Pacers' forward Jermaine O'Neal sat out Indiana's regular-season opener against Washington on Wednesday night because of a hyperextended left knee.

O'Neal, a six-time All-Star, was hurt Oct. 8 when he collided with Shawne Williams during practice.

"Jermaine practiced today, but he's not ready to play," Pacers' coach Jim O' Brien said. "We expect him to play [Friday] against Miami."

Ike Diogu replaced O'Neal in the starting lineup.

Pacers center Troy Murphy also missed the game because of a strained left Achilles tendon. Williams sat out the first game of a three-game suspension for getting caught driving without a license.

Antawn Jamison suspects that, barring a deep run in the playoffs, this season will be his last for the Washington Wizards.

"In the last couple years, it's always been something," said Jamison, the subject of numerous trade rumors in recent offseasons. "The only way I knew I wasn't getting traded was because of Ernie and Mr. Pollin. They said, 'You're not going anywhere,' and I knew I wasn't going anywhere."

Rumors that the Washington Wizards were interested in trading Gilbert Arenas for disgruntled Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant made the rounds on the Internet, radio and television on Monday, but team president Ernie Grunfeld shot down the possible deal.

"I don't normally comment on rumors but there is no truth to this rumor," Grunfeld said when reached by phone Monday evening. "We've never had any conversations with the Lakers or with anyone else about Gilbert."

The rumors surfaced when a column in yesterday's Chicago Tribune, citing an unnamed general manager, labeled the Wizards as the "dark horse" among teams that might put together a trade for Bryant.

According to the column and chatter it created, the Wizards would have to part with a package that would include Arenas, who plans to opt out of contract next summer, to get Bryant.

Rumors that the Washington Wizards were interested in trading Gilbert Arenas for disgruntled Los Angeles Lakers' star Kobe Bryant made the rounds on the Internet, radio and television yesterday, but team president Ernie Grunfeld shot down the possible deal.

"I don't normally comment on rumors, but there is no truth to this rumor," Grunfeld said when reached by phone last evening. "We've never had any conversations with the Lakers or with anyone else about Gilbert."

One general manager on the periphery of the Kobe Bryant talks says he believes the "dark horse" to make a deal with the Lakers is the Washington Wizards. The consensus is the Wizards have hit a plateau, but have the star power in Gilbert Arenas to make a deal.

Arenas is talking about opting out of his contract after this season. He's from Los Angeles and has become a star, one of the league's highest-scoring players and an engaging personality who would embrace the Hollywood scene. He would meet the Lakers' demands for an All-Star player if they trade Bryant.

"Watch out for them," the general manager said, meaning the Wizards.

Pistons rookie guard Rodney Stuckey broke his left hand in a 104-85 victory over the Wizards on Wednesday.

The 6-5, 205-pound Stuckey was injured late in the third quarter when he was fighting through a screen.

"It just got caught and my fingers went the wrong way," Stuckey said on the Detroit Free-Press web site. "I was in so much pain that I knew it was pretty bad."

There is no timetable for his return and the team said Stuckey will be re-evaluated on Thursday.

Washington Wizards' President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has waived forward Mike Hall.

Hall appeared in six preseason games for Washington and averaged 2.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.0 minutes per game.  Last season, Hall was signed to a pair of ten-day contracts by the Wizards before being signed for the remainder of the 2006-07 season on March 20, 2007.  He appeared in two NBA regular season games for Washington on April 3 and April 15, 2007.

The Wizards' roster now stands at 13.

In a recent Gilbert Arenas' blog, the Wizards' All-Star guard wrote that rookie teammate Nick Young and his pal, Dominic McGuire, are practical jokers.

One day, Arenas was playing the video game Halo and saw Young and McGuire sneaking around near his house armed with paintball guns.

The pranksters jumped a wall and came in through the garage, but Arenas had already left the house and was across the street, flattening their car tires.

Washington Wizards' President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has waived guard Donell Taylor and center Tony Massenburg.

Taylor appeared in five preseason games and averaged 5.8 points and 1.3 steals in 13.8 minutes per game.  He played in 98 career games (two starts) over two seasons with the Wizards and averaged 2.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 8.5 minutes per game as a professional. Taylor originally signed with the Wizards on August 16, 2005 as an undrafted free agent out of UAB.

Massenburg appeared in four games and averaged 2.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game.  Massenburg, a 13-year veteran, originally signed with the Wizards on October 1.

The Wizards' roster now stands at 14.

Hanging over the Wizards' season will be the decision Gilbert Arenas made back in June, that he would exercise the opt-out clause in his contract and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

It has made the front office a bit nervous, to say the least. At age 25, Arenas wants to play for a team that can get to the NBA Finals. That chance could come in Washington this season, assuming the Wizards climb through a muddle of mediocre teams in the East. But it could be somewhere else, too, depending on what this long season brings.

"I want to test the market and test my value," Arenas says. "It's just a business decision. If something happens and they don't want me, or they're going in a different direction, I can look elsewhere."