Charlotte Hornets

Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges will become a free agent following the 2023-24 NBA season and is expected to be a prominent name in trade talks until the Feb. 8 deadline. Bridges missed all of last season and served a 10-game suspension to start this year due to a domestic-violence case, but he is currently among the 10 or more players on the Phoenix Suns' radar. If traded, Bridges would lose his bird rights, meaning teams cannot go over the salary cap to pay him, and he can also veto any trade. The Suns don't have the cap space to retain him in the offseason, but Bridges could provide a significant boost for their title run this season. He is currently averaging 20.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 36 minutes per game.

Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (back) has been ruled out again for their contest against the Houston Rockets on Friday. Instead of just a "back contusion" he's now listed on the injury report with "injury recovery." That doesn't give much of a timetable for his return, but it does seem to finally be trending in the right direction. He's missed 22 consecutive games and this will be his 23rd. The last game he played was back on December 8, but he wasn't able to play the entire time due to his back issue. Nick Richards is going to remain in the starting lineup as long as Williams is sidelined and he can be a quality streaming option until that time.

Dallas Mavericks forward Grant Williams will move into the starting five ahead of Wednesday's game against the Phoenix Suns. The Mavs are without star guard Kyrie Irving (thumb) for this game. As a result, Williams will get the start to try and fill the void left by Irving. He's a decent 3-and-D player, but probably won't do enough to warrant streaming in most fantasy formats. Tim Hardaway Jr. is the better fantasy option even with him coming off the bench.

The Charlotte Hornets have upgraded center Nick Richards (ankle) from questionable to available for Wednesday's game against the Detroit Pistons. A sprained right ankle cost Richards Charlotte's past three matchups, but he will return on Wednesday to help man the middle. Richards' interior presence was sorely missed when Karl-Anthony Towns destroyed the Hornets for 62 points in Monday's upset win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 26-year-old Kentucky product remains on the fantasy map for boards and rejections in the extended absence of starting big man Mark Williams (back), averaging 8.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 19 games without Williams in 2023-24.

Dallas Mavericks guard Seth Curry (ankle) is listed as questionable for the team's upcoming game against the Phoenix Suns. The 33-year-old sat out the last game, and in 2024, he has only played 20 minutes in a game once. Given the questionable status of several other Maverick guards, Curry might assume a more significant role if he's able to play. Not a constant presence in the rotation this year, he's averaging just over seven points per game in 15 minutes of action this season.