Fantasy Basketball

Hours after Clippers lead executive Lawrence Frank revealed that the swelling in Leonard’s knee was “almost gone,” Charania reported that the forward underwent a procedure on his knee this offseason. This report paints Frank’s words in a new light, as it’s fair to question how close Leonard is to being a full go. Fantasy managers are in a difficult spot, as rolling the dice on Leonard depends on how many IL+ slots they have to work with. This makes James Harden even more attractive in his role, likely locking him into the second round of standard league drafts.

Selected 52nd overall in this summer’s NBA Draft, Post’s contract status was not finalized until Tuesday. He will be on a two-way deal, with the Warriors waiving Daequon Plowden to make room for Post. The former Boston College standout was one of the best big men in the ACC last season, earning all-conference and All-Defensive Team honors. Don’t look for Post to impact fantasy basketball this season.

Not selected in this summer’s draft, Flowers agreed to a two-way contract with the Clippers on July 24. The rookie’s lack of availability due to wrist surgery will not impact fantasy basketball, as Flowers is expected to spend most of his time in the G League.

Due to inflammation in his right knee, Leonard missed the Clippers’ final eight regular season games and only played Games 2 and 3 of the team’s first-round series against Dallas. The issues persisted, with USA Basketball deciding to replace Leonard with Derrick White ahead of the Paris Olympics. On Monday, Frank attempted to spin his star forward’s health positively, but his still dealing with swelling is problematic. “His right knee, the swelling has significantly gone down,” Frank said. “It’s almost gone. ... We’re going to hold him back from drill work [in training camp] and work on strengthening.” The Clippers will need even more from Leonard with Paul George in Philadelphia. Norman Powell is a player whose fantasy value would increase if Leonard misses time, as the Clippers would need his scoring ability, either as a spot starter or in his usual sixth-man role.

Celtics team president Brad Stevens expressed optimism regarding Porzingis’ recovery, and the 7-foot-3 center is also pleased with his progress. “The expectation is sometime in December,” Porzingis told ESPN. “But I’m feeling really good and I’m working towards hopefully playing earlier than that.” The update is unsurprising, as a timeline of 5-6 months was reported after Porzingis underwent surgery in late June. His absence pushes Al Horford up draft boards, as he’s expected to be the starting center in KP’s absence. Porzingis being sidelined also makes Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman relevant as streamers, as the 38-year-old Horford did not play both games of any back-to-backs last season.

Two of Boston’s backup big men, Kornet and Xavier Tillman (knee), underwent offseason surgeries but have been cleared for the start of training camp on Tuesday. The 7-foot-2 Kornet injured his wrist during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, missing the final two games of that series before playing sparingly in three of Boston’s five NBA Finals games against Dallas. With Kristaps Porzingis (leg) unlikely to play before December, there will be nights when Kornet and Tillman are worthy of streaming consideration.

Celtics team president Brad Stevens revealed during media day on Tuesday that Tillman underwent a scope on his left knee in late July. Due to the knee, he missed eight games in late January/early February and did not make his Celtics debut until after the All-Star break. Tillman wasn’t much of a fantasy asset for the Celtics last season, but that stands to change, with Kristaps Porzingis (leg) unlikely to play before December. Tillman and Luke Kornet will have some streaming value on nights when Boston is also without Al Horford, who did not play both games of any back-to-backs last season.

Keels didn’t log any NBA minutes last season but notched 13.5 points and 3.5 assists per game with the Iowa Wolves.

Gilyard appeared in 37 games for the Memphis Grizzlies last season. He averaged 4.7 points and 3.5 assists per game.

After being waived by the Suns on August 21, Little will have another opportunity to solidify his NBA standing in Miami. While the Heat have an open standard contract slot, signing Little to a standard deal now would significantly impact the team’s luxury tax standing. He may have agreed to a partially (or non) guaranteed contract. Little appeared in 45 games last season, averaging 3.4 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.2 minutes. His addition to the Heat roster will not impact fantasy basketball.