Kwame Brown to Have Ankle Surgery

Lakers center Kwame Brown will have surgery Tuesday in Indianapolis to repair the left ankle that bothered him most of this past season.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who had right hip-replacement surgery last October, will have the same procedure on his left hip sometime next month, Lakers public relations director John Black said.

Brown’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said specialist Dave Porter will perform the procedure and that there is no timetable for Brown’s return. But Bartelstein said Brown, who has one year left on his contract for next season that pays him $9 million, should be ready when the Lakers open training camp Oct. 3 in Hawaii.

Brown missed a total of 34 games this season after he severely sprained his left ankle Dec. 31 against the Philadelphia 76ers.

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“We’re not sure if it needs to get reconstructed or not,” Bartelstein said Friday. “They’re going to go in and test the strength of the ligaments and see if they need to repair them. He also has some bone spurs he needs to get cleaned out.”

If Brown needs reconstructive surgery, he would face several months of recovery time. The Lakers begin training camp the first week of October. If his ankle does not need to be reconstructed, Brown’s rehabilitation would be significantly shorter. “Until they get in there and see what needs to be done, there’s no timetable,” Bartelstein said.

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