Hill

Orlando Magic forward Grant Hill told The Orlando Sentinel on Friday morning that he definitely will miss the rest of the season, and that surgery on his troubled left ankle still is a possibility.

Hill has been on crutches and wearing a removable boot since late January. He has a crack in his ankle, which is believed to be the source of his pain.

Source close to Hill said he could be on crutches until June.

"I feel confident in the direction we're going," Hill told the paper, "but it's safe to say I'm out for the year and the playoffs."

Hill said he'll be back next season.

"I'm not done," he said. "I'm not throwing it in."

Hill has missed 179 games since signing a $93 million contract with the Magic three years ago. He has had three operations to repair a stress fracture sustained during the 2000 playoffs while with Detroit.

Among the medical experts Hill has visited, there has been no consensus as to why the ankle refuses to heal. Hill has a crack in his ankle, which is believed to be the source of his pain.

Showing the all-around form that made him a six-time All Star with the Pistons, Hill averaged 14.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 29 games this season.

But he faded after a fine start in which he scored 20-plus points in four straight games and five of six. After resting for two weeks, Hill had 23 total points in three games -- missing a fourth -- before being deactivated.

Orlando coach Doc Rivers said that even if Hill were to have a miraculous recovery, he would need time to regain his conditioning after a two-month layoff.

"He's probably gone for the rest of the season," Rivers said, "but there is a ray of hope. Nothing is definite."

The Magic struggled without Hill, falling to a season-low four games under .500 in mid-February.

But a trade with Memphis to acquire rookies Drew Gooden and Gordan Giricek has turned the team around. Orlando has won six of seven games since the deal, which cost them starting forward Mike Miller, and currently are seventh in the Eastern Conference.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.