NBA roundup: Bird stepping down as Pacers' president

Larry Bird will not return to the Pacers next season.

The Indianapolis Star first reported Bird would step down as team president and that he is "100 percent sure" of his decision this time. Bird had said at the end of the Pacers' playoff run that he was considering staying with the team.

Team owner Herb Simon has hired former team president Donnie Walsh, who also worked for the Knicks, to return to the team in some capacity, including guiding the team through the draft and free agency over the next several weeks.

Bird, who won three NBA titles as a member of the Boston Celtics, became the first person to be named league MVP, coach of the year and executive of the year.

The Pacers had three winning seasons and five playoff appearances in Bird's tenure as an executive with the team.

--- General manager David Morway resigned from the Indiana Pacers, the team announced Tuesday.

Morway had relinquished most of his duties around the same time the postseason ended. He hasn't been involved in draft or free agency preparation.

The move was expected, as the front office is reconfigured without president of basketball operations Larry Bird and Morway. Bird is expected to announce his resignation this week.

Morway was hired in 1999 and named general manager in April 2008.

--The Houston Rockets made another move designed to ultimately acquire a franchise building block, sending small forward Chase Budinger to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 18th overall pick in Thursday's draft.

The Rockets are loading up on assets with a goal of acquiring Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic.

--The NBA settled a dispute centered around Jeff Green's medical condition by awarding the Boston Celtics a second-round pick in 2013 from the Thunder.

Green was traded in 2011 in the deal that landed Kendrick Perkins in Oklahoma City and Nate Robinson plus the Thunder's first-round pick in Thursday's draft in Boston.

Green missed the 2011-12 season only after he failed a physical with the Celtics, an examination that uncovered an aortic aneurysm and required surgery.

Green had been offered a one-year, $9 million deal with Boston for the 2011-12 season. He is an unrestricted free agent.

---New York Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire was fined $50,000 by the NBA for what the league termed "offensive end derogatory language in a Twitter message."

Stoudemire's use of a gay slur in a direct Twitter message was forwarded by a fan to deadspin.com via picture message. A direct Twitter message is viewable only to the recipient and the sender, whereas other messages can be seen by anyone.