Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (knee) went through knee surgery after getting hurt in their game against the Orlando Magic on December 6. Since then, he's missed 21 consecutive games, but he's been progressing in the right direction. He's now been able to pass a lot of the steps needed to get back on the court and he's continuing to ramp up his intensity in practice according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. His return could potentially happen next week, but it would likely mean Mobley gets a minute restriction as well. If he is able to return, it would likely affect Jarrett Allen's fantasy value. He's been excellent while Mobley has been out, but his presence is likely to take away some scoring, boards, and even blocks.

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama has been under a minutes restriction ever since he sprained his ankle a couple of times back on December 21. Even with the restriction, he tweaked his ankle again in the first game after that. Originally, it was placed at 24 minutes a night, but he has seen just shy of 30 minutes in the past couple of games. This weekend, it seems that the Spurs are prepared to play him as many minutes as they need. Wembanyama was averaging north of 30 minutes per contest before the restriction, so they'll likely get back to the same mark. Gregg Popovich even talked about possibly playing him in both halves of a back-to-back. More than halfway through his rookie season, the French superstar is averaging 20.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 3.2 blocks, 1.1 steals, and 3.2 turnovers per game.

Toronto Raptors guard/forward Bruce Brown moved to Canada just a couple of weeks ago in exchange for Pascal Siakam and others. Ever since that deal was made official, there have been reports and rumors that this wouldn't be his final move this season. Playoff contending teams have been linked to Brown, most notably the New York Knicks. According to Mark Sanchez of the New York Post, Brown was thinking of signing with the Knicks before he accepted the offer from the Indiana Pacers in the offseason. He even said during an interview that his playstyle and effort align with how Tom Thibodeau runs his team. There haven't been any official offers yet, but this move seems to be gaining the most steam.

Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine has seemingly been a part of trade rumors for a couple of years now. This season, especially, has brought more and more rumors surrounding the Bulls' asking price and teams that LaVine could actually fit on. The Detroit Pistons are the latest team to engage in trade discussions, but they are unwilling to move any of their "blue chip" prospects which includes Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey, and Ausar Thompson. On the other side of the deal, the Bulls are asking for Bojan Bogdanovic and one of those four players to get a deal done. According to James Edwards of The Athletic, these discussions will continue internally for now.

Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns put up another strong performance on Thursday, with 27 points and 10 rebounds in the team's 96-94 road win over the Brooklyn Nets. The 28-year-old has been on a hot scoring stretch lately, scoring at least 27 points in three straight games, including his 62-point outburst on Monday. Towns is averaging 22.7 points and 8.8 rebounds in 33 minutes per game this year, and he'll look to continue his scoring streak on Saturday in San Antonio.