PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Portland Trail Blazers are ready to go tomorrow night - despite one surgery on Friday.
The Blazers return to face the Houston Rockets -- the team that beat them in round one of the NBA playoffs last spring.
Blazers forward Nicolas Batum will undergo surgery on his right shoulder to repair torn cartilage.
The team said Monday a return date will be determined after Friday's surgery in Los Angeles.
Batum appeared in 79 games as a rookie last season, starting 76. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.8 rebounds while earning praise for his defensive ability.
The Trail Blazers open the 2009-10 season at home Tuesday against Houston.
The team signed forward LaMarcus Aldridge to a five-year contract extension on Thursday.
Brandon Roy scored 22 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 113-93 victory over the Phoenix Suns Thursday night in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the final preseason game for both teams.
His signing of an extension capped a busy day for the Blazers. Earlier, they waived forward Ime Udoka and center Jarron Collins, bringing their roster to 15 players for the start of the season next week.
The Blazers needed to strike a deal with Aldridge by Oct. 31 to prevent him from becoming a restricted free agent next summer, the deal in effect solidified the core of the team for the next five seasons.
The Blazers exercised their fourth-year option on four players, including Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez, Nicolas Batum and Jerryd Bayless, the team announced.
All four players will be under contract through the end of the 2011 season, General Manager Kevin Pritchard said.
Oden was the top pick in 2007. Fernandez was acquired through trades in the 2007 NBA Draft.
