Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Jarrett Culver has been ruled out for Thursday's game against Golden State, having been placed in the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Culver has appeared in just 12 games this season for Memphis, averaging 4.3 points while shooting 52.4 percent overall. Selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Culver has struggled to carve out a niche across his first three professional seasons, keeping him off fantasy radars in all season-long formats. He will remain out indefinitely while in the league's protocols.

The Timberwolves sent Jarrett Culver to Memphis in exchange for Patrick Beverley, who was recently acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers just a few days ago. Juan Hernangomez was also included in the deal, freeing up money while adding to the team's young group of players. Culver, a sixth-overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, appeared in only 34 games last season due to injury, averaging a miserable 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds. Although Culver's fantasy history hasn't been the best throughout his two years in the league, his outlook could change, especially if he remains healthy and receives an enhanced role in his new home. However, the 22-year-old isn't worth a roster spot in nearly every fantasy league outside of dynasty formats at the moment.

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]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With the Minnesota Timberwolves committed to a new style of play, Jeff Teague didn't fit the trend.The Timberwolves traded the 11th-year veteran point guard to his original team Thursday in a three-player swap of backups with the Atlanta Hawks, who sent shooting guard Allen Crabbe in return.The Timberwolves also dealt shooting guard Treveon Graham, creating a roster space for potential other transactions prior to the Feb. 6 trade deadline. It was the first significant in-season move by new president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, who let the first wave of players acquired by the previous regime go last summer soon after he was hired.Teague, who played his first seven NBA seasons with the Hawks after they made him the 19th overall pick in the 2009 draft, went to his only All-Star game in 2015 for Atlanta.Crabbe is a better stylistic fit for the fast-paced, 3-point-favoring offense the Wolves have transitioned to under Rosas and first-year coach Ryan Saunders.... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves traded 11th-year veteran point guard Jeff Teague to his original team Thursday in a three-player swap of backups with the Atlanta Hawks, who sent shooting guard Allen Crabbe in return.The Timberwolves also dealt shooting guard Treveon Graham, creating a roster space for potential other transactions prior to the trade deadline Feb. 6. It was the first significant in-season move by new president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas.The 31-year-old Teague, who's making $19 million, and the 27-year-old Crabbe, who's earning $18.5 million, are both playing on expiring contracts. Graham is only signed through this season, too.Teague averaged 13.4 points and 7.1 assists in 146 games with the Timberwolves over 2 1/2 seasons, a well-respected leader in the locker room whose time with the team was hampered by knee and ankle injuries. He played in only 42 games last season and was moved into a reserve role two months ago, with Shabazz Napier and Jarrett... [More]

Preseason numbers often mean almost nothing. Rotations are unusual, starters rarely play much, and few if any teams are putting a premium on winning games.As such, it's tough to glean much from exhibition stats.But what the Boston Celtics and New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson — the No. 1 pick in this year's draft — have been doing so far in the preseason certainly stands out.The Celtics are 3-0 after beating Cleveland on Sunday — and have put together a huge run in all three of those games. The latest was a 50-17 spurt against the Cavaliers, a game that was close for most of the first quarter before Boston built what eventually became a 54-point lead.Boston's other big runs of note in this preseason were a 41-17 stretch last Sunday against Charlotte, and opening the game with a 29-4 burst at Orlando on Friday. On top of the 50-17 run against the Cavs, they added a 26-8 run in the fourth quarter as well.No matter who the Celtics have on the court, defense has been the constant. Boston is... [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