LAKERS GIVE BROWN A CHANGE OF SCENERY.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

In the days before free-agent forward Kwame Brown decided to come to the Lakers, Phil Jackson placed a call to Michael Jordan to ask for an appraisal of the player Jordan once drafted out of a Brunswick, Ga., high school with the No. 1 overall pick.

``All I know is Phil was one of the biggest advocates of this deal,'' Brown's agent, Arn Tellem, said Thursday. ``Obviously, by inference, I have to think it was a positive conversation.''

Where Jordan and coach Doug Collins once failed to reach Brown with the Washington Wizards, Jackson and Kobe Bryant will now try to salvage the 23-year-old's career with the Lakers.

Tellem confirmed that Brown will sign a three-year, $24.9 million contract as part of a sign-and-trade deal once the NBA's moratorium on free-agent signings ends July 22. In return, the Lakers agreed to send forward Caron Butler and guard Chucky Atkins to Washington.

On the one-year anniversary of the Shaquille O'Neal trade, the Lakers made another major move, acquiring a player in Brown whose career averages of 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds have yet to match the potential that seemed limitless before the 2001 draft.

``It's a fresh start,'' Tellem said, ``and the Lakers have an obvious need for the things (Brown) can bring, his size, his athletic ability, his quickness.''

To get Brown, the Lakers parted with Butler, who averaged 21.9 points in 15 games with Lamar Odom out at the end of last season. He was one of five small forwards on the roster, however, and likely would have come off the bench for Jackson.

Atkins started all 82 games last season, averaged a career-high 13.6 points, and was the Lakers' top 3-point shooter, but the Lakers are pursuing free-agent guard Antonio Daniels, who is expected to make a decision about where he will sign early next week.

``It's definitely a good situation,'' said Tony Dutt, Daniels' agent. The Lakers could offer Daniels their $5 million midlevel exception and a starting job, but are expected to get competition from Cleveland, Miami, Toronto, Utah and Portland for his services.

Brown spent a troubled four years in Washington and bottomed out during the Wizards' first-round playoff series against Chicago in May. He skipped a practice and stayed home from a game in an apparent protest over playing time and was suspended for the rest of the postseason.

The Wizards went on to win their first playoff series in 23 years without him. However, Jackson is said to see the raw potential in Brown (7-foot, 270 pounds) and believes he needed to get out of a situation that unraveled in Washington.

The Lakers hope Brown follows the same path as Jermaine O'Neal, who averaged only 11.5 minutes per game for four seasons in Portland before turning into an All-Star in Indiana. Brown also played in Washington with expectations that might never have been met.

Though Brown was often criticized and sometimes berated by Jordan once the superstar guard came out of retirement to rejoin the Wizards, Tellem said he thought there would be little friction between Brown and Bryant.

``He has got tremendous respect and admiration for Kobe,'' said Tellem, who represented Bryant earlier in his career. While the trade, leaves Bryant without Butler and Atkins - his two closest teammates - it increases the chances the Lakers will take advantage of a one-time amnesty provision to the new collective bargaining agreement and waive forward Brian Grant. Such a move could save the team as much as $30 million in luxury tax penalties.

``That's their decision,'' said Mark Bartelstein, Grant's agent. ``We're going to have to see what they want to do.''

If the Lakers do release Grant, the team in effect would have traded Shaquille O'Neal for Odom, Brown, Miami's 2006 first-round pick and the luxury tax savings. Odom will be able to move back to small forward this season as a result of the Brown trade.

The Lakers now will wait to see if a change of scenery can help Brown overcome his on- and off-court problems. He was the first high school player ever drafted No. 1 overall, taken by Jordan when he was the Wizards' president of basketball operations.

Brown's maturity and work ethic were called into question almost from the start of his first training camp. He was cited for driving 120 mph in April 2002, then arrested for DUI in August 2003 and broke his right foot during a pickup game last summer.

Last December he was suspended one game for walking away from coach Eddie Jordan during a timeout. Brown was a target for boos from the MCI Center crowd and told reporters he'd rather play on the road ``any day of the week.''

Despite his troubles, Brown did show progress during his third season, when he averaged 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds, and scored a career-high 30 points and 19 rebounds in a March 2004 matchup against Chris Webber.

Ross Siler, [phone]

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) The Lakers hope a fresh start will jump start Kwame Brown's career. Washington drafted Brown No. 1 overall in 2001.

Greg Fiume/NBAE/Getty Images

(2 -- color) KWAME BROWN

The 2001 No. 1 overall draft pick is hoping for better results as a Laker.