Kwame Brown

NBA player and former Laker Kwame Brown has sold his house in Playa del Rey for $1.65 million. The open-floor-plan house had been on and off the market since 2008 when it was listed for sale at $2.999 million or for lease at $12,000 a month. The current listing stated the home had sustained water damage on the main level and needed a new roof, windows, doors and elevator. Described as a short sale in the listing, the ocean-view contemporary includes four bedrooms and five bathrooms in 6,329 square feet.

Some things to keep an eye on when the Lakers (30-19) visit the Golden State Warriors (20-27) Tuesday night at 7:30 at Oracle Arena. 1. Kobe Bryant. He showed true leadership by biting his lip regarding Mike Brown sitting him for four of the last six minutes in the Lakers' loss Sunday to Memphis. As indicated by Brown's comments to reporters after the morning shootaround, he hasn't backtracked on the decision or added much clarity to it. So it'll be interesting to see how Bryant plays in his first game since then.

Did the Lakers send a championship ring to Kwame Brown? "What?" Brown responded when asked the question Tuesday night. Did you get a ring from the Lakers? "Man, you know the answer to that," Brown said, smiling. "Why should I get one? I wasn't here." True, but Brown played a role in the Lakers winning the NBA championship last season. After all, Brown was the trade bait the Lakers used to acquire Pau Gasol, who played a big role in the Lakers' championship.

The footage is grainy, obviously transferred from videotape to YouTube, but it's still possible to see Darvin Ham flying toward the basket, grabbing a rebound and shattering the backboard with a dunk. The play has followed him throughout his life, helping Texas Tech beat North Carolina in the second round of the 1996 NCAA tournament, landing him on the cover of Sports Illustrated next to the title "Smashing!" and serving as the most entrancing part of a basketball career that included eight NBA seasons.

Before Friday night's game, Detroit Pistons center Kwame Brown was working out with his teammates during a shooting drill. When Brown clanked a shot off the backboard, something he did frequently during his two-plus seasons with the Lakers, Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw couldn't help himself. "That's the Kwame I know," Shaw shouted from the other end of the court. And in many ways, it was the same old Brown -- the fun-loving player who shot bricks. "My shot is all butter," Brown said.

With the goal of adding a post player, the Lakers are trying to acquire troubled Kwame Brown from the Washington Wizards in a trade for Caron Butler and a player to be determined -- point guard Chucky Atkins, forward Devean George or aging center Vlade Divac, depending on the Wizards' preference. The Lakers might also include the 2006 first-round pick they acquired from the Miami Heat in the Shaquille O'Neal trade last July.

Most of the Lakers were packing their bags at the El Segundo practice gym Tuesday afternoon and preparing for the short flight to Sacramento for today's regular-season finale when Kwame Brown emerged from the locker room, dressed and ready but walking with a hitch in his step. One look at his footwear told the story.

Shortly after the charter jet had finished delivering the Lakers to Honolulu for training camp, team officials lined up to predict how well Kwame Brown would do this season. Magic Johnson hoped for 12 points and nine rebounds a game. Phil Jackson went with fewer points, 10, but more rebounds, also 10. The guessing game was on. And a bit off. Brown, acquired in August from the Washington Wizards, has averaged 6.3 points and 5.

Marc Gasol understood what Lakers Coach Phil Jackson was doing. Gasol knew the jab Jackson threw at his older brother, Lakers center Pau Gasol, was done to make him "motivated" when the two faced off against each other Tuesday night at Staples Center. Jackson lauded Marc, saying the Memphis Grizzlies center is "tougher, more powerful, more physical" than Pau and that the Lakers perhaps "traded the wrong guy. " Marc had not heard about Jackson's comments until they were shared with him. "He likes to make Pau a little angry," Marc said.

I worry the Lakers are going to be no good. They couldn't win last year when they had Shannon Brown and Lamar Odom , and now both are gone with no one taking their places. I worry the Lakers won't be as likable. Lamar was the most likable Laker, maybe as friendly a pro athlete as this town has known. The rest of the Lakers are not likable. Kobe is a great player, but do you really think he's likable? I know something about being unlikable and he's really good at it. He's more angry, or so it seems, which is odd, knowing he's paid millions to play a game he loves.

