Kupchak seems unlikely to deal

AUBURN HILLS, MICH. —  The trade deadline moves closer every day. Will the Lakers pass or play?

With Kwame Brown out at least another four weeks and Chris Mihm a remote possibility to return by the end of the regular season, the Lakers continue to be wafer-thin in the frontcourt, perhaps more so than any other team in the league.

They have until the Feb. 22 deadline to add a player, be it a big man or, perhaps, a veteran point guard. Or they could stick with what they’ve got.

“I don’t think that we would tinker with the team, make a move like bring in a player where it’s something that would take weeks to teach him the offense,” General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “I don’t think that would improve us as a team. I would rather see us get healthy. But it is the time of year where the rumor mill will pick up, and I’ll certainly be on the phone looking for ways to improve.”

The Lakers haven’t made a deadline deal since acquiring Glen Rice from Charlotte in 1999.

On the surface, their hand might be forced because of Wednesday’s news that Brown would be sidelined even longer because of his sprained left ankle. Not necessarily, Kupchak said.

“Let’s assume he comes back sometime in early March,” Kupchak said. “If he can play March and April, that’s almost a month and a half, then we’re OK. Let’s just assume he was out for the season, then as a GM, you have to look at what you can do. What are the chances you can find a center that can play 25 or 30 minutes a game at this time of year in the NBA?”

Coach Phil Jackson didn’t seem entirely bullish on a trade.

“We could always use another big guy, but you look at our division leaders, except for Houston, there really isn’t any team that you can match up with and say you have to have a big guy,” Jackson said. “Everybody’s playing with small men.

“We’ve been playing without [Brown] so long we forgot what it was like when he was playing,” Jackson said. “It was literally last year. We miss the idea of Kwame, but we don’t miss him.”

TONIGHT

at Toronto, 4 PST, (5:30, Channel 9)

Site -- Air Canada Centre.

Radio -- 570; 1330.

Records -- Lakers 30-20; Raptors 26-23.

Record vs. Raptors -- 1-0.

Update -- The Raptors have won nine of their last 11 games. Kobe Bryant had 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in the Lakers’ 107-100 victory over the Raptors in November.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com