful role from the second unit during his first season.