Grant Is Put on Injured List

Vlade Divac was back in uniform, which put Brian Grant in street clothes for Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Divac has recovered from a herniated disk in his back, but Grant took his place on the injured list because of lingering knee problems that will keep him out indefinitely, a time period to be measured in weeks, if not longer.

Grant, one of three players acquired in the Shaquille O’Neal trade, averaged 4.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in nine games with the Lakers, well below career averages of 11.4 points and eight rebounds coming into this season.

Grant, 32, has been bothered by tendinitis in his knees in recent seasons, but he sat out only 16 games in four seasons with the Miami Heat.

“I’ve been doing everything to be able to play in games, doing as much rehab on the side as they would permit me to do, but also taking anti-inflammatories,” Grant said. “For this time of the year, it’s kind of early to be taking as many as I was taking.

“I’ve always prided myself on being somebody who was able to play and if I had to play, I’d be out there tonight. But I think the thing here is they’re looking long-term, they’re looking maybe down the road.... We’re doing it now in the beginning.”

Grant met with General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Coach Rudy Tomjanovich to review his condition and said there was mutual agreement that he should go on the injured list. There is no timetable for his return.

Grant, who will earn $13.2 million this season, is the second-highest paid player on the Lakers after Kobe Bryant. Grant is under contract for two more seasons after 2004-05 at a total of $29.8 million.

Grant said his right knee is bothering him the most, but he tends to overcompensate with his left knee, causing pain there as well. He will work with physical therapist Alex McKechnie, who was referred to as “the resurrector” last season by O’Neal.

Said Tomjanovich of Grant: “Here’s a guy I have tremendous respect for, who really sacrificed himself for our team. [He] has been playing with a lot of pain, never complaining, always going out there. He could have been on the injured list a lot earlier but gutted it out.”

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Forward Jumaine Jones was also activated from the injured list after sitting out six games because of a strained right calf. He was scoreless in seven minutes against the Bucks.

Rookie guard Sasha Vujacic was put on the injured list to make room for Jones.

Vujacic, drafted No. 27 overall, averaged 2.3 points in three games. His injury is listed as a sprained right ankle.

Brian Cook, who sat out practice Monday because of a viral infection, had nine points Tuesday.