Kwame Brown

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.

NBA player and former Laker Kwame Brown has listed his super-sized house in Playa del Rey at $2,975,000. The contemporary, with views of the ocean, city and marina area, has four bedrooms and five bathrooms in a roomy 6,329 square feet. The kitchen's large breakfast bar can seat a starting lineup or eight to 10 regular-sized people. The open floor-plan house was built in 1989. "My favorite part is the movie room in the basement," Brown said.

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.

Kwame Brown apologized to teammates after his turnover-filled debacle that drew a series of boos in the Lakers' loss Thursday against Phoenix. Brown, speaking to reporters Saturday for the first time since the Lakers' one-sided 106-98 loss to the Suns, acknowledged going "into a shell" after hearing fans' reactions to his struggles. He had seven turnovers, four as the booing escalated in the third quarter, and missed numerous shots from close range, including a dunk, two layups and a hook shot.

Ready or not, Kwame Brown will be back in the Lakers' starting lineup. "Unless Wilt [Chamberlain] comes back from the dead, I don't know what else we're going to do," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "He's going to have to handle the starting job." Andrew Bynum left Sunday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies because of a sprained left knee, which meant Brown would take center stage for a while.

With his left knee sporting a tape job perfected on NFL lineman and with his left ankle supported by a rigid brace, Kwame Brown played for the first time in 20 games Friday. And even his coach admitted it wasn't stylish. "He's got a knee brace on. He's got ankle braces on," said Phil Jackson, who sent Brown onto the floor with 5:28 left in the first quarter against Utah. "He looks like a gladiator."

PHILADELPHIA -- Meanwhile, back at the training facility . . . Kwame Brown was going through individual workouts Friday with trainer Chip Schaefer in an effort to get back to speed so he could practice with the Lakers after their four-game trip. Brown has missed 17 games because of a sprained left knee and ankle, but Coach Phil Jackson was pleased with the report he received. "We're hoping he's going to practice [Monday]," Jackson said. "He had a good workout."

Christmas isn't coming early for Kwame Brown. He was supposed to travel on the Lakers' upcoming four-game trip, but Coach Phil Jackson decided against it because Brown "couldn't get on the floor and practice with us yet." Brown began rattling off one-liners as soon as reporters told him what Jackson said Sunday. "I'll inbound the ball," he said. "Just let me go." He has been trying to recover from injuries and boredom since Chicago center Ben Wallace tumbled into his left knee and ankle on Nov.

Tex Winter always says what he thinks, a privilege he earned way before entering his 61st year of earning a paycheck from basketball. Now 85, the Lakers' consultant is a little more removed from the team because he has been battling shingles, but he still has his thoughts and opinions, some of which are surprising, some of which mirror past critiques of Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom.