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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Newsmakers: Pistons’ Aron Baynes has surgery to repair broken nose

FILE - Washington State's former player Aron Baynes, from Australia, dunks the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Pac-10 men's tournament in Los Angeles in March 2009. (Danny Moloshok / Associated Press)
From staff and wire reports

Sidelined Detroit Pistons center Aron Baynes has had surgery to repair a broken nose. The former Washington State University basketball player was ruled out for Wednesday night’s preseason game against the Toronto Raptors. With a protective mask, he is expected to be available to play when Detroit opens the regular season next week at Toronto. Baynes broke his nose in Tuesday’s practice and had surgery the same day.The 6-foot-10 Australian played in the Olympics last summer. He averaged 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds last season, his first with the Pistons after three with the San Antonio Spurs.

Hornets forward Marvin Williams will miss the remainder of the preseason with a non-displaced fracture of his left middle finger. The Hornets said Williams will be reevaluated next week. Hornets coach Steve Clifford says there is a good chance Williams will be available for the team’s regular season opener on Oct. 26 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Announced Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal inaugurated the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar on his home island of Mallorca. Nadal was accompanied by long-time rival Roger Federer at the event in his hometown of Manacor. The academy, which opened in June, combines tennis training with schooling for promising players from the age of 12-18. Among its goals is to help its students who don’t turn professional after leaving the academy to find scholarships to study at universities in the U.S. It is run by Rafael’s coach and uncle, Toni Nadal.

Signed The New Jersey Devils have signed second-round draft pick Nathan Bastian to a three-year, entry-level contract. Executive vice president and general manager Ray Shero announced the signing of the 41st overall pick in the recent draft Wednesday. The 18-year-old right wing is in his third OHL campaign with the Mississauga Steelheads. He has four goals and six assists in six games this season, including a career-high five assist night against Guelph. Bastian had 19 goals and 40 assists in 64 games last season.

Reported Controversial tennis player Nick Kyrgios will be free to participate in an NBA celebrity game in February after being released from his contract with an ATP event in the Netherlands. Richard Krajicek, the 1996 Wimbledon champion and tournament director of the ANB Amro event in Rotterdam, posted a link to a statement on Twitter saying he’d agreed to cancel the contract at the request of Kyrgios, the 21-year-old Australian who this week received an eight-week ban from the tennis tour for “tanking” a match in China. Krajicek said he took the decision so Kyrgios, an avid basketball fan, could attend the annual NBA All-Star weekend and play in a celebrity game on Feb. 19, the same day as the final in Rotterdam.