Reports: Jason Williams Leaves Orlando Magic Again; Team to "Deal With Him" After Road Trip

UPDATE (this paragraph only): the Orlando Magic have waived Jason Williams, they announced. More details at that link.

Orlando Magic point guard Jason Williams has left the team once again and did not accompany it to Indianapolis for tonight's game against the Indiana Pacers, according to Josh Robbins and John Denton. This marks the second occasion this month Williams has missed a road trip, and this time, Magic President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith sounds less than thrilled, saying, "We'll deal with him when we get back to Orlando." More from Robbins' story:

Asked if Williams has asked for his release, Smith said, "Not so much in those terms. You say his 'release,' we're not into giving guys their release. He signed a contract to play basketball for the Orlando Magic, and we're expecting him to uphold his end of that deal."

Williams has played sparingly this year, with just 16 appearances and 171 minutes played well over the season's halfway mark. Last year, as the second-stringer behind Jameer Nelson, Williams played in all 82 games, averaging 20.8 minutes per contest.

The offseason addition of Chris Duhon, who signed as a free agent well before Williams re-signed, and the in-season acquisition of Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards has made Williams an afterthought in Orlando. Robbins reports, via Twitter, Williams was unhappy about being deactivated for tonight's game in order to make room on the active roster for backup center Malik Allen, who's fully recovered from a sprained ankle suffered on December 20th. Tuesday, coach Stan Van Gundy said he plans to play Allen between 8 and 10 minutes a night so Dwight Howard can rest, says Zach McCann.

Williams last played in Friday night's 112-72 romp over the Toronto Raptors, checking in for the game's final 4:47 to rousing applause from the Amway Center crowd.