Utah Jazz center Damian Jones is going to exercise his player option worth $2.58 million and remain in Utah for the upcoming season. First reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the 27-year-old looks like he'll remain the third-string big man behind Kelly Olynyk and Walker Kessler. Jones was part of the trade with the Lakers that sent Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt to Los Angeles while Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley went to Minnesota.

The Russell Westbrook experiment in Los Angeles has been less than ideal over the past two years and has officially come to an end. With the West stocking up everywhere, the Lakers knew they had to make a splash in order to make a push to the playoffs.The Lakers executed a three-team trade with the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves, involving a total of eight players and multiple draft picks Wednesday night. The Lakers sent Russell Westbrook, Juan Tuscano-Anderson, and Damian Jones to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt while also acquiring D'Angelo Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Jazz also sent Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Timberwolves while accumulating even more draft capital.So just what is the fantasy basketball fallout of this blockbuster trade? Let's examine how each of the teams and players in the deal may be affected going forward. 

Fantasy Basketball Fallout: Russell Westbrook

Westbrook is expected to be bought out from Utah and enter free agency. There are already rumors of teams interested in the veteran point guard, including the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, and Chicago Bulls. If Westbrook were to be claimed, he would likely be given a prominent role immediately given these three teams are all lacking in the point guard position. Westbrook's caveat has always been his personality fit so it remains to be seen how well he can mesh with his new team if he is claimed. 

Fantasy Basketball Fallout: Lakers

The Lakers get some much-needed spacing and size with the additions of Russell, Beasley, and Vanderbilt. Russell is shooting a career-high 39.1 percent from three while averaging 17.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game this season. Russell should absorb Westbrook's minutes and will likely start at point guard over ... [More]

Los Angeles Lakers center Damian Jones has been spending time with the starting unit during practices as of late. While head coach Darvin Ham hasn't announced who would begin the games for L.A. this season, Jones is in the running for the job. The 27-year-old signed with the Lakers in July after finishing last season in Sacramento, where he averaged 14.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 15 starts. Although Thomas Bryant will get minutes, Jones may be the No. 1 guy on the depth chart and commands attention from managers in deep formats, especially since he could easily surpass his fantasy expectations.

Sacramento Kings center Damian Jones put together a fantastic performance against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. This ended up being the perfect storm with the Rockets missing two centers and Jones getting 30-plus minutes. Jones hit 9-of-13 shots, nine rebounds, five assists, and four blocks in 34 minutes. Over the last five games, Jones has averaged 15.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, which is eighth-round production. He could be on the streaming radar, but probably won't produce these types of numbers again.

Sacramento Kings center Damian Jones is part of the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Indiana Pacers. He's filling in for injured center Domantas Sabonis (knee). Jones has seen inconsistent minutes this year, but he's shown the ability to put up some satisfying numbers here and there. Most recently, facing the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, he racked up 13 points, seven boards, two steals, one assist, one block and one three-pointer over 22 minutes. He's worthy of streaming or gambling on in DFS for Wednesday's action.

Sacramento Kings center Damian Jones will replace Richaun Holmes in the starting five on Sunday against Miami. Holmes entered the league's COVID-19 protocols on Saturday, so this could be the first of many starts for Jones. Alex Len and Tristan Thompson might benefit as well, but they were completely out of the rotation in Friday's loss to Dallas. Jones had a good showing against the Mavericks with 10 points and eight rebounds. His per-36-minute stats for the season stand at 14.7 points and 11.7 rebounds. You never know how Sacramento's frontcourt rotation will work out, but Jones has done well in the little action he's seen this season and could become a sneaky short-term option for fantasy managers.

Sacramento Kings center Damian Jones is staying with the team. The club picked up Jones' option, so he is on tap for one more year in purple and black. He averaged 6.9 points, 4.5 boards, and 1.0 blocks throughout 17 games with the team. However, it's likely he won't do any better than that from a statistical standpoint this season, especially since he probably won't see the floor much moving ahead.

PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Suns have waived reserve center Damian Jones. The 25-year-old Jones appeared in 14 games this season, averaging 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. He was never able to consistently break into the playing rotation, falling behind Frank Kaminsky, Dario Saric and Jae Crowder on the depth chart. The 6-foot-11 Jones also has played for the Warriors and Hawks during his five-year career. His most productive season came last year with the Hawks, when he averaged 5.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. The Suns' roster now has 15 players. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ATLANTA (AP) — Zion Williamson may not be quite as tall as billed.He still soared in his first NBA preseason game Monday night.Showing off the high-flying talents that made him one of the most anticipated rookies in years, Williamson turned in a ferocious slam less than 2 minutes into his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans and dunked it two more times before the first half was done against the Atlanta Hawks."This isn't high school or college anymore," Williamson said. "You've got to go up strong. So I went up strong and I was able to finish."It was quite the close-range repertoire.One with the right hand.One with the left hand.One with both hands.Williamson finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, helping the Pelicans to a 133-109 victory over the Hawks before a much larger crowd — announced at 15,441 — than what normally be expected in Atlanta for a weeknight exhibition between two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season."I didn't expect that... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Zion Williamson may not be quite as tall as billed.He still soared in his first NBA preseason game Monday night.Showing off the high-flying talents that made him one of the most anticipated rookies in years, Williamson turned in a ferocious slam less than 2 minutes into his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans and dunked it two more times before the first half was done against the Atlanta Hawks."This isn't high school or college anymore," Williamson said. "You've got to go up strong. So I went up strong and I was able to finish."It was quite the close-range repertoire.One with the right hand.One with the left hand.One with both hands.Williamson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, helping the Pelicans to a 133-109 victory over the Hawks before a much larger crowd — announced at 15,441 — than what normally be expected in Atlanta for an exhibition between two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season."I didn't expect that many people... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Zion Williamson may not be quite as tall as billed.He still soared in his first NBA preseason game Monday night.Showing off the high-flying talents that made him one of the most anticipated rookies in years, Williamson turned in a ferocious slam less than 2 minutes into his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans and dunked it two more times before the first half was done against the Atlanta Hawks.It was quite the close-range repertoire.One with the right hand.One with the left hand.One with both hands.Williamson finished the first half with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists, helping the Pelicans to a 75-61 lead over the Hawks before a much larger crowd than what normally be expected in Atlanta for an exhibition between two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season.Of course, the score was irrelevant. This was chance to see the future of the NBA for the first time — not counting his brief stint in the Las Vegas Summer League — and Williamson did not disappoint,... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Zion Williams may not be quite as tall as billed.He still soared in his first NBA preseason game Monday night.Showing off the high-flying talents that made him one of the most anticipated rookies in years, Williamson turned in a ferocious slam less than 2 minutes into his debut with the New Orleans Pelicans and dunked it two more times before the first half was done against the Atlanta Hawks.It was quite the close-range repertoire.One with the right hand.One with the left hand.One with both hands.Williams finished the first half with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists, helping the Pelicans to a 75-61 lead over the Hawks before a much larger crowd than what normally be expected in Atlanta for an exhibition between two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season.Of course, the score was irrelevant. This was chance to see the future of the NBA for the first time — not counting his brief stint in the Las Vegas Summer League — and Williamson did not disappoint, though... [More]

Zach Norvell Jr. made a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining to lift the Los Angeles Lakers over the Sacramento Kings 99-97 on Wednesday, completing a comeback from 21 points down early in the fourth quarter.Sacramento led 86-65 with less than 8 minutes left, but the Lakers rallied with 34 points down the stretch to improve to 2-1 at the California Classic in Sacramento. The Lakers closed on a 12-1 run over the final 2:16.Jordan Howard led the Lakers with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. He scored 17 in the fourth quarter. Nick Perkins had 20 points, Devontae Cacok added 13 and Norvell scored 11.Sacramento (1-2) had five players score in double figures, led by Wenyen Gabriel with 16 points. Second-round pick Kyle Guy added 14, but shot just 5 of 17 from the field. Semaj Christon scored 13.Gabriel had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but missed a contested 25-footer.HEAT 73, WARRIORS 65Kendrick Nunn scored 21 points, Tyler Herro added 20 and Miami... [More]

