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The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports via blog: The Indiana Pacers have traded swingman Shawne Williams to Dallas, two people with knowledge of the situation said today. The Pacers will receive guard Eddie Jones, two second-round picks and approximately $1.8 million in cash. Williams averaged 6.7 points in two seasons with the Pacers, but several off-court incidents put the franchise in a bad light and made him expendable.
UPDATE: The trade has happened and is official. Read this.
The Orlando Sentinel (Brian Schmitz) reports: Orlando Magic center-forward Tony Battie sustained a fractured ring finger on his left hand in Friday’s shootaround and will miss tonight’s exhibition against CSKA Moscow… He is expected to return to practice Sunday and play with it wrapped.
InsideHoops.com editor says: I once played with two broken arms and two broken legs. It’s all about toughness, folks.
The Portland Trail Blazers announced that guard Martell Webster underwent surgery today to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. He is expected to be sidelined for 8-10 weeks.
Dr. Jay Crary performed the surgery at Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center in Vancouver, Wash. As part of the procedure, Webster had a screw inserted into his fifth metatarsal bone.
The injury occurred during Tuesday night’s preseason game against the Sacramento Kings.
InsideHoops.com editor says: The Blazers are pretty crowded at the swingman spots, so this opens a door for some other guys to get minutes they weren’t going to get while Webster heals up. Watch Travis Outlaw, Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum and see who rises the most (chances are it’ll be Travis and Rudy). And on a hugely important side note, when Martell Webster lies down, he’s about as tall as TV’s Webster when he stands up.
The San Francisco Chronicle (Steve Kroner) reports: Dan Dickau’s basketball life has changed pretty dramatically in the past two months. He spent last season with the Clippers, signed with Avellino, an Italian team, in August, stayed in Italy for most of September, and after his deal with Avellino went south, signed with the Warriors on Oct. 1. In Golden State’s 110-95 win at Portland on Wednesday night, Dickau made his first appearance of the preseason, scoring eight points, collecting five rebounds and making four steals in 21 minutes. “I thought I played well,” Dickau said. “There are some things I could have done better but for my first game here, coming into camp late, it was a good building block.” “He’s a very good point guard,” head coach Don Nelson said. “Physically, he’s not gifted but he does the right thing most all the time and when he does get beat, it’s because of a physical problem, not a mental one.”
The Washington Times (Mike Jones) reports: While the loss of starting center Brendan Haywood, who needs wrist surgery and will miss four to six months, is a blow to the Washington Wizards, the team is rather well-prepared for this type of situation. Last year, the Wizards lost center Etan Thomas to a heart operation that sidelined him for the entire season. Only eight games into the season, franchise player Gilbert Arenas had a second surgery on his left knee and missed 66 consecutive games. And fellow All-Star Caron Butler missed 24 games of his own with injuries. But Washington found a way to overcome the absences and reach the playoffs for a fourth straight year. The year before that, All-Star forward Antawn Jamison missed 12 games with injury, and Butler and Arenas both went down in April with hand and knee injuries, respectively. Again, the Wizards held on down the stretch to make the playoffs.
The Salt Lake Tribune (Ross Siler) reports: Although he continues to make slow progress in recovering from an ankle infection this summer, Harpring couldn’t even offer a best-case scenario for his return. “I have no idea what I’m going to feel like,” Harpring said. “I just know that these last 3 1/2 months have been terrible. I’m just waiting for something to change. “I’m going to keep working, keep working hard, and hopefully it’ll just change and one day I’ll be like, ‘Ooh, it’s starting to feel better. I’m right around the corner.'”
InsideHoops.com editor says: Harpring is one of those guys you never want to guard or have guard you, because he’s insanely intense to the point where you assume an elbow is about to nail you each second you’re within 10 feet of him. Every team can use a healthy Harpring.
The AP reports: Rookie Mike Taylor was 9-of-12 from the field and scored 20 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 107-80 preseason victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night… Lakers star Kobe Bryant played 24 minutes and finished with 12 points and three assists. He left midway through the third quarter and did not return. Baron Davis, who signed the Clippers in the offseason after spending the past three seasons with the Warriors, played 17 minutes and finished with 12 points and seven assists. Ricky Davis had 17 points for the Clippers (1-1), who led by as many as 13 points in the first half and began distancing themselves again early in the fourth after the Lakers got as close as 79-74 on Jordan Farmar’s 3-pointer. Farmar, who finished with 12 points, was one of five Lakers in double figures.
The AP reports: Matt Barnes scored 21 points and Alando Tucker added 19 as the Phoenix Suns beat the Utah Jazz 96-89 on Thursday night… Raja Bell scored 11 points for Phoenix (1-1). Kyle Korver scored 16 points and Mehmet Okur had 12 points and eight rebounds for Utah, which opened with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday… Boris Diaw added nine points and eight rebounds for Phoenix, which outrebounded Utah 45-35, the second straight time Utah was outrebounded by double figures.
The AP reports: Gerald Green scored 18 points to lead six Dallas players in double figures, helping the Mavericks beat the Chicago Bulls 110-102 in a preseason game on Thursday night. Bulls rookie Derrick Rose, last spring’s No. 1 draft pick, played nearly 27 minutes and scored 10 points in Chicago’s preseason opener… Luol Deng, Aaron Gray and Darius Washington paced the Bulls with 14 points each, while Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes each added 11. Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 points for the Mavericks, Antoine Wright and Jose Barea each had 11 and Brandon Bass added 10.
The AP reports: Ron Artest had 18 points and five rebounds and Luis Scola added 13 points as the Rockets beat the short-handed Spurs 85-78 on Thursday night. By design, Popovich used mostly reserves. Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley all watched in street clothes and Tony Parker scored eight points in 14 minutes, all in the first half. Rookie Malik Hairston scored 10 points to lead the Spurs, while rookies Devin Green and Anthony Tolliver added seven points each… Yao played the first quarter and had one basket and three rebounds.