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Brown may need ankle surgery

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Times Staff Writer

The Lakers began exit meetings Thursday afternoon, a procession line of players each taking 20-minute turns discussing their past and future with Coach Phil Jackson and General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Afterward, Kwame Brown opened up the possibility of off-season ankle surgery, Luke Walton confirmed his desire to remain a member of the Lakers, and Vladimir Radmanovic acknowledged the obvious, that his season mirrored that of the team -- underwhelming and often frustrating.

The exit meetings continue today, with Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant getting their time with Jackson and Kupchak.

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Brown will be spending time in doctors’ offices over the next week, revisiting specialists for shoulder and ankle problems that plagued him earlier and later in the season, respectively.

Brown, 25, missed the season’s first seven games because of bursitis and a bruised rotator cuff in his right shoulder. More recently, he missed 33 games because of a severely sprained left ankle. Surgery remains a possibility, he said.

“That’s what it’s looking like,” Brown said. “It’s going to be a long summer, if so.”

Walton will have a bit of a wait until the free-agency period begins July 1. He made $1.4 million this season and is in line for a significant pay raise despite a sub-par playoff run after averaging career highs with 11.4 points, five rebounds and 4.3 assists a game during the regular season.

Walton, 27, wants to stay with the Lakers, but is cognizant of the free-market concept.

“Like I’ve said before, in a perfect world, I’d be back here in L.A.,” he said. “But you’re only a free agent once or twice in your career, so I definitely have to go out there and see what’s available.”

One of the more surreal moments in an otherwise dour week took place with one of its most disappointing acquisitions. As Radmanovic met with the media, Brown stood off to the side and repeatedly whispered, “Why’d you jump off the mountain?”

Radmanovic, who laughed, eventually, at Brown’s antics, was fined $500,000 by the Lakers in February for an unsanctioned snowboarding junket in which he sustained a separated right shoulder that cost him 24 games. He averaged a career-low 6.6 points a game this season.

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“Frustrating season, definitely, and I’m a big part of it, as you all know,” he said. “I’m going to try and put it behind me. I think I owe a lot to the organization and all Laker fans. There were high expectations for my first year here. Obviously, I didn’t prove any of them.”

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Lakers forward Maurice Evans offered an interesting opinion of his friend, Kevin Garnett, whose Minnesota Timberwolves have missed the playoffs the last three seasons.

“I know he definitely wants out of that situation,” Evans said. “Deservedly so. He’s given his heart and his soul to that organization and whether it be here or Minnesota or wherever, I hope and wish him the best in his future.”

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Veteran guard Aaron McKie, whose two-year, $5-million contract expires next month, said he would consider coaching if he retires.... Shammond Williams, whose contract also expires during the off-season, said he wasn’t sure if he would be back with the Lakers.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Online poll

There were 8,197 votes cast in most recent poll: Which one of these Lakers would you get rid of?

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*--* Smush Parker 38.9%

Mitch Kupchak 32.9%

Vladimir Radmanovic 12.6%

Kwame Brown 11.5%

Sasha Vujacic 4.1%

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Next: We begin our look at who should stay or go on the Lakers with Luke Walton. Should the Lakers cut him or keep him? Vote now at: www.latimes.com/sports.

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