ESPN NBA

Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times has the story:

The Lakers have taken another bold step to remake their roster, agreeing in principle on a trade that would bring forward-center Kwame Brown from the Washington Wizards and would send Caron Butler and likely Chucky Atkins to Washington.

Here's the part that makes the Lakers look especially smart:

Brown, 23, received two guaranteed years with a third-year option held by the team. The Lakers will not be parting with the 2006 first-round pick they received from the Miami Heat in the Shaquille O'Neal trade last July.

Two years guaranteed. That's perfect--no real gamble at all. Either Kwame Brown achieves his potential by age 25, and it's a historically great move, or, well, hello Andrew Bynum! I'll bet you anything Isiah Thomas was offering five years.

By the way, the Wizards have recovered rather well from losing Larry Hughes. Caron Butler is better than anyone else they had a realistic shot at.