Devean

George

George will have difficulty finding a spot in the rotation since he’ll need to learn the new offense. Caron Butler and backup Jumaine Jones are handling his position just fine.

He had hoped to return to practice this week, but was delayed in part because of a respiratory infection.

George was due back shortly, but now will be sidelined indefinitely according to Laker officials.

George was initially expected back in mid-November, but the muscles in his upper left leg atrophied while the ankle was immobilized for a month in a walking boot. Once George is healthy, the Lakers may try to find him another home.

''We don’t have a hope for [Friday],’' coach Phil Jackson said. ''We can probably talk about [Game 4] Sunday.’'

Coach Phil Jackson said he held ''very little hope’’ George would play tonight. The Lakers are considering shifting Robert Horry to small forward to fill in for George, opening up power forward for Mark Madsen and Samaki Walker.

George, who has had knee and ankle pain, was benched Wednesday night for failing to control his emotions. Coach Phil Jackson, who recently used the word “despondent” in referring to George, said George could benefit from some time off.

George had offeseason ankle surgery, which is healing slowly.

George is the ideal role player for coach Avery Johnson and should fit perfectly into his system. He could challenge Devin Harris for a starting job, but from a fantasy aspect, he hurts the value of Harris and rookie Maurice Ager more than he is going to help fantasy teams.