It took several days, but Kwame Brown finally granted an interview after being traded by the Lakers last Friday.

He expressed an eagerness to be with the Grizzlies and suggested the Lakers’ offense might not have been the best for his game.

“It was a lot of back-to-the-basket stuff,” he told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “What I see here is more of a flow game that will allow me to use my quickness in the open court. I’ve got to get my offensive rhythm down.

“I played mostly defense in L.A. I’m going to do that also, but hopefully I can get more involved offensively.”

Brown, the top pick in the 2001 draft, also talked about the unfulfilled promise attached to him throughout his career.

“People have their opinions,” he said. “I can’t live up to what everybody believes. All I can live up to is God and myself. If we had to do that draft all over, who knows what would have happened? Probably the same thing would have happened. Everybody’s a genius after the fact.”

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In an interview Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley detailed his thoughts on the Gasol trade in an interview with the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

“We had conversations with Chicago which were non-satisfactory. They didn’t want to take on the luxury-tax situation and Los Angeles was,” Heisley said. “I know right now people are saying we’re crazy. We got everything we could get out of the Lakers. We got draft choices and cap relief. That’s what we wanted. They weren’t going to give us Kobe.”

Heisley suggested in the interview that the Lakers offered Kwame Brown and Vladimir Radmanovic, but the Grizzlies didn’t want Radmanovic’s contract of three more years for $19 million. A key part of the deal was apparently the substitution of rookie guard Javaris Crittenton instead of Radmanovic on Thursday night. The Gasol deal was officially struck the next morning.

“We held out,” said Heisley. “They finally sweetened the pot.”

Heisley also said former Grizzlies president Jerry West was not involved in the talks.

“Not at all,” he said.

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With the recent signing of Larry Turner, seems like the Lakers have another center on their hands. I am thinking this can mean that the Mitch Kupchak is preparing to unload of another center by the name of Andrew Bynum.

This acquisition seems odd, because that would make it that we have Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm, Andrew Bynum and now Larry Turner. That is four players playing the center position, not really smart when we need a lot of help in the power forward position.

I am thinking Mitch Kupchak is strategizing a way to trade one or more of those players for a much needed player of the likes of Jermaine Oneal.

Larry Turner can be a big body we need down the season, especially when Chris Mihm needs a rest at the beginning of quarters when we do not have an Andrew or Kwame on the roster.

We’ll see what happens by the beginning of the season or even mid-season.