Divac Says He Hasn’t Made Retirement Decision

The Lakers have added youth and size over the last three weeks, but aging center Vlade Divac said he is not yet ready to be nudged out of the low-post picture.

Divac, who played only 15 games last season because of back problems, contested a report from a Belgrade news agency that said he had decided to retire.

“Sept. 30, that’s when I’m going to decide what I’m going to do,” Divac said Friday.

The Lakers and Divac agreed last month to postpone a decision on his future until that date, giving both sides time to monitor his health.

Divac, 37, had back surgery in January and averaged only 2.3 points last season. The Lakers could bring him back for $5.4 million, buy him out for $2 million or trade him to a team that could release him immediately to clear cap space.

Divac has said he would play only for the Lakers.

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Kwame Brown, acquired from the Washington Wizards in a sign-and-trade deal, referred to the events of the week as a “resurrection” and acknowledged he had acted unprofessionally at times in his four years in the league.

Over the years, he had rebuffed Michael Jordan’s demands, bristled when challenged by player-friendly Coach Eddie Jordan and underperformed on the court, averaging 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds thus far.

“I’m not concerned with how I will be remembered in Washington,” Brown told the Washington Post. “I’m concerned with how I’m remembered from this point on. It’s about starting over and building a new legacy. This is a resurrection.

“I did some unprofessional things. If you live your life with regrets, you’ll never move on. All the stuff that happened to me is ultimately going to make the person and the player that I’m going to become.”

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The Lakers will receive swingman Laron Profit from the Wizards as an additional part of the trade.

Profit, drafted in 1999 out of Maryland, has played parts of three NBA seasons and averaged 3.2 points in 42 games for the Wizards last season. Profit, 6 feet 5 and 204 pounds, will be a training-camp invitee.