Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | 9:56 a.m.
SUN WIRE SERVICES
The Lakers have held preliminary talks with the Washington Wizards about a possible trade involving Caron Butler and former No. 1 overall pick Kwame Brown, team and league sources confirmed Tuesday.
Such a deal was just one of several scenarios the Lakers have discussed, according to a source, and the Wizards reportedly have been contacted by seven teams about Brown, including the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers.
Butler, who averaged 21.9 points with Lamar Odom out at the end of last season, is frequent fodder for trade speculation. He will be a free agent after the 2005-06 season and is one of four small forwards under contract to the Lakers.
"We don't comment on rumors or speculation," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. The Butler-for-Brown deal was first reported Tuesday by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Brown, the first high school player drafted No. 1 overall, hit a nadir in May, when he skipped two workouts and was suspended for the remainder of the season. The Wizards went on to win their first playoff series in 23 years without him.
Brown, 23, is a restricted free agent, allowing the Wizards to match any offer he receives. The 6-foot-11, 243-pound forward turned down a four-year, $30 million extension before the start of the season in October.
If Brown does come to the Lakers, it would be through a sign-and-trade deal involving Butler ($2.448 million) and at least one other player. The Lakers and Wizards would have to find a way to swap the approximate equivalent in player salaries.
Brown started out in Washington as Michael Jordan's project, with the Wizards president of basketball operations taking him out of his Brunswick, Ga., high school with the No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft, ahead of Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol and Eddy Curry.
Brown was subject to some of Jordan's harshest criticism during his rookie season after Jordan came out of retirement to play for the Wizards. The Lakers would have to decide if Kobe Bryant's demanding style would cause similar problems for Brown.
The Lakers also would have to question if Brown, to this point one of the NBA's biggest draft busts, is the player they want around Bynum. Only two weeks ago, the Lakers used their first lottery pick in a decade on the 17-year-old high school center.
Brown was arrested for DUI in August 2003 and clashed with teammates and coaches in Washington. He played only 42 games last season after suffering a foot injury last summer.
After dealing with Brown's in-season job discussions with Cleveland, Davidson called a meeting today with Brown, Glass and Joe Dumars, the team president, and is expected to make his frustration with Brown known, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting.
Davidson could request a buyout of Brown's contract, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to interfere with potential negotiations.
Brown's talks with Cleveland, which he initiated before the playoffs, at times overshadowed the Pistons' postseason run, which ended in Game 7 of the finals.
"I hope everything will be very fruitful," Glass said Tuesday. Asked about a possible termination of Brown's contract, Glass said, "I don't see that as a possibility."
Glass said that Brown, 64, was healthy, a sudden change for the coach. Two weeks ago, an examination of Brown's bladder condition at the Mayo Clinic apparently proved inconclusive, causing Brown and Glass to say that the coach needed more time to determine whether he was healthy enough to return to the Pistons' bench.
Granger tore the lateral meniscus in his left knee his senior year at New Mexico. He missed three games and had surgery.
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said Granger's knee is about 80 percent, but the 6-foot-8 forward won't compete in contact drills until the knee is fully healthy.
"At this point, we've got to look at the big picture," Carlisle said. "You've got a guy who just turned 22, a guy who's going to be a terrific player in this league for the next decade. We can't put him in harm's way and try to rush him out there."
Granger, the 17th pick in last month's draft, said doctors told him he could play, but the Pacers chose to hold him out.
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