NBA Player News

Portland signed Youngblood to a two-way contract Monday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

Youngblood has been a standout player for the Oklahoma City Blue in the G League. With this move, Youngblood is now likely to become a featured player for the Rip City Remix, but he may get some NBA looks with the Trail Blazers as well.

Maxey racked up 33 points (12-34 FG, 4-11 3Pt, 5-6 FT), three rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal across 43 minutes during Sunday's 114-98 loss to the Celtics.

Maxey was present all over the court for a 76ers team that was missing Joel Embiid (oblique) and Paul George (suspension), but not even this impressive line was enough to avoid a 14-point defeat. Maxey remains on fire and has scored at least 27 points in each of his six games since the All-Star break, averaging 31.2 points but only shooting 41 percent from the floor in that stretch.

Wesley finished with 12 points (5-11 FG, 2-4 FT), two rebounds, three assists and one block across 20 minutes during Sunday's 135-101 loss to the Hawks.

Wesley continues to play a modest role off Portland's bench. Over his last five games, he's seeing 11.7 minutes per contest with 6.0 points and 1.8 assists on 47.8 percent shooting from the field. He's miles off the fantasy radar.

Camara accumulated nine points (3-10 FG, 3-7 3Pt), two rebounds, two assists and one steal over 35 minutes during Sunday's 135-101 loss to the Hawks.

Despite sizable workloads on a nightly basis, Camara continues to have limited fantasy appeal in Portland. Across 62 appearances, he's averaging 33.5 minutes per contest with 13.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.5 three-pointers on 43.3 percent shooting from the field and 68.5 percent from the line.

Johnson (ankle) said after Sunday's 117-108 loss to the Timberwolves that he's not optimistic about his chances of playing Monday in Utah, Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette reports.

Johnson was limited to 23 minutes Sunday before checking out of the contest for good with 7:50 remaining in the fourth quarter due to a sore right ankle. Heading into the contest, Johnson had been listed as probable due to right ankle inflammation, so he seemingly aggravated the injury Sunday. For his part, Johnson doesn't believe the ankle issue will be a long-term concern, as he believes that exploring different shoes and orthotic inserts will help resolve the matter. Assuming Johnson ends up sitting out Monday, the Nuggets could have more minutes available for the likes of Spencer Jones (shoulder), Julian Strawther and Jalen Pickett.

Kuminga notched 20 points (7-10 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 5-7 FT), seven rebounds, three assists and two steals across 25 minutes during Sunday's 135-101 victory over Portland.

Jalen Johnson (hip) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (foot) returned to action Sunday, which pushed Kuminga to the bench, but he still played a sizable role off the bench and made the most of his minutes. He's off to a dream start in Atlanta, posting averages of 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.7 three-pointers across three appearances.

Okongwu totaled 25 points (9-15 FG, 7-12 3Pt), 10 rebounds, six assists, one block and two steals across 27 minutes during Sunday's 135-101 win over the Trail Blazers.

This was a tremendous showing for Okongwu as the Hawks improved to 31-31 on the season. Okongwu trails only Jalen Johnson in fantasy value for nine-category formats in Atlanta, posting averages of 16.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.0 blocks and 2.1 three-pointers.

Sandfort agreed Monday with the Thunder on a two-way contract, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

One of the top performers this season for the Thunder's G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, Sandfort will now get the chance to make his NBA debut as the regular season winds down. The 23-year-old forward has appeared in 21 games for the Blue, averaging 11.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 three-pointers and 2.1 assists in 27.8 minutes per contest.

Smart had nine points (3-5 FG, 3-5 3Pt), three rebounds, three assists and five steals over 25 minutes during Sunday's 128-104 win over the Kings.

The five steals were Smart's best performance on the defensive end since he racked up seven pilfers against the Hornets on Nov. 10. The veteran guard is having trouble finding ways to contribute for the Lakers. He's scored in double digits only once in the last seven games, averaging 7.0 points, 2.6 assists, 2.1 boards, 1.6 steals and 1.3 threes in 26.4 minutes over that stretch.

James closed Sunday's 128-104 victory over the Kings with 24 points (8-15 FG, 3-4 3Pt, 5-6 FT), one rebound, five assists, one block and two steals in 27 minutes.

Despite a bothersome foot, James was able to produce at least 20 points for the ninth time in 12 games since the beginning of February. Over that span, the future Hall of Famer is averaging 20.8 points, 7.8 assists, 5.2 boards, 1.4 threes and 1.0 steals as he continues to adjust to life as the second fiddle on the Lakers behind Luka Doncic.