Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid and small/power forward Jake Layman have shifted into the starting lineup for Thursday's contest against the Jazz. Reid will be making his second start of 2021-22 in place of Karl-Anthony Towns (health and safety protocols), while Layman draws his first starting assignment of the season. The absence of Towns makes Reid one of the premier DFS plays of the slate, as the 22-year-old has averaged 12.7 points and 6.4 boards across 27 career starts. Even a starter's workload may not be enough to push Layman into consideration, as he has played an extremely limited role on the wing. Fantasy managers can also eye D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jaden McDaniels as DFS assets with added upside.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jake Layman was finally cleared Thursday to return to practice, with his absence at 39 straight games and counting because of a sprained left toe.Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, however, does not have that clearance. Nor has there been clarity yet revealed by the Timberwolves about how long his sprained left wrist will keep him out. The Timberwolves will play Friday against Boston without Towns, who missed the last game before the All-Star break on Feb. 12. Coach Ryan Saunders has said only that Towns will miss multiple games.“We’re obviously still looking, getting opinions that are out there,” Saunders said Thursday. “You want to make the best decisions possible for himself, and also for the organization.”Towns missed 15 games earlier this season with a left knee injury. His latest setback came in the aftermath of the whirlwind week leading up the trade deadline that landed guard D'Angelo Russell, a good friend of Towns. The Russell-Towns... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jake Layman was finally cleared Thursday to return to practice, with his absence at 39 straight games and counting because of a sprained left toe.Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, however, does not have that clearance. Nor has there been clarity yet revealed by the Timberwolves about how long his sprained left wrist will keep him out. The Timberwolves will play Friday against Boston without Towns, who missed the last game prior to the All-Star break on Feb. 12. Coach Ryan Saunders has only said Towns will miss multiple games.“We’re obviously still looking, getting opinions that are out there,” Saunders said Thursday. “You want to make the best decisions possible for himself, and also for the organization.”Towns missed 15 games earlier this season with a left knee injury. His latest setback came in the aftermath of the whirlwind week leading up the trade deadline that landed guard D'Angelo Russell, a good friend of Towns. The Russell-Towns... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves have taken on yet another new look, with D'Angelo Russell on his way to join pal Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins heading west to the Golden State Warriors.In a swap of high scorers consummated just a few hours before the NBA deadline on Thursday, the Timberwolves acquired the dynamic point guard they'd been seeking for awhile in Russell and pulled the plug on their development of Wiggins, the mercurial first overall pick of the 2014 draft.The deal also sent two little-used Golden State players, guard Jacob Evans and forward Omari Spellman, to the Timberwolves and routed two draft picks to the Warriors. They'll get Minnesota's first-rounder and second-rounder in 2021, unless the first-rounder is in the top three. Then it would roll over to 2022.That means the Timberwolves, who overturned half of their roster this week, will have two first-round picks this summer, their own that's likely to be in the top five and another one from Brooklyn... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Kelly Oubre Jr. was ready for a low-key night on the town with friends and family to celebrate his birthday, dressed head to toe in black with a jacket, shirt, pants and shoes.His work was already done and the results were exactly what he wanted. The new 24-year-old had just poured in 24 points to help the Phoenix Suns top the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-109 on Monday.“It's easy to get lost in the sauce when it comes to the emotions of the game,” Oubre said. “It's my birthday, definitely wanted to win, so I just wanted to go out there and do everything I possibly could to get the win.”Devin Booker led the Suns with 26 points, Oubre shot 8 of 15 from the field and Ricky Rubio finished with 16 points and 14 assists. The Suns won at home for the first time since Nov. 14, snapping a four-game losing streak at Talking Stick Resort Arena.Dario Saric added 20 points for Phoenix. Rubio has dished out at least 13 assists in three straight games and had only one turnover on Monday.“You... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 26 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. added 24 on his 24th birthday and the Phoenix Suns rolled to a 125-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.Oubre shot 8 of 15 from the field and made all six free throws, while Ricky Rubio finished with 16 points and 14 assists. The Suns won at home for the first time since Nov. 14, snapping a four-game losing streak at Talking Stick Resort Arena.Dario Saric added 20 points for Phoenix. Rubio has had at least 13 assists in three straight games.Minnesota lost its fifth in a row. The Timberwolves were led by Karl Anthony-Towns, who scored 33 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. He shot 12 of 18 from the field.Andrew Wiggins added 23 points and Jeff Teague had 16 off the bench.Phoenix trailed by three at halftime but rallied for a 94-85 advantage at the end of the third quarter. The Suns pushed that margin to 12 early in the fourth after Rubio's 3-pointer.The Timberwolves made a few small runs in the final period but... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves have finalized the acquisition of six players for roster depth and reserve roles, including a sign-and-trade deal with Portland for forward Jake Layman.The Timberwolves then completed a trade with Golden State as part of the deal that sent D'Angelo Russell from Brooklyn to the Warriors, bringing guard Shabazz Napier and forward Treveon Graham to Minnesota for the rights to Israeli forward Lior Eliyahu. The Wolves also announced Monday the signing of free agent forward Noah Vonleh and rookie guard Jarrett Culver and the claiming of guard Tyrone Wallace off waivers from the Los Angeles Clippers.Most of the deals were agreed to last week before the NBA's free agency moratorium was lifted. Culver, the No. 6 overall pick from Texas Tech, was acquired from Phoenix in the draft-day deal that sent No. 11 pick Cameron Johnson and forward Dario Saric to the Suns.Vonleh signed a one-year, $2 million contract. Layman, who was acquired for the rights to Montenegrin forward Bojan Dubljevic, received a three-year, $11.5 million deal.___More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard is just going to assume that Portland won't have backcourt teammate CJ McCollum through the rest of the regular season so that the Trail Blazers can respond to his absence effectively.McCollum, who is averaging more than 21 points a game for Portland, has a strained left knee. He'll be re-evaluated next week, but at this point there's no timetable for his return.The injury comes at an inopportune time for the Blazers, who sit in fourth in the tight Western Conference standings with 12 games left to secure home-court advantage."Mentally, I don't want him to have to rush it," Lillard said about McCollum's return. "When he does come back I want him to be himself and be healthy, so in my mind, we're going to finish the regular season without him, maybe the last couple of games of the regular season. I think that's how I should think of it, knowing that we have to have a great effort for these last 12 games, planning on not having him out there."While the... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum says he was relieved that his left knee injury was not serious, especially this close to the playoffs.The Blazers said McCollum had a popliteus strain in his left knee and he would be re-examined in a week."I wasn't sure exactly what it was. I knew where it was hurting, I knew that could mean a few different things based on the MRI. But it was positive, as good as it could be given the circumstances," McCollum said on Monday.McCollum was injured in the third quarter of Portland's 108-103 loss at San Antonio on Saturday night. The results of the MRI were revealed the following day.He has started in all but one of the Blazers' games this season, averaging 21.3 points, four rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.Jake Layman was listed as the starter for the Blazers on Monday night against the Indiana Pacers. Portland (42-27) went into the game sitting in fourth in the Western Conference standings with 12 games to go.McCollum was asked... [More]