Bittle missed Toronto's Summer League finale due to right knee soreness, though it's unclear exactly what he's dealing with now. The 23-year-old center out of Oregon signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Raptors in June and is set to compete for a spot on the regular-season roster at training camp, so his status will be worth monitoring moving forward.
Toohey was selected by the Warriors with the 52nd overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, though he was waived from his two-way deal in December before undergoing left knee surgery. The 22-year-old will compete for a spot on Golden State's regular-season roster in training camp, but it's unclear if he's fully recovered from the knee injury after missing Summer League.
Jackson was traded from Memphis to Utah in February, though he appeared in only three regular-season games for the Jazz before undergoing surgery due to a growth in his left knee. The 2022-23 Defensive Player of the Year will look to make his presence felt on that end of the floor and anchor a now Kessler-less Jazz frontcourt. Jackson's two-way production will be crucial for a Utah team that's looking to return to playoff contention, and he hasn't averaged fewer than 18.6 points per game since the 2021-22 campaign, when he averaged 16.3 points per tilt for the Grizzlies.
Irving suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in March 2025 and did not play in the 2025-26 campaign. The veteran point guard has had plenty of time to recover and will enter training camp having played in pickup games this summer. It wouldn't be surprising to see the 34-year-old enter the season on a minutes restriction, though it appears likely he'll be ready to play by Opening Night. Irving appeared in 50 regular-season games in 2024-25 before suffering the knee injury, averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.8 combined steals-plus-blocks in 36.1 minutes per contest.
Haliburton torched the nets in the opening quarter of Indiana's Game 7 loss to the Thunder in the Finals, though he tore his Achilles before the end of the frame. The star floor general resumed 5-on-5 work in early April and said in late June that he felt like he was operating like a "healthy NBA player," per Scott Agness of FieldhouseFiles.com. Although he's had plenty of time to recover since undergoing Achilles surgery, Haliburton may still need time to ramp up to a full workload after such a serious injury. The 26-year-old will look to return to form after averaging 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks while shooting 38.8 percent from three-point range in 33.6 minutes per tilt across 73 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.
It's presumably an Exhibit 10 contract to acquire Bryant's G League rights. For now, it looks like he'll have a chance to compete for a roster spot in Atlanta, though it wouldn't be a surprise if the Hawks waived him before training camp.
After signing a training camp contract Tuesday, Higgs is already off Atlanta's roster. The move likely closes his path to competing for a roster spot with the Hawks in camp, though he should still remain with the organization via the G League's College Park Skyhawks.
Although expectations in Toronto are rising, the anticipated arrival of Kawhi Leonard should help alleviate some of the offensive burdens on Quickley at point guard. Quickley went down with a strained hamstring late last season, but not before he recorded a career-high 70 regular-season starts and averaged a career-best 5.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 31.9 minutes per game. The 27-year-old also ranked sixth in the league among qualified players in assist to turnover ratio (4.1) last year, so Quickley's ability to orchestrate the offense efficiently should help him maintain mid-round fantasy value even if he slots in as perhaps the fourth scoring option behind Leonard, Barrett and Scottie Barnes.
The Bulls were left with a big void at the center position after dealing Nikola Vucevic to the Celtics for Anfernee Simons at last year's trade deadline, and they're looking for Claxton to help plug the hole in 2026-27 after coming over from Brooklyn. Claxton, who was a full-time starter with the Nets for the better part of the last four seasons, has generally been a strong source of boards and swats for fantasy managers, though his rebound and block rates as well as his shooting efficiency all essentially declined each year over that time. That said, the 27-year-old big man has an opportunity for a fresh start in Chicago, and he did take a step forward as a playmaker in 2025-26 in the form of a career-high 3.7 assists per game.
This was an expected move by the franchise after he was acquired via trade Tuesday. It's unclear if Gibson will seek opportunities elsewhere.
