Lakers' Brown Aims for a 'Good Showing'

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 -- Kwame Brown had plenty of incentive to face the Washington Wizards on Friday night but he sounded more concerned about building on his strong performance in the Los Angeles Lakers' victory at Memphis on Wednesday than about gaining revenge against his former team.

Brown, who missed 10 games with a hamstring injury and has seen his role change from starter to reserve, had nine points and six rebounds in the win over the Grizzlies; he scored six points and had nine rebounds against the Wizards in the Lakers' 97-91 win.

"You always want to have a good showing against your former team," said Brown, who was traded to Los Angeles with Laron Profit in exchange for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins. "Anyone who gets traded, you want to have a good showing."

Brown said he is playing with more confidence after struggling early in the season and his teammates, such as Kobe Bryant, have encouraged him to be more assertive.

"It's growing," Brown said. "It feels good to be aggressive instead of making indecisive moves."

Said Profit: "I think the trade was good for him and it was good for the Wizards. Here, he can just focus on basketball. He doesn't have all of that former number one pick stuff hanging over his head. This is a good situation for him."

All-Star Balloting

Gilbert Arenas ranks seventh among Eastern Conference guards in the most recent all-star voting. Arenas made his first all-star appearance last season as a reserve.

Antawn Jamison, who also made his all-star debut last season, does not rank in the top 10 among East forwards. Starters for this season's game, on Feb. 19, will be announced Feb. 2. The announcement of reserves will be made Feb. 9.