Blazer Report: Webster will get full practice Monday

PORTLAND — Martell Webster’s return is now just a matter of adding him to the Portland Trail Blazers’ active roster.

But exactly when that will happen has yet to be determined.

Webster, who has been sidelined since Oct. 8 with a broken bone in his left foot, has been cleared by team doctors to practice and is expected to participate in his first full-contact workout on Monday in New York, Blazers coach Nate McMillan said.

But McMillan said a specific target date for Webster’s return has still not been set, and McMillan said he has not decided how he will adjust the Blazers’ rotations. Portland already has an established small forward combination, with rookie Nicolas Batum starting and veteran Travis Outlaw backing him up.

McMillan has repeatedly said that the overall rotation will be determined by player performances.

“The play will determine who’s out on the floor, not so much me,” McMillan said. “We’ve got guys who can play. And if guys are playing and they’re playing well, then we’ll stay there.”

Portland was initially expected to miss Webster’s perimeter shooting — he led the team with 123 3-pointers last season — when he suffered the injury in the Blazers’ first preseason game. But without the 6-foot-7 forward, the Blazers posted the NBA’s second-highest 3-point shooting percentage at 41.8 percent (141 of 337).

Despite that performance, McMillan stressed the importance of returning Webster’s shooting ability.

“It’s nice that we’ve been able to get through this and guys have shot the ball well, but we need it,” McMillan said. “I think we need his shooting on the perimeter. He’s been in that position before. And to add a guy like that, again, it gives us another option and depth that we can go through.”

A little tip for fans following trade rumors involving the Blazers: Don’t put too much stock into any report that doesn’t involve Raef LaFrentz’s contract.

That was the message Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard sent on Friday as fresh trade rumors surfaced involving the team. The latest was generated by Yahoo.com, and centered around a swap of Portland small forward Travis Outlaw for Memphis point guard Mike Conley.

Pritchard did not address the rumor — his standard policy — but instead turned to a discussion of LaFrentz’s contact.

LaFrentz, who is out for most of the season with a torn labrum in his right shoulder, is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $12.7 million. But if he misses the first 41 games of the season, each successive game missed will bring an 80 percent return of its pro-rated salary in insurance to the team that holds his contract. The combination of the expiring contract and insurance is expected to draw significant trade interest.

“That’s the card I want to play,” Pritchard said.