With his right knee so damaged that his doctor called it "a train wreck," Rockets point guard Bob Sura will undergo surgery today that he says could determine if he will ever play again.

Sura, a key to the Rockets' 2004-05 turnaround when he came back from offseason back surgery, underwent arthroscopic surgery in May to clean out loose particles in the knee that pained him for much of last season. But he said the knee hasn't improved.

"I'm going to undergo another knee surgery ... and don't know how it's going to respond," Sura said Wednesday. "I have some serious problems in there ? arthritis and bone on bone and some cartilage damage ? so I really don't know. I don't have a good answer.

"I think that (the potential end of his career) is something I'm looking in the eye right now. Some problems you have in a knee just can't be fixed. Hopefully, I'll be able to get through another season or two, but I really don't know."

Bob Sura, who is expected to start at point guard for the Rockets, will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, the team announced Wednesday.

The team did not disclose when Sura would undergo surgery. Training camp begins Tuesday.

"I'm optimistic about it because I just know how tough he is, and from what the doctors say, he's still got some miles left in that knee," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said.

The Rockets are worried enough about Bobby Sura's recovery from knee surgery that they're hoping to sign a free-agent point guard or two before the start of camp.

If Sura can't go, Mike James probably would be the starter. The Rockets can get by with him because so much of the offense goes through Tracy McGrady, but they'd like to have a prototypical point to run the show.

NBA senior vice president Stu Jackson and NBA Development League president Philip Evans are scheduled to announce team affiliations today. The Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers are expected to be affiliated with the new NBDL franchise in Austin. The NBA will be affiliated with the now eight-team NBDL for the first time in the 2005-06 season.

NBA teams can send players with less than two years' experience to play for the NBDL teams.

Free-agent guard Jay Williams, the second pick of the 2002 NBA Draft whose career was derailed by a motorcycle accident, worked out for the Rockets on Wednesday, though no contract offer was made or is immediately expected.

Williams, 24, has been working his way back toward the NBA since the 2003 accident that tore three of the primary ligaments in his left knee and fractured his pelvis.

He has been working out for several teams, including the Heat and Raptors, to demonstrate his progress after six surgeries.

Money won't be the determining factor when it comes time for Jay Williams to sign with a new NBA team and that's good for the Raptors because they don't have much money to pay him.

However, Williams's agent said yesterday a couple of teams with much more on-court power are interested in the one-time Chicago Bull.

Williams, who missed the last two seasons recovering from a near-fatal motorcycle accident, is working out today with the Houston Rockets and has already auditioned for the Miami Heat.

"We're looking for the right situation where a team can be patient," Billy Duffy said in a telephone interview yesterday. "I think he's probably 80 per cent there. We think he'll be all the way back by Christmas, maybe the all-star break."

Williams, 24, was injured in a motorcycle accident in June 2003 and hasn't played since. Raptor general manager Rob Babcock has been watching his rehabilitation for the last 18 months, Duffy said, and saw the 6-foot-2, 188-pound guard work out last week.

But, because the Raptors have 14 players with guaranteed contracts that push the team's payroll perilously close to the NBA luxury tax level of $61.7 million (all figures U.S.), Toronto isn't able to offer more than the league-minimum salary, which for a player with Williams's experience wouldn't top $500,000 per season.

Duffy, however, said finding the right fit for his client is more important than salary.

Free-agent power forward Lonny Baxter signed with the Houston Rockets on Thursday.

Baxter, a second-round draft pick out of Maryland in 2002, has been with four teams. He played four games for New Orleans last season and has also played for Chicago, Toronto and Washington.

He spent the summer in the Rockets' summer league in Minnesota, where he averaged 21 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in five games.

Some members of the New Orleans Hornets' front office have relocated to Houston and are working out of the Toyota Center.

"Our staff is kind of scattered around the country, but we have about 15 members in Houston," Hornets chief marketing officer Tim McDougall told Houston television station KRIV on Wednesday. "The Rockets have been generous enough to give us some office space to work out of. ... The things we are focused on right now are just making sure our staff is OK and safe."

Members of the Hornets' staff have set up in a conference room with computers and telephones.

"It's great to at least to be able to lend a helping hand _ make them feel like they have a home away from home for a little while and give them as much support as we possibly can," Rockets senior vice president of marketing and sales Tad Brown told the TV station.