Celtics' Jeff Green out for season; Lakers sign Troy Murphy

By Chris Bernucca Dec 18, 2011, 6:06 GMT

Los Angeles - The aging Boston Celtics will play this season without young forward Jeff Green, who needs surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm.

The Celtics made the announcement Saturday, one day after Green saw a group of cardiologists who made their diagnosis. He will have the procedure Monday at the Cleveland Clinic and 'can expect to resume his career next season,' the team said in a release.

'Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers,' Green wrote on his Twitter account. 'I'll be back soon stronger and better than ever I promise.'

'The most important thing is his health, and we were fortunate to have access to an amazing team of specialists to evaluate Jeff's case,' Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said in a statement. 'The entire Celtics family supports Jeff during this difficult time in his career.'

Green agreed to a one-year, 8-million-dollar contract prior to training camp. However, the contract was voided because Green never passed his physical, which revealed the issue with his heart. Boston retains his rights.

Green, 25, was acquired last season in the deal that sent centre Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City. He had averaged better than 15 points per game in each of the last three seasons for the Thunder, but his scoring dropped to 9.8 points in 26 games with the Celtics last season.

The Celtics were expecting the 6-9 Green to back up 35-year-old Kevin Garnett at power forward and 34-year-old Paul Pierce at small forward. Those chores likely will fall to recently acquired Brandon Bass and perhaps Marquis Daniels.

Meanwhile, rival Los Angeles Lakers moved to beef up their bench Saturday with the signing of veteran forward Troy Murphy, who ended last season with the Celtics.

The Lakers have not officially announced Murphy's signing, but Spanish star Pau Gasol revealed it via Twitter, writing, 'Welcome Troy Murphy and Josh McRoberts to our team! They will make us a deeper team after Lamar's trade.'

Murphy signed a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum of $1.35 million, Yahoo! Sports reported.

The Lakers were spurned in their effort to acquire Chris Paul, then traded Lamar Odom to Dallas. They signed McRoberts on Wednesday and now have added Murphy, who has averaged 11.6 points and 8.3 rebounds in 11 seasons.

Last season, Murphy averaged career lows of 3.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 35 games with New Jersey and Boston. The Lakers are hopeful he can provide some frontcourt depth behind Gasol and centre Andrew Bynum.

The Detroit Pistons re-signed restricted free agent guard Rodney Stuckey. Terms were not disclosed, but the Detroit News reported Stuckey will receive $25 million over three years.

Stuckey, 25, averaged team highs of 15.5 points and 5.2 assists last season but also repeatedly clashed with coach John Kuester, who has been replaced by Lawrence Frank. The Pistons are hoping he can provide on-court leadership for a very young team.

The Sacramento Kings remained active in the preseason, receiving veteran forward Travis Outlaw with a successful waiver claim.

In 2010, Outlaw signed a five-year, $35 million deal with the New Jersey Nets but was waived Thursday through the amnesty clause. The Nets will continue to pay Outlaw, but his contract does not count against the salary cap or luxury tax.

The New York Times reported Sacramento's winning bid was $3 million, which reduces New Jersey's cost.

In his lone season with the Nets, the 6-9 Outlaw averaged 9.2 points and 4.0 rebounds. He likely will back up both forward positions for the Kings.

Since free agency began, the Kings have signed forward-centre Chuck Hayes away from Houston and re-signed restricted free agent guard Marcus Thornton.

In Saturday's preseason games, Carmelo Anthony scored 17 points to help New York defeat host New Jersey,

92-83; Spain's Ricky Rubio had six points and seven assists in his first NBA action as host Minnesota

trounced Milwaukee, 117-96; Argentina's Luis Scola scored 20 point to lead Houston to a 101-87 win over

visiting San Antonio; and Golden State defeated visiting sacramento, 107-96, despite 21 points from Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette.