NBA Player News

Williams will be held out of the Suns' preseason opener against the Lakers on Friday, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports.

Due to Williams' extensive injury history, Phoenix is treading lightly with their new center. The team will continue to evaluate Williams to prepare him for the 2025-26 campaign, making his status for the remainder of the preseason uncertain.

Kleber tweaked a quadriceps muscle during Tuesday's practice, Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet reports.

Kleber played in only one game for the Lakers after being traded by the Mavericks in the Luka Doncic deal. That debut was Game 5 of the first-round playoff series against the Timberwolves, which turned out to be the last game of the 2024-25 campaign for Los Angeles. Suffering a quadriceps injury this early isn't a great sign for Kleber, who maintained he was fully healthy during the team's Media Day earlier this week. It remains to be seen how severe this injury is and whether it'll impact his status for the preseason.

Tillman (knee) enters training camp fully healthy and ready to play.

Tillman dealt with left knee issues throughout the 2024-25 campaign, resulting in playing in only 33 regular-season games. If he's able to stay healthy this season, there's a chance he could be in line for more minutes off the bench, sharing time with Sam Hauser, Chris Boucher, Luka Garza and Neemias Queta in the frontcourt.

Wagner (knee) is not close to returning to play, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Wagner's timeline for a return from a torn left ACL isn't exactly clear, though it doesn't sound like Opening Night is a realistic possibility for his season debut. Goga Bitadze will likely handle the backup center role behind Wendell Carter to open the year, while Jonathan Isaac stands out as a candidate to soak up some extra minutes at the five in the early going.

Head coach Mitch Johnson says that Wembanyama will be a full participant in training camp, NBA reporter Matthew Tynan reports.

Wembanyama underwent surgery on deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder back in March, and the Spurs announced in July that the big man was fully recovered from the operation. Now that the superstar center is good to go for training camp, fantasy managers should have no concerns about his health to begin the season. Wembanyama averaged 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game over 46 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue told reporters he "can't remember" if Collins will start at power forward, per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints.com.

Coach Lue confirmed Bradley Beal will start in the backcourt alongside James Harden but was less forthcoming regarding the forward slots. Collins is, in theory, battling against Derrick Jones for a starting role. Either way, Collins should be a sizable part of Lue's game plan, presumably seeing minutes in the mid-20s at the lowest.

Filipowski (back) was unable to participate in Tuesday's practice.

Filipowski was shut down for the remainder of the Las Vegas Summer League for maintenance purposes in July, and the severity of his current injury is unclear. The Jazz don't open their preseason until next Wednesday, so the 2024 second-rounder has some time to return to practice. If Filipowski is limited at all to begin the upcoming campaign, Taylor Hendricks, Cody Williams and Svi Mykhailiuk will have more opportunities as reserves.

Porzingis dealt with a mysterious illness while with the Celtics, but he hasn't had any issues since he returned to action with Latvia during EuroBasket, Kevin Chouinard of the Hawks' official site reports.

Porzingis was traded to the Hawks on June 24. He'll get a fresh start after a disappointing 2024-25 campaign with Boston. The veteran big man played in 42 regular-season games last season, averaging 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks per game, shooting 48.3 percent from the field and a career-high 41.2 percent from deep.

Davis (eye) will wear protective eyewear for the rest of his playing career, Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Davis was given a mandate by his doctor following a procedure in July to repair a detached retina in his right eye. Although he's going along with the mandate, he's not thrilled with it. "It's for the rest of [my] career, which I'm not too excited about." After a challenging 2024-25 campaign, which was marred by injuries and a mid-season trade to the Mavericks involving Luka Doncic, Davis gets an opportunity to start fresh with a new look, while being the undisputed leader on a talented Dallas squad.

Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said Monday that Williams (knee) has not been fully cleared to play, Sean Highkin of Rip City Radio 620 Portland reports.

Williams underwent arthroscopic surgery on March 20 to address inflammation in his left knee and was initially expected to miss four-to-six weeks, but he still hasn't been fully cleared ahead of training camp. The big man appeared in just 20 games last season, averaging 5.8 points and 5.9 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per contest. Durability has been a major concern for the Texas A&M product, as he hasn't played more than 35 games in a regular season since 2021-22.