http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?i...TC-DT9705204233 The Los Angeles Lakers plan to trade for Kwame Brown. Kwame Brown Forward-Center Washington Wizards Profile 2004-2005 SEASON STATISTICS GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT% 42 7.0 4.9 0.9 .460 .574 The Lakers have a deal to send Caron Butler and another player, likely Chucky Atkins, to the Wizards for the first pick in the 2001 draft, the Los Angeles Times reported in Thursday's editions. Neither L.A. general manager Mitch Kupchak nor Washington president Ernie Grunfeld commented to the paper. The Wizards could take Devean George instead of Atkins. Brown's stay in Washington has been checkered. He averaged 7 points and 4.9 rebounds in 42 games last season, slightly below his four-year career averages of 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds. He has yet to fulfill the potential that made him the first high school player to go first in an NBA draft. He was suspended for most of the postseason after missing a practice and Game 4 of the Wizards' first-round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls. ________________ OTHER VERSIONS: ------------------- Report: Lakers acquire Kwame Brown Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Lakers have apparently acquired restricted free agent center Kwame Brown from the Washington Wizards in exchange for forward Caron Butler and either guard Chucky Atkins or forward Devean George. According to the Los Angeles Times, the 23-year-old Brown will receive a two- year guaranteed deal from the Lakers with the team holding an option for a third season. The deal, though, cannot be officially announced until the league moratorium is lifted July 22. Brown has never lived up to expectations since being chosen with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft by the Wizards. In four years in Washington the 6-foot-11 Brown, who was the first high school player ever taken with the top pick, has averaged just 7.7 points with 5.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks. His best season came in 2003-04 when the 23- year-old South Carolina native scored 10.9 points and grabbed 7.4 boards in 74 games. Brown, who rejected a multi-year contract extension in the fall from the Wizards, endured an injury-plagued campaign a year ago and averaged 7.0 points and 4.9 rebounds in 42 regular-season games. He was then suspended by the team in the playoffs after complaining about playing time and missing a practice. Butler, meanwhile, will fill the role in Washington vacated by Larry Hughes, who will reportedly sign a free agent deal in Cleveland. One of the three players acquired by LA from Miami in the Shaquille O'Neal trade, Butler scored 15.5 points, while grabbing 5.8 rebounds in 77 games for the Lakers last season. Washington will likely choose Atkins to complete the deal. The 30-year-old Atkins is coming off a career-best 13.6 point-a-game season, but at 5-foot-11 does not fit new head coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense, which has historically worked better with taller guards. 07/14 09:12:53 ET __________________________
