Dee Brown to Undergo Surgery : NBA: Hornets close to signing Johnson. Trail Blazers cut Davis.

Boston Celtic guard Dee Brown will undergo arthroscopic surgery today after injuring his left knee during Tuesday’s practice, the team announced.

Brown, who has torn cartilage, will start the season on the injured list. A Celtic statement gave no timetable for his return but said Brown was expected to rejoin the team during the season.

“It is an unfortunate setback. Dee is an integral part of this team, but we are pleased that it is not more serious,” Celtic Coach Chris Ford said. “We are looking forward to his return.”

Brown averaged 8.7 points during the regular season and 12.2 during the playoffs.

“We are looking at all available resources to fill Dee’s spot on the roster,” senior executive vice president Dave Gavitt said. “Dee is a unique talent and we anxiously await his return.”

No. 1 draft pick Larry Johnson was on the verge of signing with the Charlotte Hornets, team president Spencer Stolpen told the Charlotte Observer.

Stolpen and Johnson’s agent were to talk by telephone this morning, hoping to finalize some “window dressing” final details, Stolpen told the newspaper. WSOC-TV reported that some details had to be ironed out with the NBA. Stolpen would not reveal terms of the proposed deal.

Both Johnson and the Hornets have incentive to get the deal resolved before Thursday at 3 p.m. PST, when the Hornets must turn a 12-man roster over to the NBA.

Hornet Coach Allan Bristow still expects to play Johnson in the opener Friday night in Boston.

“I don’t have any problems with playing him right away,” Bristow said. “We’re going to bring him along slowly, but it’s up to him. If he’s ahead of the game plan as far as conditioning, we can do that, too.”

Walter Davis, a six-time all-star, was waived by the Portland Trail Blazers along with free agent Stuart Gray.

The team also put guards Ennis Whatley and Lamont Strothers on the injured-reserve list to reach the roster limit.

Davis, 37, was acquired by Portland from Denver last season in a three-team deal that sent Drazen Petrovic to New Jersey. The trade was supposed to be the final step to an NBA title for the Trail Blazers, but Davis never found his role in Portland.

He averaged 6.1 points and 13.7 minutes of playing time in 32 games with the Trail Blazers.

Davis’ age and $900,000 contract slowed efforts to trade him. If no team picks up Davis, the Trail Blazers will have to pay his salary for this season.

“Walter is a joy to have on the team and a great person to be around,” said Geoff Petrie, Portland’s senior vice president of operations. “It didn’t look like he would have an opportunity to get minutes here, and we’re confident that he’ll get a good chance somewhere else.”

Davis and Danny Young were vying with rookies Strothers and Robert Pack for reserve guard roles.

Petrie praised Pack, a free-agent playmaker from USC. “He’s demonstrated in the preseason that he gives us another dimension defensively with his speed and quickness,” Petrie said.

The Sacramento Kings released five players, including four-year pro Steve Alford, to get down to the roster limit.

The team’s top draft pick, Billy Owens of Syracuse, remains unsigned.

Agent Arn Tellem said that Owens would sign a contract similar to the one agreed to by Dikembe Mutombo, who was drafted fourth last June by the Denver Nuggets, one pick after Owens.

Mutombo’s contract, signed earlier this month, is worth $13.5 million over five years.

Tellem said Mutombo’s contract “clearly defined” the NBA market.

“The only question now is whether Sacramento wants to have Billy Owens,” Tellem said. “If they do, we can get him signed right now. If they don’t they should trade him.”

Among the other players the Kings released were Mark Peterson, a 6-foot-9 center from Rutgers, and Stevie Thompson, a 6-4 guard and forward from Syracuse.