Mike Brown says he had no input on Gilbert Arenas

By Mark Medina

March 25, 2012 12 AM PT

The Lakers appear much more at ease with their offense after acquiring guard Ramon Sessions in a trade with Cleveland.

He’s addressed their backcourt needs and given their lineup some youth. And in the last five games since his arrival, the Lakers have improved in several offensive categories from their regular-season averages, including points (95.88, 102.4), field-goal percentage (45.7%, 48.5%) and assists (21.69, 24.2).

A little more than a month ago, the Lakers appeared so desperate for anything that would solve their backcourt struggles, they brought in Gilbert Arenas for a private workout. Kobe Bryant even said it “wouldn’t hurt.” But the Grizzlies signed him to the veteran’s minimum, with General Manager Chris Wallace telling reporters he got the idea from reading a Grizzlies fan blog. Lakers Coach Mike Brown suggested before their game Sunday against Memphis that the Lakers didn’t seriously consider signing Arenas.

“I know he had a workout that Mitch attended,” Brown said. “I didn’t go to the workout. Unless something gets real close or it might not even get close, I’m not always involved with the process. It never got to a point where they wanted my opinion on it or said we’re not going to do it because of this or that.”

The Times’ Mike Bresnahan had reported the Lakers leaned toward not signing him. Arena’s average of eight points on 34.4% shooting in 49 games last season with Orlando marked a steep drop from his career averages of 21.2 points and 42.1% shooting. In his debut, Arenas averaged only two points on 22.2% shooting in 15.5 minutes per game. Brown hardly sounded concerned that Arenas could produce anywhere near the career-high 60 points he posted against the Lakers in 2006 when he was with the Washington Wizards.

“You know that he’s capable so you always put that in the back of your head,” Brown said. “If he starts to go off, what do you want to do? Do you want to double team him, blitz him, do this or that. You have to keep that stuff in mind, but not necessarily go and overreact before you figure out if you can defend him like you would normally anyone else.”

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Mike Brown says he wasn’t asked input about Gilbert Arenas