LAKERS NOTEBOOK: WALTON NOT READY TO RETURN.

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

Lakers coach Phil Jackson consulted with medical staff about Luke Walton's availability before Thursday night's game but decided that the 25-year-old forward was not ready to make his return from hamstring and hip injuries against Seattle.

The Lakers were forced to keep forward Devean George on the active list Thursday even though George is not expected to play for another week while he rests his sore left foot.

Such is life, however, for the Lakers only 11 games into their season. With Walton, George, Kwame Brown and Slava Medvedenko all hurt, Jackson said he wasn't sure he ever had a team so injury-depleted in the season's first month.

If he can practice today and Saturday without pain in his hip, Walton could play Sunday against New Jersey. Walton also concurred with Jackson's assessment from two days earlier that he looked tentative in getting back on the court.

``When you have an injury that you haven't really tested yet, when you go, your brain kind of stops until you have that confidence to actually push off on it,'' Walton said. ``I was getting there with the hamstring, but now I've got to get there with my hip.''

The Lakers have three rookies on their active roster as a result of the rash of injuries.

--Rookie blues: Jackson was asked before Thursday's game for an assessment of how 20-year-old guard Von Wafer was progressing. Wafer has yet to play this season.

``Von has a guard role out there which is much more difficult than playing that center position,'' Jackson said, making reference to rookie Andrew Bynum. ``You've got to not only be able to set the table but also organize and pace the game a little bit from that position. He's learning it.''

Jackson was asked if Wafer was a player who might be able to provide scoring and shooting off the bench.

``Von's probably one of those guys that shoot first and wonder about the rest of it afterward,'' Jackson said. ``He's worried he's going to make a mistake if he does anything else. Shooting is the least of his concerns.''

Jackson had been hoping to have a full range of options with his young players such as Wafer, possibly sending them to the NBA Development League for a stretch early in the season. But the Lakers have needed them just to fill out the lineup recently.

--Also: After watching the Lakers fall behind by nine points in the first quarter Sunday against Chicago - what Jackson felt was a hangover from their loss to the Clippers - the coach wrote the words ``carpe diem'' on the board at shootaround Thursday.

``I asked them if they were going to eat carp tonight instead of turkey, they should probably check that out,'' Jackson said, ``because that's kind of the way I feel about how we're going out to start games. We're not really going out there with purpose.''