Chicago Bulls chez Washington Wizards

Collins' 2025-26 season was cut short after he underwent surgery in February due to a sprained toe on his right foot. It's unclear if the current soft tissue injury is related to the toe, but the big man's status will be worth monitoring ahead of Chicago's preseason opener against Phoenix on Wednesday, Oct. 7. If he's forced to miss time to start the regular season, Jalen Smith would have a much clearer path to playing time behind Nic Claxton.

Sarr has been limited in training camp thus far while working his way back from surgery he underwent in mid-June to repair a fractured right foot. The big man is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season, though it's unclear how active he'll be during the preseason. Over 48 regular-season games in 2025-26, he averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 blocks and 0.8 steals in 27.2 minutes per contest.

Watkins, a two-way player for the Wizards, suffered the injury during the Summer League. Although Washington has yet to offer a timetable for a return, a typical recovery time for the procedure is approximately 9-to-12 months. That leaves Watkins in serious jeopardy of missing most, if not all, of the 2026-27 season, and it remains to be seen if the team will continue keeping him around on a two-way roster spot while he's injured.

Although the big man will remain a limited participant in training camp as he continues his rehab from a hip impingement, it sounds like his absence from game action will extend into the regular season. Deandre Ayton should have the backup center role all to himself until Vukcevic is cleared to retake the floor.