I can’t believe Kwame Brown was once the #1 pick.

[O's are Legends]

‘You’re going to be open again, Kwame, because Rasheed is just totally ignoring you.’ He said, ‘Well, if I’m open don’t throw it to me.’ I was like, ‘Huh?’ He said, ‘Don’t throw it to me.’ I said, ‘Why not?’ He said, well, ‘I’m nervous. If I catch it and they foul me, I won’t make the free throws.’ I said, ‘Hell no!’

Kobe talks about Kwame. WaPost. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wizards-insider/post/kobe-bryant-has-a-kwame-brown-story/2011/10/07/gIQAgsdnSL_blog.html)

Now that’s 3 things I’ll remember about Kwame, the other 2 being the cake throwing incident and the time he was decked out in Portland Trailblazers gear while he was a rookie with the Wizards.

[backwardsk]

I can't believe one team traded Caron butler for him and then another traded pau gasol for him. Worst number 1 overall?

[The Epic]

I still remember the Stephen A. Smith rant on him, which, to this day, is one of my all-time favorite rants. Dude was pissed at him, and I have no clue as to why.

[Bluerocksfan]

Him and the Kandi Man, which proved the Kandi man Can't.

[Frobby]

There was a long article about Kwame after his rookie season in the Washington Post magazine. He used to wear a different suit every day, and then just ball it up and throw it in a pile in a corner of his apartment. Then his agent/manager had to come by and take the suits to the cleaners because Kwame didn't know how to do that for himself. What an incredibly immature young man he way. How Michael Jordan and the Wizards didn't pick up on that before drafting him is beyond me.

[Nigel Tufnel]

There was a long article about Kwame after his rookie season in the Washington Post magazine. He used to wear a different suit every day, and then just ball it up and throw it in a pile in a corner of his apartment. Then his agent/manager had to come by and take the suits to the cleaners because Kwame didn't know how to do that for himself. What an incredibly immature young man he way. How Michael Jordan and the Wizards didn't pick up on that before drafting him is beyond me.

I remember that article. I think there was also something in there about how the Wizards couldn't figure out why Brown couldn't get into shape, and then later found out he'd eaten every meal for 6 months at Popeye's, because it was the only place he know how to go to.

EDIT: Found the link. A really good read - Sally Jenkins is great.


On a road trip to Boston, the Wizards took him to an elegant French restaurant. Brown was not just shocked, but outraged, to discover that the restaurant did not serve French dressing. "Can you believe that?" he says. "No French dressing. In a French restaurant."

Then there was the matter of the salad itself. "It was tree roots," he says disgustedly. "Leaves. And branches."

For weeks afterward, Brown took a bottle of store-bought French dressing with him whenever he went out to dinner.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/28/AR2006112800709.html

[Can_of_corn]

Kwame is the perfect example of why a great player is not going to necessarily make a good General Manager.

[The Rick]

I remember that article. I think there was also something in there about how the Wizards couldn't figure out why Brown couldn't get into shape, and then later found out he'd eaten every meal for 6 months at Popeye's, because it was the only place he know how to go to.

EDIT: Found the link. A really good read - Sally Jenkins is great.




http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/28/AR2006112800709.html

LMFAO... I don't know why exactly, but this literally made me laugh out loud. Ridiculous, and hilarious.

[Frobby]

Thanks for the link. Here's the part I recalled:


Lopez knew Brown had a closet full of new suits -- he had helped hang them there. "Kwame," he explained, "you have to take those suits to the dry cleaners." That was fine, Brown said, but he didn't know how to do that, and he still didn't have anything to wear.

Lopez drove over to Brown's apartment, and found the suits in a heap by the bed. Each time Brown wore one, he would take it off, wad it up and throw it in a corner.

Lopez picked up a suit from the pile, got out the iron, and began ironing.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Yes, it's hard to believe in retrospect, and his is a cautionary tale of putting too much stock into talent and not taking maturity (or lack thereof) into consideration when drafting a player. However, you have to remember, at the time, Kwame Brown was surrounded by a ton of hype. He was an elite high school player and, in the eyes of many, a lock for future NBA stardom.

Also, it didn't hurt that the 2001 draft didn't have a ton of great players come out of it. Would the Wizards like to go back and draft Paul Gasol instead? Sure, but that's Monday Morning Quarterbacking at its finest.

[Tony-OH]

That was certainly an interesting read. As with any situation, it's always easier to criticize without understanding the human elements. She did an excellent job of humanizing the story from a lot of view points.

[Skeletor]

That was 10 years ago. It's his fault for not learning any better since.

[MikeAD]

That was certainly an interesting read. As with any situation, it's always easier to criticize without understanding the human elements. She did an excellent job of humanizing the story from a lot of view points.

I deal with a smaller version of this a lot. I grew up with literally nothing, my mom still has two jobs to this day, she sometimes had three. I started working when I was 14. My job for the past few years requires me to do things I have no idea how to do, and to be around people who spend more than I can comprehend as if it is nothing. I am extremely good at what I do, but I often have to ask about things that a lot of people think are common. Its extremely embarrassing at times. Thank god for the internet in a lot of situations. Since having many people work for me or under me in the past year, year and a half, I always make sure they know what they are doing when going into these situations. I am an extremely lucky guy.

I know sports leagues do some sort of classes and training sessions with incoming rookies on what to expect, how to act, and about the lifestle, dangers etc. Maybe this would be something Brown would be successful at in the future.

Thanks for sharing all of the articles, especially the Sally Jenkins piece, very nice.

[napbow]

In addition to the immaturity, I remember reading Kwame had very small hands for a big man. It is very difficult to catch and rebound in traffic if you are unable to palm a basketball. The truth is the wizards did a very poor job with the screening process. As much as I love Jordan, he was a below average executive.

[Remember The Alomar]

Reading this just made me feel bad for Kwame. Obviously he has his own issues and it's own fault that he didn't reach his potential (to an extent), but can you imagine what his childhood must have been like for him to have these issues?

Edit: I see MikeAD touched on this.