Kwame Brown doesn't really practice much, is limited in what he can do in games, and could eventually have surgery to repair his damaged left ankle, he said.

He did not play Tuesday against Memphis because he felt pain in the ankle during pregame warmups. Brown, who has seen doctors in Los Angeles and an ankle specialist in Indianapolis, will probably undergo another MRI exam today.

He thinks he knows what has to happen.

"I need surgery to make it better," he said. "Right after the season."

Lakers officials, however, want Brown to re-evaluate his situation after the season before going under the knife, a team spokesman said.

"There's not a whole lot of therapy that can take care of the needs that he's got or the position he's in," Coach Phil Jackson said. "But we believe that he can make it through the year."