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Kwame Brown’s Fourth Lease on NBA Life Might Be His Last One

July 31, 2008

Will Kwame Brown bring the 'fro back to Detroit?The Detroit Pistons and GM Joe Dumars have a long history of turning reclamation projects into success stories, but recent free-agent acquisition Kwame Brown might present the biggest challenge yet to the team’s voodoo magic.

Brown, indeed, had better hope he discovers the magical fountain of invigoration that has worked wonders on players like Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Rasheed Wallace in recent years. This could very well be his last chance to not only collect a hefty NBA paycheck—he’ll make $8 million over the next two seasons, with the last being a player option—but to eradicate his name from the top of the all-time NBA draft busts list.

As the story goes, the 6-11 high-schooler Kwame Brown was taken first overall in the 2001 NBA Draft by then-Washington Wizards team president Michael Jordan with the expectations of becoming the franchise cornerstone and helping bring that moribund franchise back into the light of NBA success.

Kwame Brown Photo Credit: Icon SMI

It didn’t exactly work out. Kwame became more famous for his small, stone hands and stubby arms than for low-post dominance. He averaged just 4.5 points and 3.5 boards during his rookie season, succumbed to the pressures of being Jordan’s first hand-picked draftee, and was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in ’05 in a package that netted the Wiz current All-Star and ETB favorite Caron Butler. So, yeah… at least Washington was able to turn a dismal failure into a resounding success. Better late than never, right?

Brown spent a few years wallowing in sub-mediocrity for the Lake Show before being traded as part of The Great Pau Gasol Swindle last year with Memphis. To date, he has never played in all 82 regular-season games in any of seven seasons, and his best year came in 2003-04 when he averaged 10.9 points, 7.4 boards, and 49% FG. At 6-11, he has a career per-game average of 0.7 blocks. In other words, he’s a defensive force in the paint the likes of which is rarely seen.

More on Kwame Brown and how he might fit in with the Pistons after the break…

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3 CommentsPosted by Brian Spencer on Jul. 31, 2008 at 12:38pm in NBA

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