Zach Norvell Jr. made a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining to lift the Los Angeles Lakers over the Sacramento Kings 99-97 on Wednesday, completing a comeback from 21 points down early in the fourth quarter.Sacramento led 86-65 with less than 8 minutes left, but the Lakers rallied with 34 points down the stretch to improve to 2-1 at the California Classic in Sacramento. The Lakers closed on a 12-1 run over the final 2:16.Jordan Howard led the Lakers with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. He scored 17 in the fourth quarter. Nick Perkins had 20 points, Devontae Cacok added 13 and Norvell scored 11.Sacramento (1-2) had five players score in double figures, led by Wenyen Gabriel with 16 points. Second-round pick Kyle Guy added 14, but shot just 5 of 17 from the field. Semaj Christon scored 13.Gabriel had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but missed a contested 25-footer.HEAT 73, WARRIORS 65Kendrick Nunn scored 21 points, Tyler Herro added 20 and Miami... [More]

Zion Williamson knows he has a lot to learn starting when he makes his NBA Summer League debut.That said, he's already picked up a few things.The No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft by the New Orleans Pelicans is in Las Vegas, where his first game on Friday is officially sold out and, predictably, a hot ticket on the resale markets. After practicing Tuesday, Williamson said he's noticing that some of the rules of defense in the pro game seem a bit more offense-friendly than the zones he often saw in college."I do like the spacing a lot more," Williamson said, in a video posted to the Pelicans' web site. "You can't really just stand in the paint, so it gives me a lot of room to operate. Defense is just a little different as well."New Orleans plays New York on Friday night in the opener for both teams in Las Vegas. The four-team leagues in Salt Lake City and Sacramento continued Tuesday, with both set to wrap up Wednesday before all 30 NBA teams — plus the Chinese and Croatian national... [More]

The scenario is simple right now for Milwaukee and Golden State: Win a road game on Monday, go home toting a 3-1 series lead and be one win away from a spot in the NBA's version of the Final Four.The scenario is equally simple for Boston and Houston: Win a home game on Monday, or else.Top-seeded Milwaukee leads fourth-seeded Boston 2-1 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, and top-seeded Golden State leads fourth-seeded Houston 2-1 in their Western Conference semifinal. The Celtics and the Rockets host Game 4s, knowing a win will earn them a berth in what becomes a best-of-three showdown and knowing a loss places them squarely on the abyss that overlooks elimination."It's a great opportunity to respond," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.Boston had the home-court edge over Milwaukee, then gave it back with a loss on Friday night. Houston was a bounce or two away from getting into the most-dreaded 3-0 hole against Golden State, then rallied to win Game 3 on Saturday night and keep... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Golden State Warriors signed Andrew Bogut, who is expected to rejoin the team next week and add depth heading into the playoffs.The Warriors made the announcement Wednesday, after Bogut was cleared by his Australian team, the Sydney Kings. The Warriors are without Damian Jones, who needed surgery after injuring his left pectoral muscle in December."He's still got something to offer," coach Steve Kerr said. "Whatever role that means, he's ready to accept and take on the challenge and we're excited to have him."Golden State has struggled defensively, losing in embarrassing fashion at home to Boston 128-95 on Tuesday night, so Bogut's 7-foot presence in the paint could be timely.He played on the Warriors' 2015 champion team and the 73-win team the following season that lost in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to LeBron James and the Cavaliers."I think it will be great for us to have Bogut back," Draymond Green said after Wednesday's practice, when the two-time defending... [More]