Brown set to return but not as a starter

PORTLAND, ORE. — Kwame Brown was the starting center when last season ended and was supposed to be there again this season.

In between, he sustained a bruised rotator cuff and bursitis in his right shoulder and might have lost his job to Andrew Bynum.

Brown was expected to play for the first time this season Friday against Detroit, assuming he looks good in today’s practice, Coach Phil Jackson said.

Brown, in the second year of a three-year contract, averaged 13.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in the team’s final 13 regular-season games last season, then 12.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in the playoffs.

But Bynum has alleviated some concerns about turning over the starting center’s job to a 19-year-old. He did not, however, play well Wednesday against Portland, finishing a foul-plagued game with two points and five rebounds in nearly 21 minutes.

“More than likely, we’ll stay with the same lineup and work Kwame into the lineup as he goes along,” Jackson said. “Kwame could give us a backup right now and that’s what we’re looking for most of all.”

Jackson said Brown and Bynum might play at the same time in some situations.

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The New York Knicks reportedly agreed to pay Larry Brown $18.5 million of the $41 million left on his contract when he was fired in June, an arrangement that led to a Clippers reference when Jackson was asked about it.

Jackson said he didn’t think Brown’s situation was as much of an issue as San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich, who hoped the less-than-50% settlement would not set a precedent for fired coaches.

Jackson thought Popovich should have been more concerned when Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling sued Bill Fitch in 2001 for breach of contract. Sterling alleged that Fitch had a duty to find another employer after the Clippers fired him in 1998 with two years left on his contract. Fitch was 67 at the time.

“If [Brown’s settlement] was a concern to people, Popovich probably should have weighed in on Sterling about two or three coaches ago when he was breaking all their contracts,” Jackson said. “That was the time he should have been backing up coaches, not about a $40-million situation that ends up with $18 million. It’s about guys that were owed $500,000 or $600,000 who needed that kind of money.

“Those were concerns to our coaches association, where an owner was exacerbating a situation. It was something that got us angry as a coaches association, but Mike Dunleavy has changed all that and he’s got him to fork over some money.”

Dunleavy, whose contract expires at the end of the season, is in the process of negotiating an extension with the Clippers.

Clippers spokesman Joe Safety, when reached for comment, said he would “elect not to react to Phil’s unfounded rantings.”

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Center Chris Mihm flew to Baltimore on Wednesday to consult with a specialist after continued swelling and pain in his right ankle.

Mihm has not played this season and missed 24 of 25 games at the end of last season after sustaining a severe sprain. He had surgery in July.

“One step forward, two steps backward,” Jackson said. “He’s concerned and we want him to get comfortable ... it’s been very disheartening for him.”

Mihm had a nighttime flare-up after a recent workout and could not exercise the next day, Jackson said.

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