Shoulder Surgery to Sideline Nelson

Dallas Maverick Coach Don Nelson will have shoulder surgery Thursday and is expected to be away from the sidelines for three weeks.

Assistant Avery Johnson will replace him.

Nelson, 64, said an MRI exam showed his right rotator cuff is 90% torn.

Johnson, in his first season in transition from point guard to assistant, is Nelson’s hand-picked successor. He already has run games as the head coach and will have longtime NBA coach Del Harris, another of Nelson’s assistants, alongside for advice.

Nelson missed 21 games in the 2000-01 season because of prostate cancer. He left for two games the following season when his wife fought breast cancer.

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After limping home from an 0-4 trip, the Phoenix Suns thought they would have point guard Steve Nash back in the lineup tonight against Memphis. Then Nash’s foot was stepped on in practice by his backup.

Now, the Suns may not have either one.

The bruised left thigh that sidelined Nash for the last 2 1/2 games is no longer a problem, but he twisted his back when Leandro Barbosa stepped on his foot.

Nash is questionable for tonight. Barbosa, the starter in Nash’s absence, was on crutches because of a sprained left ankle and won’t play.

If both are sidelined, Joe Johnson will move to point guard.

“I don’t have any movement right now, but hopefully it will subside and I’ll feel better soon,” Nash said. “It’s very frustrating. I was feeling great and was ready to get it going again.”

After Memphis, the Suns play host to the San Antonio Spurs for the first time Friday night. The three-game homestand ends Sunday against New Jersey, then the Suns hit the road for their longest trip of the year -- six games in eight days.