Why did Michael Jordan draft Kwame Brown?

[bail]

Discuss.

[Darsh]

you first.

[mjbulls23]

The NBA is a man's game and after watching Kwame Brown "un-man" Tyson Chandler in a one-on-one workout prior to that 2001 draft, Michael Jordan was sure that he had his man. And with the first first pick the Bullets have ever had, they picked him. No questions asked, history was being made.

"If you draft me, you'll never regret it."

-Kwame Brown to MJ

Brown came off the bench on December 4 to record the first double-double of his career against San Antonio's David Robinson and Tim Duncan, with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Wizards hoped it was the start of something. But the next day, typically, he came to practice lethargic. By now Collins had had it, and so had most of his teammates. Jordan was struggling with a bad knee and doing everything he could to help turn the team around, and here was this kid who didn't know the meaning of work.

It was Brown's worst day as an NBA player. "The most physically demanding day of my entire life," he says. Collins put the Wizards through a brutal, exhausting practice. The team was in a collective foul mood. Despite Brown's mini-breakthrough, the Wizards had lost yet again. "Everyone was arguing, people were beating each other up," Brown says. But mostly, they took it out on him.

Brown couldn't do anything right. "He couldn't catch it, couldn't throw it, couldn't shoot it right," Jones says. In a series of three-on-three drills, the Wizards banged him -- hard, intentionally. "He got pretty beat around," Jones says. Center Jahidi White knocked him to the ground -- and fell on top of him. Brown lay there, stunned and bruised.

"Get up, you aren't hurt," White said.

Brown got up, aching, holding his back. His gray practice shirt was soaked through. Nobody had any sympathy for him. Not even Popeye Jones, the veteran who'd looked out for him the most. "It's time for you to grow up," Jones told him, coldly. "Now. Today. Stand on your own two feet."

Collins, still not satisfied, ordered a set of punishing sprints. Brown hesitated. "I hurt my back," he said.

Collins wheeled. Now it was his turn. "Stop being a baby and start growing up and playing, and earning the respect of your teammates," Collins shouted. "They're tired of you. They're tired of you getting knocked down, and laying around. They're tired of you holding your back. And holding your head. And holding your thumb. You're the one who has to be in that locker room, and meet them eye to eye."

Brown stared at his feet. "Do you want to play or not?" Collins snapped. No answer.

"Get off the court," Collins said disgustedly.

He sat in front of his locker trembling and crying. This is it, he thought, the league's not for me. I'm horrible. The coach thinks I'm horrible. The whole team thinks I'm horrible. I can't even play. Then he got on a treadmill and ran as hard he could, for almost an hour.

After a while, Jordan came into the locker room. He sat on a bench with Brown, and put his arm around him, and hugged him. "You're going to be all right," he said. For several minutes, he talked to Brown in soothing tones. "Doug is tough, but in a few years you'll understand how good he is," he said. They still believed in him, Jordan affirmed. "We put our necks out for you," he said. "We think you have the ingredients to be a great power forward for a long, long time."

To Brown, it meant everything. "He showed me a side you never read about," Brown says. "The M.J. who comes over and picks you up and talks to you when you're down and out."

When Brown twisted an ankle during an exhibition game and untied his shoe on the bench, Jordan said, "Lace that thing up. I've played with ankles 45 times worse than that."

When Collins tried to set up an offense, Brown might giggle or chat with a teammate. "He starts moving while I'm trying to teach," Collins says. On the floor, he would be totally lost, have no idea what the play was. Collins would have to explain it all over again.

And, like any teenager, Brown always had an answer back.

"But . . ." he would say.

"Just listen," Collins would snap. "I don't need you to say anything back."

Nothing Brown did seemed to please Collins. The man was as spiky as his cropped hair, one minute fatherly, the next screaming with impatience, and then, finally, cold. Every practice was the occasion of a misstep. No sooner would Brown touch the ball, it seemed, than Collins would bark at him.

"Kwame, you can't play on a railroad track. You have to be able to change speed."

Brown would just stare back, seemingly uncomprehending. "Kwame, you're never in a proper position if you aren't in a position to help. You're the last line of defense." He would seem to ignore the simplest directions. Collins would say, "Watch out for the lob, watch out for the lob!" Ten seconds later, a lob would go over his head.

