The Lakers attended a private workout held by free agent guard Gilbert Arenas, according to a report on Yahoo! Sports. The team has expressed some interest in signing Arenas, a former Grant High of Van Nuys standout. Kobe Bryant said last week he was on board with adding Arenas, who played last season with the Orlando Magic.

The website, citing two unnamed sources, reported that Arenas moved well during the workout. Members of the Lakers coaching staff were in Toronto with the team and didn't attend the workout, which was held in Southern California. It was unclear whether general manager Mitch Kupchak was at the workout.

The Lakers have struggled at the point guard position so far this season. Veterans Derek Fisher and Steve Blake, his backup, were run ragged by Jeremy Lin in a loss Friday to the New York Knicks and by Jose Calderon during a victory Sunday over the Toronto Raptors. Lin had 38 points and Calderon scored 30.

Coach Mike Brown revealed the Lakers considered signing Jeremy Lin during the lockout. Brown recalled general manager Mitch Kupchak mentioned his name, and quite a few others, as a player the team could sign to bolster its backcourt.

He had heard the name. Most NBA coaches know most of the players around the league, even if they might have trouble assessing strengths and weaknesses of some of the younger ones like Lin, who ended up signing with the New York Knicks.

"When he was floating out there, Mitch had some interest in him and brought him up to me," Brown said. "We brought up a million names. This was before we had our team. Mitch liked him, but I didn't know anything about him."

Brown gave a nuanced answer when asked if Bryant had won a battle to be the best in his day, topping LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and others of the younger generation.

"When you look at championship rings, the guys who have multiple rings are the ones who should be mentioned when you're talking about people's legacies. They should be mentioned first because there are a lot of great players out there that I believe can put up great numbers and do great things, especially on a team when you don't win, it's a different type of pressure you go through.

"When you have five of them and have the possibility of getting more, or six or seven or eight, it's like, 'Whoa.' That right there separates you or puts you in a different category. If you're talking about pure talent alone, yeah, there are other guys out there who have a high talent level. But are they to the level of Kobe's? In different aspects of the game.

"You talk about who's a more talented passer between LeBron and Kobe, well, LeBron is. Who's a more talented mid-range scorer, well, Kobe is. Who's a better attacker, Dwyane Wade is. So they all do different things different than each other, but at the end of the day, when it comes to combining talent and skill with the most important thing, which is winning, I don't know how you don't give him the edge."

Steve Blake stuck to the company line, but a wide smile gave him away. He was cleared to resume practicing with the Lakers today and, officially at least, his status for Thursday's game against the Boston Celtics will be determined at tipoff.

Asked if he was going to play, he said, "It's a game-time decision."

Blake's grin said something else, like, "The answer is, yes. Of course, I'm playing."

Sidelined since Jan. 11 by a rib/sternum injury, Blake's absence as the Lakers' only veteran backup to point guard Derek Fisher was dramatic. A pair of rookies, Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris, has served as Fisher's backup for the last three weeks.

Blake is averaging 7.3 points and 2.8 assists in 12 games.

Lakers coach Mike Brown said Blake "isn't Chris Paul, but for us he's a valuable piece."

The Lakers announced today they have waived power forward Derrick Caracter, reducing their roster from the maximum 15 players to 14. It's possible they could sign free agent point guard Gilbert Arenas or trade for Cleveland guard Ramon Sessions. Or perhaps there's another move to be made that will strengthen the roster.

Kobe Bryant said Monday he believed the team as constructed was strong enough to be a championship contender by season's end. He also acknowledged the team's margin for error was zero. Lakers coach Mike Brown agreed with Bryant on both counts.

The Lakers took the day off today, but will practice Wednesday in Boston.

Caracter played four games for the Lakers' developmental team, the D-Fenders, and averaged 15.5 points and 7.5 blocks. He had little chance of earning playing time with the Lakers, particularly after suffering a knee injury during training camp.

Caracter wrote on Twitter: "On to the next chapter in my Life. It's over before it begun ... But plan doesn't change ... peace Cali."

Kobe Bryant said Monday he believes the Lakers have the makings of a championship contender. A trade isn't necessary to transform them from ordinary to something special if they play to or above their potential the rest of the way.

"We can (contend)," Bryant said. "We have to play very solid, near-perfect basketball, particularly with our second unit, which we have in the past. We're capable of contending. Our margin is just not as great as some of the other teams."

