NBA Player News

Jared Weiss of the New York Times believes coach Mitch Johnson needs to find ways to increase Harper's minutes this year.

Weiss thinks the optimal way to boost Harper's playing time would be to close games with all three of Harper, De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle on the floor. It remains to be seen how willing the Spurs will be to deploy more frequent small-ball looks, as they would then have to squeeze either Devin Vassell or Tobias Harris from the lineup more often. Harper remains one of the favorites for the Sixth Man of the Year award heading into the new campaign.

Jared Weiss of the New York Times believes that Fox should start over Dylan Harper in 2026-27.

The calls for Harper to unseat Fox as the Spurs' starting point guard grew louder this past postseason, when the former soundly outperformed the latter, particularly during the NBA Finals. Fox appears to be in pole position to begin 2026-27 as the starter over Harper, but any kind of slow start could jeopardize his hold on the top spot if Harper carries his NBA Finals success into the new season.

Castle appears to be locked into a starting role at shooting guard, per Jared Weiss of the New York Times.

There's some discourse surrounding whether or not Dylan Harper should start over veteran De'Aaron Fox in 2026-27, but Castle seems to be safe from that debate. Castle was instrumental to the Spurs' deep playoff run last year, averaging 18.2 points, 6.1 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 1.5 three-pointers per game across 23 postseason appearances.

Sears signed an Exhibit 10 deal with Portland on Wednesday, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.

Sears is expected to be waived and eventually moved to the G League's Rip City Remix. He was a two-way player for the Bucks last season.

Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily believes Suggs is best utilized as a spot-up shooter and in catch-and-shoot situations.

Suggs is coming off a disappointing playoff run, having averaged 11.1 points per game on 29.9 percent shooting from the field and 24.1 percent from three-point range last postseason. Rossman-Reich also thinks a healthy Magic team is paramount to maximizing Suggs' strengths in an off-ball role after the guard was forced to operate more on the ball last year due to injuries to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Suggs should see enough playmaking opportunities to be worthy of a late-round pick in fantasy leagues, but the emergence of Anthony Black, who's coming off a breakout 2025-26 campaign, could remain a worrisome presence at point guard for Suggs' managers.

Adams (ankle) didn't offer a return timetable Monday at media day, per Varun Shankar of the Houston Chronicle.

Adams referred to the ankle surgery he underwent in January as "complicated." The veteran center's status will remain worth monitoring throughout training camp and the preseason. Clint Capela should take on the leftover reps as the No. 2 center until Adams is cleared for action.

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.

Durant pushed back Monday on the idea of playing reduced minutes in his 20th season, per Ben DuBose of USA Today.

The future Hall of Famer logged 78 regular-season appearances last year, his most since 2018-19 with the Warriors. Durant also averaged 36.4 minutes per game before going down with an ankle injury and missing five of Houston's six playoff contests. However, it doesn't sound like the 37-year-old perennial All-Star is ready to take it easy for the contending Rockets in 2026-27. Durant trails only LeBron James among the NBA's active minutes leaders.

Simons is set to play a pivotal reserve role for the 76ers, per Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com.

Simons ended 2025-26 on the shelf with the Bulls due to a fractured wrist, but he's prepping for a significant bench role with his new team. The sharpshooter made a grand total of five starts all of last year, and he's likely to play a similar role in 2026-27 behind VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey. Simons has never averaged more than four rebounds or one steal in a season and has averaged more than five assists just once, so his style of play remains more conducive to points leagues.

Cunningham is getting ready for his sixth season in the league, per Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News.

Cunningham, 24, finds himself now being the longest-tenured player on the Pistons after the team traded veteran big man Isaiah Stewart to Memphis this offseason. The move puts more of an emphasis on Cunningham as a leader, and the star guard remains worthy of a first-round pick in most fantasy drafts this fall after averaging 23.9 points, 9.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.8 blocks per game last regular season.