"I wish you would stop correcting me and just let me play," he implored Collins one day.

"Kwame, you don't know how to play," Collins said.

And there was Jordan. He wasn't the mentor that Brown had expected. With the comeback, he had his own problems, including a sore knee. He could be warm, but he could be hard, too, coolly judging, and demanding. He liked to haze the rookies in small, collegiate ways. Jordan would grab a basketball, and drop-kick it high into the stands and make them run the stairs to retrieve it.

Jordan instructed by example. He would ostentatiously arrive in the locker room early and watch tape after tape of opponents, loudly explaining tendencies to younger players. The underlying implication was, Be Like Mike. "He's been hard, he's been stern, he's been tough," Brown says.

I also heard that MJ wanted to draft Gasol but was talked out of it.....

[Aussie Dunker]

Back then Kwame looked like he would be a great player, young, level headed, lots of skill, big... any other scout probably would of drafted him first aswel... in hindsight it was probably the worst pick in history, but at the time it was a pretty good pick, kwame's roof just collapsed instantly...

[KempSonics]

Jordan strongly considered drafting Rodney White with the 1st pick as well.

[evinecz]

Because he thought Kwame would be the GOAT.

[jerky10]

Why Jordan drafted him?

Kwame was a big prospect coming out of highschool. A 19 yr. old kid that's 7 ft tall, physically well-built body, great athleticism, tremendous upside. Almost all the scouts compared him to KG in a big and strong body. The only problem was he was unproven. And he didn't leave up to the expectations given to him.

I also remembered during that time, JO started to flourish. Obviously, there's a big similarity among the two. Giant highschool phenoms that dominated highschool basketball.

Can't really blame MJ, Kwame was just not as good as anyone thought we would be.

[darabzarrabi]

Why did Jordan draft him?...because hes not a good front office guy...lets not forget he drafted Morrison last year too. I dont really get why owners think good players necessarily are going to make good management. Those skills arent linked. Kwame has been a huge bust, but I cant help but think that the butchering MJ and Collins gave him as an 18 year old just mentally turned him off to the game to the point where there is just now zero growth and he brings in his money and enjoys the other aspects of his life like the many people in the real world that hate their professions.

[blazerftc]

Honestly, reading the OP got me thinking. I know when I was 19, working for angry tyrant chefs who thought that yelling was the only way to speak to other people, it was pure hell, and frankly didn't really motivate me to do good work for them. In fact it pushed me in the exact opposite direction, which eventually got me fired. When I finally got a job where the chef was willing to take his cooks aside and personally show them not only how to do things, but also WHY it totally turned my career around. Now I'm on my way to owning a restaurant.

Some people just aren't motivated by hard-a$$es beating on them.

[BIGSHOT]

Because he's an idiot.

[AI Nuggets3]

-extremely weak draft AND most experts had Kwame going #1 or #2 anyways.

can't blame MJ really for this one.

[GOBB]

Honestly, reading the OP got me thinking. I know when I was 19, working for angry tyrant chefs who thought that yelling was the only way to speak to other people, it was pure hell, and frankly didn't really motivate me to do good work for them. In fact it pushed me in the exact opposite direction, which eventually got me fired. When I finally got a job where the chef was willing to take his cooks aside and personally show them not only how to do things, but also WHY it totally turned my career around. Now I'm on my way to owning a restaurant.

Some people just aren't motivated by hard-a$$es beating on them.

Whats your point in relation to Kwame Brown tho???

[Kebab Stall]

Whats your point in relation to Kwame Brown tho???

I think he's referring to how Jordan treated Kwame and it's similarities with how he was treated.

[Bruinlove]

Yeh, if he gets a coach who coaches him the right way, I think he can be a pretty good player, they just have to find out what the right way to coach him is. He's a smart dude with alot of tools, someone just has to get him to work hard and use them.

[GOBB]

I think he's referring to how Jordan treated Kwame and it's similarities with how he was treated.

Yeah but Kwame left MJs grasp and he still hasnt done crap. He in fact got a bit worst. So I dont see how his situation relates because he left the yelling, berating PJ Carliesmo chef and went to one that he felt comfortable with and is on his way to owning a resturant. Moral to his story? He progressed and Kwame hasnt. Unless every NBA coach = the angry chef and Kwame is forever doomed.