The Clippers and Spurs have reportedly discussed a Corey Maggette deal.

But one NBA source said Saturday a trade between the teams likely "won't happen."

One Spurs' official said that Maggette would likely get fewer minutes in San Antonio than he is in Los Angeles.  Maggette's playing time has been a key factor in his trade request.

Tim Duncan apparently became the latest Spurs player to fall ill when he missed Saturday's practice. Team officials listed him as questionable for this afternoon's game against Atlanta.

"He just called in and said he had an upset stomach," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "That's how it began with everybody. We'll just see how he feels tomorrow."

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have re-assigned guard/forward James White to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.

This is White's second stint with Austin.  On Dec. 16, he was assigned to the Toros where he appeared in three games, averaging 15.3 points and 2.7 rebounds, before being recalled to the Spurs on December 26.

Including White, there have been eight players assigned nine times from NBA teams to their affiliates this season.

When Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was playing in the NBA in what he calls "the olden days," the notion of a player missing a game because he was ill was inconceivable.

Two days after Manu Ginobili, Brent Barry and Matt Bonner missed the Spurs' game against Milwaukee, and with one of his key reserves back in Salt Lake City recovering from a bout with the same sort of stomach virus that has afflicted the Spurs of late, Sloan discussed his own playing days and today's NBA.

The difference: the amount of money teams have invested in today's players.

Utah's Matt Harpring remained in Salt Lake City, where the Jazz play Saturday night, ailing with the same sort of stomach virus that has beset the Spurs' locker room.

Back in his day, Sloan said, players rarely were advised against playing, no matter how sick they might be.

"Yeah, I've seen guys get sick," Sloan said, "but they played. I don't mean anything against anybody, but in the olden days, you didn't have doctors telling you you were going to die in a couple days."

The Spurs received another setback Wednesday when they learned starting center Francisco Elson has a small tear in his right rotator cuff and will be out about two weeks.

Elson was injured in the first half of Tuesday's loss to Milwaukee. Team officials said he suffered an impingement to his shoulder, which is caused by the shoulder blade pressuring the rotator cuff when the arm is raised.

Fabricio Oberto is expected to start while Elson is out. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said forward Eric Williams and center Jackie Butler could see more time depending on matchups.

Manu Ginobili and Spurs teammates Brent Barry and Matt Bonner missed San Antonio's game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night because of what the team said was a stomach flu.

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have recalled guard/forward James White from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League.
 
White, who has yet to see any time with the Spurs, was assigned to the Toros on December 16 and appeared in three games, averaging 15.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 29.3 minutes of action.
 
The former University of Cincinnati Bearcat was signed by San Antonio on November 3 after attending training camp with the Indiana Pacers. In eight preseason games with Indiana, White averaged 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 17.5 minutes of action. White also averaged 12.5 points with Indiana?s entry to the Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando.

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have assigned guard/forward James White to the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. Austin has been designated as the Spurs D-League affiliate for the 2006-07 season.
 
White, who has yet to see any time with the Spurs, was signed by San Antonio on November 3 after attending training camp with the Indiana Pacers.  In eight preseason games with Indiana he averaged 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 17.5 minutes of action.  White also averaged 12.5 points with Indiana?s entry to the Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando.

Asked if it was safe to eliminate the Spurs from the Iverson sweepstakes, head coach Gregg Popovich paused for effect, pulled on his chin, looked at the ceiling as if in deep thought, then said, "Yes."

Iverson has asked the 76ers to trade him and team officials have acknowledged they are working to grant his request. While the Spurs don't have any reason to dramatically reshape their roster, Popovich knows why other teams would be interested in making a blockbuster deal for Iverson.

"He's a gamer," Popovich said. "He's a competitor. He makes things happen, and he's obviously a huge draw any place he is. So I'm sure there will be a good enough number of teams talking to (Sixers president) Billy (King) right now."

Tim Duncan had to leave the court late in Monday night's second quarter after banging his right knee, but returned for the start of the second half and looked no worse for wear.

Duncan signaled for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to replace him with 2:10 left in the first half, then walked with a slight limp to the bench. Athletic trainer Will Sevening immediately took Duncan to the locker room.

After being examined during halftime, Duncan tested his leg before the start of the third quarter and told Popovich and Sevening he was OK to play.