NBA Player News

Castle closed with 18 points (8-13 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 1-1 FT), seven rebounds, six assists and three steals across 22 minutes during Thursday's 135-123 win over the Mavericks.

Thursday marked the first time this season that Castle has been deployed off the bench, but it didn't impact his overall production. He contributed in a big way across the board, highlighted by a team-high three steals. Castle remained effective despite logging only 22 minutes, but it'll be worth monitoring whether he sticks in a bench role moving forward.

Bridges ended Thursday's 109-99 victory over Houston with 18 points (7-17 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 1-1 FT), six rebounds, four assists and one steal over 32 minutes.

Bridges' 18 points and four assists against the Rockets mirror his averages for the season. It was a nice bounce-back performance after scoring only nine in his last outing. With the addition of Coby White (hamstring) at the deadline, Charlotte now has five players on its roster averaging more than 18 points per game. It will be worth monitoring who takes a back seat once White is added to the mix.

Gafford registered 16 points (5-8 FG, 6-8 FT), 10 rebounds, two assists, four blocks and three steals in 33 minutes before fouling out of Thursday's 135-123 loss to the Spurs.

Gafford was upgraded to available shortly before tipoff Thursday and didn't show any signs of his ankle injury hampering his play. The big man has started five consecutive matchups for the Mavs and is averaging 12.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.4 blocks in 26.4 minutes over this strong stretch.

Flagg finished with 32 points (14-27 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 2-2 FT), six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals across 39 minutes during Thursday's 135-123 loss to the Spurs.

Flagg turned in another solid performance across the board, stringing together a fourth consecutive game of scoring 30 or more points. He's been nearly unstoppable during this stretch, averaging 37.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 blocks while shooting 56.2 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from downtown.

The Magic signed Carter for the remainder of the season on Friday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

Carter, who was previously waived by the Bulls, is being brought in to provide emergency backcourt depth for Orlando. With the Magic moving on from Tyus Jones, Carter could be the third-string point guard on the depth chart moving forward.

Knueppel provided 24 points (8-13 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 6-6 FT), four rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes during Thursday's 109-99 win over Houston.

Knueppel's stellar rookie campaign continues as he led Charlotte with a highly efficient 24 points. The sharpshooting wing is hovering around 50-40-90 for the season. This year, Knueppel is shooting 48.5 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from three and 89.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Ball posted 20 points (7-19 FG, 5-12 3Pt, 1-2 FT), six rebounds and four assists over 29 minutes during Thursday's 109-99 victory over the Rockets.

It wasn't a highly efficient night from Ball, but he managed to sink five triples in the win. Ball has made multiple threes in eight consecutive games. Now in his sixth season, Ball is averaging 19.1 points per game, which is the lowest since his rookie year, while his rebounding and assist numbers are nearly identical to last season.

Vukcevic (hamstring) posted 14 points (5-7 FG, 3-4 3Pt, 1-1 FT), three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal across 11 minutes Thursday in the Wizards' 126-117 win over the Pistons.

Making his return from a 10-game absence due to a sore left knee and left hamstring strain, Vukcevic settled into the Washington rotation and provided stellar per-minute production during his limited time on the court. With the Wizards moving Marvin Bagley ahead of the trade deadline, Vukcevic should have a fairly clear path to the primary backup role behind starting center Alex Sarr moving forward. Vukcevic showed Thursday that even in light playing time, he's capable of putting up strong numbers, but he'll probably need to move into a more consistent 20-minute role before fantasy managers can have a greater amount of trust in him as a back-end roster option in 12-team category leagues.

Gordon (not with team) won't play Friday against the Trail Blazers.

Gordon, who was acquired by the 76ers via trade Thursday, is expected to be waived shortly. He may draw interest from contending teams in free agency if that comes to fruition.

Labissiere became a free agent Friday after his 10-day contract with the Wizards expired, Keith Smith of Spotrac.com reports.

Washington will have the option of retaining Labissiere on a second 10-day deal, though that may be less of a priority after Tristan Vukcevic (hamstring) made his return to action in Thursday's 126-117 win over the Pistons to provide depth at center behind starter Alex Sarr. Over the course of his 10-day deal, Labissiere appeared in three games and averaged 4.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per contest. Labissiere had been playing with the Wizards' G League affiliate prior to being signed, so he could stick around with the Capital City Go-Go even if Washington elects not to bring him back on another 10-day pact.