Now we know who forged Andrew Bynum into the player he has become. Lakers fans can send thank-yous to Kwame Brown. That's what Brown implied Friday after the Lakers beat Golden State. First, some reality. "He's a grown man now," Brown said of his former Lakers teammate. "He's grown into his body well. He's a lot more physical than when he first came in." Then came the fantasy. "That was my young fella," Brown said. "I taught him everything he knows."

NBA player and former Laker Kwame Brown has sold his house in Playa del Rey for $1.65 million. The open-floor-plan house had been on and off the market since 2008 when it was listed for sale at $2.999 million or for lease at $12,000 a month. The current listing stated the home had sustained water damage on the main level and needed a new roof, windows, doors and elevator. Described as a short sale in the listing, the ocean-view contemporary includes four bedrooms and five bathrooms in 6,329 square feet.

I worry the Lakers are going to be no good. They couldn't win last year when they had Shannon Brown and Lamar Odom , and now both are gone with no one taking their places. I worry the Lakers won't be as likable. Lamar was the most likable Laker, maybe as friendly a pro athlete as this town has known. The rest of the Lakers are not likable. Kobe is a great player, but do you really think he's likable? I know something about being unlikable and he's really good at it. He's more angry, or so it seems, which is odd, knowing he's paid millions to play a game he loves.

"The Lord of the Rings" star Elijah Wood's latest quest is to find a buyer for the Santa Monica house he recently put up for sale at $1.85 million. The Spanish-style home, built in 1924, is described in the listing as an "opportunity to remodel … or to build a new home. " There are no circular doors, but a Queen Anne Victorian entrance opens into a round foyer with a British brewery cast-iron tile floor. Including a guesthouse with an office attached to the two-car garage, the property has a total of three bedrooms, two bathrooms and 2,130 square feet of living space.

You'd have to arrive pretty early to see the matchup. Kobe Bryant at one end of the court, Caron Butler at the other end, each shooting the ball at his own basket again and again several hours before tipoff. Former teammates working up a sweat, they won't be playing each other in the Western Conference semifinals because of the ruptured patellar tendon in Butler's right knee. For a minute, Butler hoped to remind Lakers fans what he used to bring to Staples Center, but Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle put an end to the possibility and said Butler wouldn't play this series.

Springtime in Lakerdom for Andrew.... This was a long time coming for Andrew Bynum, in his sixth season as a player, his fourth as a starter, but his first postseason as a healthy one. Happily for the Lakers, who have aged while waiting for him, this is the spring it happened or they'd have worse problems than their urgency level. Lakers database: All things Lakers Twice-defending champions or not, the Lakers without a healthy 'Drew? No longer conceivable.

The footage is grainy, obviously transferred from videotape to YouTube, but it's still possible to see Darvin Ham flying toward the basket, grabbing a rebound and shattering the backboard with a dunk. The play has followed him throughout his life, helping Texas Tech beat North Carolina in the second round of the 1996 NCAA tournament, landing him on the cover of Sports Illustrated next to the title "Smashing!" and serving as the most entrancing part of a basketball career that included eight NBA seasons.

For the second time since his arrival in Los Angeles, Kwame Brown had a police report filed against him, this one involving a birthday cake. The Lakers center was accused of ruining a $190 chocolate cake belonging to a birthday celebrant, Alexander Martinez, who was holding it outside a Hermosa Beach club early Saturday morning. Brown was out with a group of teammates for Ronny Turiaf's birthday, when he exited the club at about 2 a.m.

Watch out for fans with cakes Charlotte Coach Paul Silas , on Kwame Brown , who averaged 9-9 and shot 54% in January, before sliding to 7-7 and 42% since: "I'm so excited for him. He's been much maligned in this league. Now he's playing up to his potential. " And it helps if one is Durant Cleveland Coach Byron Scott , on emulating Oklahoma City's rebuilding program: "You've got to admire the way they've done it, no doubt about that. It's nothing that's going to happen overnight.

Presses weren't stopped. Parades weren't planned. But sure enough, the Lakers beat the Charlotte Bobcats, a feat that could be confirmed by the box score and an appreciative crowd in a 92-84 victory Friday at Staples Center. It was a slow-speed chase, nobody lighting up the scoreboard until late in the game, but the Lakers managed to beat the team that handed them a 20-point loss last month and had been on a stunning 8-2 run against them in recent seasons. Losing year after year to the Bobcats, who have made the playoffs only once in their seven-year history, had been biting at the Lakers, their coach saying beforehand there was "no explanation" for it. The Lakers won their sixth consecutive game since the All-Star break.