Brown Silent on Jackson Remarks

Injured forward Kwame Brown, who has been getting ribbed about his toughness, apparently misinterpreted some of it and didn’t want to talk about it after Thursday’s practice.

Brown asked for clarification from the Laker coaching staff before practice after Phil Jackson was quoted Wednesday as saying he often teased Brown about his sturdiness.

“Someone called him up and conjectured what it meant rather than having an exact description of what I said,” Jackson said Thursday. “His interpretation of it was I said I didn’t think he worked hard. Kwame works very hard. He’s a very willing person. He does everything we ask him and more. There’s absolutely no problem with that at all.”

Brown has been sidelined for three weeks with a hamstring injury that was expected to take at least two weeks to heal. Brown, averaging 5.9 points and 6.2 rebounds, said he would not play tonight against Chicago.

The Lakers’ next game is Saturday in Minnesota.

Jackson said Tuesday that “I’m not putting pressure on him” when asked about Brown’s injury, then added with a smile that he mocked Brown about his toughness “every time I see him in the locker room.”

Said Jackson on Thursday: “He laughs. He knows we’re kidding with him.”

Brown was tight-lipped after Thursday’s practice.

“I won’t talk about that,” he said. “I’ll talk about anything else.”

What did he think about Jackson’s quotes?

“I don’t know,” Brown said. “I haven’t read them.”

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Jackson’s recent comments lauding Toronto Raptor forward Chris Bosh irritated a Raptor official, who called them “unbelievable,” according to the Toronto Star.

“If someone asks our coach about a guy and he says, ‘He’s a great player,’ that’s fine,” said the official, who was quoted anonymously. “But if he says, ‘He’s a great player and he’d look great in a Toronto uniform,’ that’s tampering.”

Jackson didn’t go quite that far, and his observations on Bosh probably were not enough to warrant a case of tampering, a league official said.

Jackson told reporters during a Wednesday morning shoot-around in Toronto, “There are some [players] that will be available in the year following that you obviously have to take a look at, and this kid here is one of them.

“Chris Bosh, obviously everybody’s going to be interested in and we think he’s become quite a talent.”

Bosh, a third-year forward averaging 21.7 points and 10 rebounds, could become a restricted free agent after the 2006-07 season or unrestricted after 2007-08.

Jackson clarified his comments after Thursday’s practice.

“I was just throwing that out there for them to have fun with it in Toronto,” he said. “I hadn’t seen him play. Think he’s a franchise player? You think you want to give $10 million to $15 million to him over seven years?”

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TONIGHT

at Chicago, 5:30, Channel 9

Site -- United Center.

Radio -- 570, 1330.

Records -- Lakers 9-9, Bulls 9-8.

Record vs. Bulls -- 0-1.

Update -- The Lakers are trying for a fourth consecutive victory, something they did not accomplish last season. Scottie Pippen will have his number retired tonight by the Bulls, putting the Lakers in a slightly unusual position: Jackson was his coach during the Bulls’ six-championship run, and the Lakers hired him as a part-time assistant coach for training camp in Honolulu.