Getty Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets suffered a groin strain.
Fantasy basketball players pleased with themselves for snagging Will Barton and his huge role with the Denver Nuggets this season could soon find themselves with a tough decision, should they not have a roster spot reserved for injured players available: whether or not to drop the recently injured wing.
Barton hurt himself during a layup attempt in the Nuggets’ 119-91 win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.
Writhing in pain, he had to be carted off the court with what the team described as a hip injury.
This doesn’t look good for Will Barton
An MRI on Sunday revealed a groin strain, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Denver swingman Will Barton underwent an MRI and it revealed a strain groin, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. His recovery timetable is still being determined.
Though the team has yet to announce a timetable for Barton’s return, T.J. McBride of Mile High Sports wrote that recovery from a groin strain could take up to eight weeks:
Thankfully, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Barton received the good news that he avoided tearing his groin or his labrum in his hip. Barton did strain his groin, and he will be out for an extended amount of time, but that is a significantly less devastating diagnosis than what could have been.
Groin strains generally take two-to-eight weeks to fully recover depending on the severity, which is not known at this time. His timetable to return is currently unknown.
Should You Drop Will Barton?
It’s the first week of the season. Don’t get impatient.
Denver is so shallow behind Barton at small forward, and the 28-year-old began the year expected to soak up most of those minutes in his first season as a full-time starter. Torrey Craig, an undrafted free agent in 2017, and former second-round pick Juancho Hernangomez are expected to get Barton’s minutes in his stead.
At the very least, sit tight until the Nugs indicate how much time they expect he’ll miss. If it’s closer to two weeks than two months, Barton’s upside in Denver’s high-powered offense is too great.
If it’s eight weeks and your league doesn’t have an injured list spot or yours is already occupied, then depending on your team it might be worth dropping him for now and hoping to pick him back up ahead of his return.