Turiaf Checked for Conditioning

While awaiting results of tests conducted by their medical staff Thursday and Friday, the Lakers put Ronny Turiaf through an informal workout Saturday.

The second-round draft pick, who had open-heart surgery in July, was to be tested in drills measuring his conditioning and skill levels, the results of which would then be compared with Turiaf’s showing in the same set of tests in June.

“He lost 35 pounds and then he put back on 35 pounds, so that’s got to mess with your body a little bit, so we don’t know what to expect,” General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “But we’ll have a better feel for where he is as an athlete and where he is from a skill point of view by the end of today.”

Turiaf, cleared to resume playing by the physician who performed the surgery, has been scrimmaging at Gonzaga, his alma mater, for about six weeks.

“Right now, it’s a matter of checking Ps and Qs, seeing that everything is OK,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “We kind of know what Ronny plays like; summertime, he was in here, played a couple of games. He wasn’t quite right, but we know exactly who he is and how he fits in. Now it’s just a matter of reconfirming.”

Of the possibility that Turiaf, a 6-foot-10 forward, could soon be playing for the Lakers, Jackson said, “At this point, we want to know how he stands up against veterans. Summer camp is summer camp. It’s apples and oranges, basically, when you start comparing. So now it’s, how does he stand up against our veterans and how does he look in practice, when that time comes.

“But that’s jumping ahead too many squares for us right now.”

Turiaf, 22, cannot practice with the Lakers until he is signed to a contract, and the team would have to waive another player to clear a roster spot for him. The Lakers expect to know the results of his medical tests by Monday.

But, “There’s not going to be a signing in a day or two,” Kupchak said. “We’ll just have to sit down and review where our roster is and where we think he is. Then there would have to be a negotiation too, so there’s still a bunch of steps.”

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Kwame Brown said he was pumped up about playing against the Washington Wizards, his former team, Friday night.

A little too pumped up.

“I think that worked against me,” he said. “My first two shots, I shot it over the rim.... I was so anxious I tricked up the shots. That’s what I was worried about, being so anxious that I couldn’t settle down. But I settled myself down.”

He finished with six points and nine rebounds in a 97-91 victory.

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Of the steadying influence provided by his reserves Friday, Jackson said, “They run the offense a little bit better than the first unit because they’re more reliant on it. That’s the way we want it to be. The individual talent of the first unit gives them more liberties to express themselves a little more freely in that offense.”

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TONIGHT

vs. Houston, 6:30, FSN West

Site -- Staples Center.

Radio -- 570, 1330.

Records -- Lakers 13-10, Rockets 9-13.

Record vs. Rockets (2004-05) -- 2-2.

Update -- The Rockets, rallying after a 3-11 start that included an 0-8 record when Tracy McGrady was sidelined because of a strained back, had won five consecutive games and six of seven before losing Saturday to the Clippers, 89-81.

Tickets -- (800) 462-2489 or ticketmaster.com.