The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Free agent Michael Curry is optimistic he'll be playing in the NBA this season and has no plans to step down as president of the players' union.

The 36-year-old forward, who appeared in 70 games for the Toronto Raptors last season, has been taking part in negotiations between the union and the league on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Players association bylaws state the union president must be an active player, but there is no language defining active.

"It's not an issue," said Curry, who replaced Patrick Ewing as president of the players' union in 2001. "I'm waiting for the right situation with the right team, and I'll let it take its course.

Curry, who has played for six NBA teams over a 10-year career in which he never averaged more than 6.6 points, said he turned down offers over the summer from teams offering only a partially guaranteed salary. He would not identify them, nor would he state a preference for where he would like to play.

"I'm going to sign eventually, but I'm not eager to go to a bad team," Curry said Wednesday in a telephone interview from his home in Atlanta. "I'm a 36-year-old role player. It's not like that's a hot commodity."

During the preseason, union vice president Shaquille O'Neal, who replaced Alonzo Mourning on the union's executive council, said he supported Curry remaining in the post of union president despite not having a contract for the upcoming season.

LAKERS: For one game, the Los Angeles Lakers didn't miss Shaquille O'Neal one bit.

Chris Mihm put up close to Shaq-like numbers Tuesday, getting a career-high 23 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots in the Lakers' season-opening 89-78 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

"I thought our defense was just excellent," Rudy Tomjanovich said after his first game as the Lakers' coach. "That's what we need to be a running team."

Tomjanovich succeeded Phil Jackson, who coached the Lakers to three championships and another berth in the NBA Finals in five years.

• Nuggets shooting guard Voshon Lenard will have surgery Monday after tearing his Achilles' tendon in the opener.

A timeline for his return will be set after surgery, though he's expected to miss the rest of the season.

"It's a tough one, obviously," Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said Wednesday. "But Voshon's tough and you try to be optimistic about it."

Lenard averaged 14.2 points and shot 36 percent from 3-point range last season. He also won the 3-point shooting contest at the NBA All-Star Game.

PISTONS: Coach Larry Brown had surgery on his left hip Wednesday and is expected to be away from the team for seven to 10 days.

Assistant coach Gar Heard will run the NBA champions during Brown's absence. Heard coached the Dallas Mavericks in 1993 and the Washington Wizards in 2000. The 64-year-old Brown could return in time for Detroit's home against Minnesota on Nov. 17.

"I talked to the doctors in the operating room, and they told me that seven to 10 days is a conservative estimate," Pistons president Joe Dumars said. "It all depends on how Larry is feeling, but that's what we are looking at."

GAME NOTE: Chris Bosh had 20 points and the Toronto Raptors handed Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets their second straight loss, 95-88 on Wednesday night.