Purge Brown, re-sign Hughes
By Tom Knott
July 4, 2005


Kwame Brown is waiting on the new beginning of July 22, the start of the change-of-scenery period in the NBA.
His name is being dropped in a number of NBA cities, a good sign, desperate though it is.
Brown is of no consequence after four NBA seasons, other than a 7-foot frame.
He raised the white flag on his coach and team in the first round of the playoffs in May, mostly because he was peeved with his limited playing time. His snit showed a distinct lack of character, which, like height, is not something that can be taught.
The desperate, starting with Isiah Thomas and the Knicks, ignore the elementary in the hope that a fresh start has the power to generate a spine.
If Brown thought it was tough in the milquetoast media circles of the District -- and he was convinced of his martyrdom -- he could be expected to readjust the assessment after spending a season with the fire-breathing tabloids and talk-show blowhards of Manhattan.
Ernie Grunfeld, the personnel guru of the Wizards, is playing the game as well as can be expected. He is threatening to keep Brown just so the interested parties know he will not be pried from the franchise on the cheap.
That is the good news. The bad news is Grunfeld may have to make good on the threat.
Brown, alas, has nowhere to go on Fun Street, as Eddie Jordan knows only too well.
Brown lost the support of the team's faithful last season, and he is not the sort to win it back, judging from his decision to curl up in the fetal position in the postseason.
Brown was serenaded to a throaty chorus of boos late in the season, and it only would be worse after he quit on the team during what was an unexpected high point for a franchise accustomed to calculating its chances in the draft lottery.
Besides the purging of Brown, Grunfeld and the Wizards have the re-signing of Larry Hughes to complete.

The obvious response to this article is what can we expect from Kwame if this is what he gave the Wizards. I think what we'll get is a new energy from him in the beginning and then a return to old negative habits over time. I think that this signing would therefore be a mistake for team chemistry and success going forward.
NO to Kwame Brown please.

Posted by PhilinLA:

i think Zeke thinks he's jermaine o'neal 2.

I don't really get that. O'Neal had great players ahead of him in Portland and never played. Kwame has shown what he can do, getting major minutes and I'm not impressed.

We shouldn't waste our time on this guy for all the reasons laid out in the article. Besides, Isiah has famously said, "your money is guaranteed but your minutes ain't".
I don't think Kwame can thrive in this time of environment. Imagine if he quits on his teammates here. The media would me unmerciful and we would 7 ft white elephant.

I would take him, but not for Sweetney.

Posted by Rich:

I would take him, but not for Sweetney.

I'd reluctantly trade Sweetney for him because I haven't seen much to suggest Sweetney has the potential plus work ethic to be more than a solid 6th man.

Most Newyorkers are dumb...Jermaine Oneal was always a baller,,,go back and analyze his earlier games with Portland,,,in the minutes that he played, he showed power, style, and fire...In 5 years, Kwame has showed neither, that is given the fact that he was featured as the man to be. Get your head out of your ***es, Kwame is a bumb..I would give Curry, Chandler a many other big youngins a chance before considering Kwame. Our team need a defensive minded big man, not a soft jump shooter with no heart like Kwame.

Posted by gunsnewing:

Posted by diderotn:

Most Newyorkers are dumb...Jermaine Oneal was always a baller,,,go back and analyze his earlier games with Portland,,,in the minutes that he played, he showed power, style, and fire...In 5 years, Kwame has showed neither, that is given the fact that he was featured as the man to be. Get your head out of your ***es, Kwame is a bumb..I would give Curry, Chandler a many other big youngins a chance before considering Kwame. Our team need a defensive minded big man, not a soft jump shooter with no heart like Kwame.

he showed enough to drop 30 & 19 & 23 & 15 as he steadily improved the year before last. Then he worked out like crazy in the offseason only to get injured for the year and never get in the mix. Now he's 23 & healthy and ready to breakout!

I haven't seen anything in the media regarding the Knicks meeting with Kwame or his agent. Is that a good or bad sign. I wonder if Ernie Grunfeld will try and stick it to his former employer the Knicks or even deal with the Knicks at all.

Posted by Knicksfan:

Either Kwame becomes the star he was expected to be or he keeps becoming a bust. Trading for him is a real risk that given the resurrection we are trying to create here, would be great if it worked out or would kill our "momentum". The risk of trading Sweets is that unlike Kwame, he has really shown improvement in his two seasons and he could definitely become a good starter for us when he gets into game shape (and thats not a hard thing to do). If we end up trading Sweets and another PF for him, we better get a 07 first round pick...

You didn't mentioned the risk of keeping Sweetney and giving him a new contract next year. This is a guy who now has been given every opportunity to take the starting PF job and claim it. What I find most troubling is the recent report that he refused summer league, and has put on considerable weight since the end of the KNicks' season (probably reason why he couldn't practice). Has he worked on his passing game (he was turnover prone when he was doubled team), his rebounding numbers dropped per his minutes played. It really concerns me that he can't get into shape for what should be his contract year.

Posted by BigC:

I think it is worth the risk. Is he J Oneal? No! He does not have to be.

I couldn't have said it better. Forget about Jermaine O'Neal. If Kwame can play solid defense, rebound, block and alter shots, command double teams in the post, that's good enough. Maybe he might put up 16/9/2 with a strong presence on defense when he reaches his prime.

I find these anti-Kwame articles from DC interesting. They bash him, but then go and say that they want to keep him as an asset. I think about the performace Brown displayed, that gunsnewing mentioned, at the end of the 2004 season. WHAT IF he had not injured himself going into the 04-05 season?? I suspect there is a good chance he may have had a strong season.

Every person responds to situations differently. There isn't a formula for one's performance under every potential condition. THis applies to anything, not just sports. A change of scene does not GUARANTEE improvement, but it has proven to be a deciding factor before. Ask Chauncy Billups, anther suppossed BUST who had a change of scenery and is now a very good player. There are also the Vin Baker's of the world as well, but I'll take my chances on someone who's only 23 years old.

Some players like other people in the world take longer to mature than others. These harsh judgements that we keep seeing from DC writers sound bitter and disappointed over his inability to meet their expectations. I don't think the Knicks and their fans would expect him to become an All-Star. It COULD happen, but if he became a servicable big man, that would be acceptable.

The tough-love approach that the Wiz have given him since MJ and Collins 'mentored' him does not always work, nor does fierce compeitition for playing time, as Kwame has experienced since being in DC. Brown may have not had super-stars before him, but there were plenty of players that Eddie Jordan appears to have liked more that were competing for the same position as Kwame.

Maybe Brown will never become what was expected of him, but depending upon the price, he would be a good addition to a team like us who is still lacking in size. If it required giving the store away, I'd probably say no, but the Wiz obviously want to rid of him, meaning they are desperate to see him go, so we shouldn't go too crazy trying to get him, but if the price is right, I'd go for it.

[Edited by - PresIke on 07/05/2005 22:29:08]