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In his first four seasons in the NBA playing for the Washington Wizards, Kwame Brown didn't underachieve.

Though he was the top overall pick in the 2000 draft, Brown never did possess the requisite talent to ever become a superstar.

The Wizards simply attempted to turn him into a player that he wasn't, and as result of the pressure the franchise placed upon him, the former Glynn Academy High School standout ran into problems both on the court and off the court.

On the court, Brown quarreled with his coaches and struggled to find a motivation to put effort into improving his game.

Off the court, Brown was arrested twice, once for speeding and on another occasion for driving under the influence.

With the Los Angeles Lakers, who will acquire the 6'11" forward in a sign-and-trade deal that will send Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins to Washington, Brown should be able to become the kind of player he was meant to be.

A quality role player who would rather be a follower than a leader.

In his first stint as head coach for Lakers, Phil Jackson won numerous games with A.C. Green and Samaki Walker starting at the power forward for his ball club.

With Shaq playing center, Jackson probably could've plugged in anyone at the four position and added to his career coaching victory total.

But even without him a dominant center, Jackson probably won't ask much of Brown.

He continues to live by the mantra: unto whom much is given, much is expected.

Which means, he'll likely put more pressure on Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom to play up their abilities than any of the other players on his team.

Because Brown will be playing alongside Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom, all he'll be asked to do is play his role; that being similar to that Udonis Haslem of the Miami Heat, who recently resigned to remain a teammate of Kobe's good friend, Shaq.

Among other responsibilities, he'll be asked to aggressively grab rebounds and defend power forwards like Tim Duncan without any help defense (note: Jackson loathes double-teaming post players because he believes it frees up too many open shots and lanes to the basket).

Although Brown has yet to prove that he can handle either responsibility, he did show improvement as a player in his third pro season, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game and 10.9 points per game.

Numbers that indicate he can be an impact post player for the Lakers.

Still, Brown seems to play small for his size, especially on defense.

For someone who is nearly seven feet tall, Brown's career .60 block per game average is somewhat embarrassing.

To even be considered a legit power forward, he'll need to develop some shot blocking skills.

Asking Brown to be a superstar may be asking too much, but asking him to defend the rim every once and awhile shouldn't be.

Vincent Lim resides in sunny Southern California and was formerly a sports writer for UCLA's Daily Bruin, the third largest circulating daily newspaper in Los Angeles.