Lakers coach Mike Brown agreed.

"That's Mitch's job, to continue to find ways to improve the team," Brown said, referring to Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak. "His track record speaks for itself. He's more than capable of doing that. Having said that, if we don't do anything to this team, I'm excited about this roster.

"I think this roster can contend for a championship. I do agree with what Kobe says. We're an injury away, like we are now, from having to rely on rookies to help get us through and that's a tough situation when you start talking about championships.

"But, with other guys around them (rookie guards Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris), I do feel we're capable of accomplishing that goal, yes."

The trade deadline is March 15.

Andrew Bynum was voted the starting center for the Western Conference All-Star team for the first time, joining Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, plus Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Blake Griffin and Chris Paul of the Clippers.

The game is Feb. 26 in Orlando.

"I always wanted to be an All-Star," Bynum said. "I said that six years ago. It took a long time. There was kind of some attrition there, no Yao (Ming) ... (but) for me, it feels good. At least this year, I'm kind of putting up the numbers that qualified me for it."

Indeed, Yao's retirement left the position vacant.

Bynum stated his case effectively to the voting masses by averaging 16.5 points on 54.8 percent shooting and 12.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots in 18 games going into tonight's contest against the Nuggets in Denver.

If he continues at his current pace, the 24-year-old 7-footer will set career highs for scoring and rebounding averages by season's end. His career averages of 10.8 points on 56.7 percent shooting, 7.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks are modest at best.

The names are out there, if you hunt for them. The question is whether the Lakers will actually sign and/or trade for one of them in order to bolster their roster. They could use help at the point guard and small forward positions, but will they gamble on a move?

"We've had conversations about a lot of players," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "There are a ton of players out there that we've had conversations about."

We, of course, means Brown and general manager Mitch Kupchak.

The sudden rise of rookie guard Andrew Goudelock, who has averaged 11.5 points on 50 percent shooting in the last four games, could settle the issue of depth at point guard with Derek Fisher's backup Steve Blake out a while longer with a rib/sternum injury.

Arenas and the others could be useful players, but it remains to be seen if the Lakers decide to add salary to their payroll or whether they stand pat for now. The trade deadline is March 15. Martin can't sign with an NBA team until the Chinese team he signed with during the lockout ends its season later this month.

The search continues.

The Lakers have spoken to the Cleveland Cavaliers about trading for point guard Ramon Sessions in an attempt to bolster their backcourt, according to Yahoo Sports. The website, citing unnamed sources, also reported Tuesday no deal was imminent.

Yahoo also wrote the Lakers held a workout for Morris Peterson recently.

The team also has contacted free agent Gilbert Arenas about signing.

Sessions, 25, would be a younger alternative to either Peterson or Arenas.

Coach Mike Brown acknowledged the Lakers have been looking for help.

The Lakers have been using rookies Andrew Goudelock and Darius Morris as backups to the 37-year-old Derek Fisher while Steve Blake recovers from a rib/sternum injury that's expected to sideline him for at least several more weeks.

Blake received medical clearance Tuesday to begin working out on a treadmill, the Lakers said. He also has been shooting baskets on his own. But a team spokesman stressed that there is no firm date for his return to the active roster.

The Lakers could use the $8.9 trade exception they received from the Dallas Mavericks in the Lamar Odom trade in December to acquire Sessions, who will be paid $4.3 million this season and has a player option worth $4.6 million for 2012-13.

Sessions averaged 13.3 points, 5.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds last season, his best in the NBA, but he has slumped while serving as rookie Kyrie Irving's backup and has averaged 9.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists this season.

The trade deadline is March 15.

MILWAUKEE -- Metta World Peace started Saturday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks on the bench, but Lakers coach Mike Brown indicated his days as a backup to small forward Matt Barnes could be nearing an end.

"I like him on the second unit," Brown said. "I want to give him a chance to be with that second unit. But, at the end of the day, there is a chance I would throw him in the (starting) lineup if I thought it would help our team.

"Yeah, I'm not opposed to that."

Kobe Bryant pulled Metta World Peace aside in the locker room after the Lakers scrapped and clawed and snarled their way to a 96-91 comeback victory Wednesday night over the Clippers at Staples Center.

Bryant had a message for his teammate: play just like that all the time.

