Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel reports: The on-again/off-again status of Grant Hill took another twist Tuesday when Coach Doc Rivers got a phone call from Magic General Manager John Gabriel, telling him not to expect any help from Hill on this West Coast trip.

A day after saying that he likely would be joining the team by this weekend -- he is eligible to come off the injured list Saturday at Portland -- Hill discovered more soreness in the troublesome left ankle after a workout Tuesday morning.

"John just said that Grant wasn't ready yet, that he wasn't coming," Rivers said. "And that wasn't the news I wanted to hear. I had been coaching these 12 guys, but still wishing that Grant would be coming out. I thought he'd be playing in Portland. That wish was dashed."

Hill missed his seventh consecutive game Tuesday because of the bone spurs in his ankle, which the Magic believe are unrelated to the fracture that kept him out of all but four games last season.

Hill said that surgery to remove the bone spurs remains a possibility, but he still was hoping that more rest could solve the problem.

"If Grant were with us, I'm prettty sure we'd be 2-0 on this trip instead of 0-2," Rivers said. "But we can't be waiting around for him."