Trevor Ariza knows what's at stake as training camp progresses.

There's a starting job to be had and a camp controversy to be avoided.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said last week that Ariza could start this season at small forward if a starting frontline of Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum doesn't produce the desired results.

Odom, however, isn't happy with the prospect of coming off the bench and has been vocal about his displeasure. Ariza has stayed out of the fray so far.

"I'm here to play basketball," he said. "I'm not worried about who's starting and who's coming off the bench."

Ariza, who said he has not talked to Jackson about the starting spot, simply is hoping to contribute after an injury-plagued year last season.

Ariza, acquired last November in a trade with Orlando, averaged 18 minutes a game last season. He missed the better part of four months because of a fractured foot.

"It was a frustrating season for me. A lot of injuries," Ariza said. "I was traded to a new team (so)

I had to learn an offense all over again.

"It was hard at first because I didn't understand the terminology, but once I started to catch on, learn what's going on, I started to pick up the offense."

In 24 games last season with the Lakers, Ariza averaged 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and showed off defensive skills that caught the coaching staff's eye. That, along with a dedicated offseason program and a right foot he described as "100 percent healthy," Ariza has impressed Jackson enough to consider him over Odom.

"I don't think anybody's going to consider him a threat," Jackson said of Ariza's jump shot. "I think he has an adequate jump shot to keep people honest. I'm impressed with his ability to make the jump shot.

"However, that's not the strength to his game. His game is going to be getting out there and being a slash-to-the-rim guy."

Ariza's offseason was busy, not only in the gym and on the court, but at home with his 6-month-old son, Tajh.

His son is named after his brother, who died in 1996 when he fell off a balcony 32 stories up.

When he was young, Ariza's dad, Kenny McClary, traveled the world playing basketball in places such as Australia, the Philippines, Turkey and Venezuela. It was while Trevor, then 11, and his mother were watching Kenny play in a game in Caracas, that Tajh, a curious 5-year-old, ventured onto the balcony on the lower level of a two-bedroom suite and fell.

"I think about him every day. I don't think you ever really get over losing a sibling, especially when you are with that person every day," said Ariza, whose neck and arms bear tattoos with his brother's name.

The memory of his brother also has inspired Ariza to work with children's charities. He is active in several Lakers Youth Foundation initiatives, such as Read to Achieve and A Season of Giving.

While in Orlando, he routinely visited with kids at Florida's Children's Hospital during the holidays and distributed toys to underprivileged children and their families.