The edgy World Peace re-emerged Wednesday and helped to fuel the Lakers' rally with a blend of deft passing, strong rebounding, annoying defense and one timely 3-pointer when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter.

He admitted he lost his focus last season, but is on the rebound in 2011-12.

"I got bored with defense because it was so easy to stop people over the years," he said. "I got bored with it. When you're playing with guys and stopping them every single time, what else are you going to do? It caught up to me, but this year I'm doing better.

"This year I'm almost back to where I want to be."

World Peace's tangle with Blake Griffin of the Clippers, which led to a jump ball, was a highlight-reel sensation late Wednesday and well into Thursday. Peace certainly didn't break out as the Hallway Series reached new levels of bickering.

Bryant was pleased the Lakers didn't back down.

"Everybody played with the right attitude, the right temperament," he said. "Everyone did what they do best. Metta (the former Ron Artest) was himself. He wasn't trying to be this peaceful guy. I told him he just has to be who you are and we'll surround you and Pau (Gasol), as well, and myself. ... It was good."

Of his postgame conversation with World Peace, Bryant said:

"I talked to him after the game in the locker room and said, 'That's what you need.
That's who you are. You're a nice person. You're a great guy. Everyone knows you're a great guy. But when you get in between those lines, you have to be the person that you were in Indiana, the person we brought here and play with that type of attitude.'"

Standing in one corner, wearing red, white and blue, the upstart Clippers.

Standing in the other corner, wearing gold and purple, the struggling Lakers.

Most seasons the Battle of Los Angeles has been nothing of the sort.

The Clippers and Lakers went at it like bickering neighbors Wednesday night at Staples Center, battling as if something more than just bragging rights were at stake in the second of three Hallway Series matchups this season.

It looked and sounded more like the playoffs in May or June than a regular-season game in January as the Lakers rallied for a 96-91 victory. The visiting Clippers led for most of the game in search of their second consecutive victory over the Lakers.

"It got chippy out there," coach Mike Brown said after the Lakers (11-8) ended a three-game losing streak overall with their 10th victory in 12 home games. "It was good to see our guys respond."

Kobe Bryant put the Lakers ahead for good 81-80 with a jump shot with 5 minutes, 2 seconds left in the game. He rallied the Lakers by scoring 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, and also had four rebounds and three assists in the final period.

Pau Gasol scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half and grabbed a team-leading 10 rebounds and Andrew Bynum had 19 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. Bynum's dunk with 32.8 seconds left sealed the deal, giving the Lakers a 91-87 lead.

The Lakers' two-year reign as NBA champions ended with their second-round playoff loss last May to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks. They claimed a new title Wednesday as the league's most-valuable franchise, according to Forbes.

The Lakers vaulted past the New York Knicks with a value of $900 million, a 40 percent increase over last year thanks in large part to their new television deal with Time Warner Cable. The Knicks were second in value at $780 million, a 19 percent increase.

The Chicago Bulls were third at $600 million, followed by the Mavericks ($497 million), the Boston Celtics ($482 million) and the Miami Heat ($457 million). The Clippers were 20th in the 30-team league at $324 million, up 6 percent from last year.

"I look at it as it's not a rivalry," Brown said today. "Right now, they're ahead of us in terms of what they want to be doing with their team on both ends of the floor and, so for us, we're still searching. That's the state of where we are right now.

"We're a ways away from reaching our potential or being where we want to be at the end of the season. They're more settled and focused on where they're heading. If I were them, I would be thinking I would have an edge, too."

The Clippers won the first Hallway Series game 102-94.

Furthermore, the Lakers finished 2003-04 by averaging 98.2 points, the lowest since the franchise moved to Los Angeles from Minneapolis in 1960. If they continue their 92.3 average, it would be their lowest since the shot clock was adopted in 1954-55.

The Lakers averaged 101.5 points last season en route to their fourth consecutive season with 57 victories or more. They failed to win their third straight NBA championship and Mike Brown replaced the retiring Phil Jackson as coach last May.

Adapting to Brown's changes has been difficult, especially on offense.

"Some of what we're going through is effort, some of it is energy, some of it is passion," veteran Derek Fisher said. "Those things are sometimes harder to kind of manufacture and bring out when you're thinking a lot. We're still thinking some as a team.

"We're not just playing our game and trying to be who we are. We'll figure it out, though. That's what our job is and that's what we'll do."