It looks like New Orleans small forward Mashburn will be missing training camp.

'Mashburn, in a phone interview from his home in Miami, said that his injured right knee is no closer to healing now than in March, when he missed the final 19 games of the regular season and the playoffs.'

Mashburn said that during a trip to Disney World with his family he could not walk around the park without his knee swelling up.

"There is no question that he wants to play," Hornets general manager Allan Bristow said Friday. "We're dealing with a medical issue, a very serious injury that we are hoping will eventually heal itself.

"Until he is fit to play or is 100 percent healthy, then our stance is not changing. We're waiting to see when or if he becomes healthy."

'Mashburn, a 6-foot-8 small forward, missed the first 44 games last season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He returned in mid-January and played in 19 games before reinjuring the knee in a road game against the Toronto Raptors on March 7.'

"I have a condition that's not going to change," Mashburn said. "I don't have cartilage in my knee."

Mashburn has been mentioned in a lot of trade rumors; but will be hard to trade if he can not pass any physicals.

"I think things are held up right now -- if I'm going to be with the Hornets or not with them," Mashburn said. "Things are at a standstill because of my health situation.

"I wish it could be an easy situation where I could go in there and have surgery and be back to normal. I played for 11 years, and sometimes your body just breaks down, and that's the reality of it. My body has broke down. It's broken down before, but I've been able to repair it and keep going. This time, I haven't been able to repair it."

Mashburn still has over 30 million owed to him over the next 3 years. He would recieve the money even if he retires. He could opt out of his contract if he wanted to, but would be a huge mistake considering he would not get anywhere close to what he is making now.

'In May, Mashburn said he would consider sitting out the upcoming season or even retire if his knee didn't improve by the end of this summer.'

"My sitting out a year at 31 years old, is that something feasible?" Mashburn said. "I think that's a question everybody has to answer, not just myself because of my contract situation with the years and money involved. Everybody has to get their heads together on that one."

"I don't know if there will be a trade or I'll be with the Hornets," Mashburn said. "The reason we're talking about this is because my knee is the problem. I'm sure it's frustrating for a lot of people, and I'm sure it's frustrating for the Hornets."