Was Kwame Brown ever a consensus number 1 pick?

[I<3NBA]

or did MJ just picked him out of his ass?

[Velocirap31]

I wonder how long it took until the Wizard's FO realized they'd made a terrible mistake. Probably the first practice.

[RedBlackAttack]

Yes, he and Tyson Chandler were generally considered the top 2 prospects in the 2001 draft. Some people liked Eddy Curry, too.


Here is a little window into the discussion at the time... A July 16, 2001 Sports Illustrated article about Brown's workout with the Wizards:


Wiz Kid
In 19-year-old Kwame Brown, Wizards boss Michael Jordan may have drafted a player Whose competitive fire rivals his own

In his day, Michael Jordan lived for vengeance, whether the affront to him was real or imagined. So, too, does 19-year-old Kwame Brown, who was certain he was not the Washington Wizards' first choice—"a scrub" is how he thought they viewed him—as they considered their options for the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. When Brown arrived in Washington 12 days before the draft for his second meeting with team president Jordan and his staff, no one was at the airport to meet him. The driver who finally showed up wasn't sure where he was supposed to deliver Brown, and when Brown reached his hotel, he was told there was no reservation for him. It turned out that his last name had been misspelled. "How can you not get that right?" Brown says.

The slipups, however, didn't bring out the worst in Brown; he's not the type to be petulant. No, Brown used the Wizards' apparent indifference to build some Jordanesque animosity toward his chief rival in the draft, 7-foot high school star Tyson Chandler. When Brown arrived at Washington's practice facility, he ran into Chandler, who let him know that he'd been meeting with Jordan's people for two days. Kwame-come-lately was then told to wait on the sideline as the Wizards put Chandler through an individual workout. "It was like they were coaching him—'Come on, Tyson!'—like he was their player already," says Brown. With a shrug he adds, "So then I went out and killed him. Killed him."

If Jordan was looking for a competitor reminiscent of himself, he saw glimpses of one that June day as the 6'11", 250-pound Brown repeatedly lowered his thick shoulders and dismantled the 235-pound Chandler one-on-one. When the Wizards said they had seen enough, Brown walked over to Jordan, his hero, and vowed, "If you draft me first, I'll never disappoint you." Before turning away, the teenager offered a prediction for a one-on-one showdown in the not-so-distant future: "And I'll beat you."

The Wizards, who on June 27 made Brown the first high school player to be chosen No. 1, maintain that he was wrong to think they had their hearts set on Chandler. Nonetheless, assistant general manager Rod Higgins likes hearing that Brown reacted to the perceived slight as Jordan would have. "If that's the competitive nature Kwame has," Higgins says, "then he's off to a good start."

Growing up in the shrimping town of Brunswick, Ga. (pop. 16,433), Brown would watch Jordan on TV whenever he could, learning from his example and drawing strength from whatever similarities to His Airness he found. His competitiveness and poise may change the perceptions of those opposed to high school players leapfrogging college and going directly to the NBA. Though Brown declared for the draft the night before his senior prom at Glynn Academy, he appears to be as centered, mature and reasonable as any draftee this side of Shane Battier.

Brown turns stereotypes on their heads, beginning with the one about young men in households where the father is absent: His circumstances actually improved significantly when his father left. Kwame was six or seven years old when the police came to his Charleston, S.C., home and arrested Willie James Brown on a criminal charge that Kwame cannot recall. What he does remember is that it was the last time they saw each other. Kwame's mother, Joyce Brown, who has said she was beaten by her husband, soon moved with her eight children out of Charleston, eventually ending up in her hometown of Brunswick. In 1990 Willie was sentenced to life without parole for murdering his 22-year-old girlfriend with an ax handle and burying her in a shallow grave along a suburban Charleston road.

"He's pretty much dead to me," Kwame says of his 59-year-old father. He has heard that Willie would like to renew their relationship, now that his son is guaranteed more than $9.9 million over the next three years. While the Reverend John Williams, Kwame's pastor, predicts that Kwame will someday visit Evans Correctional Institution in Bennettsville, S.C., and confront his father, it is not high on his list of priorities. "He used to beat all of us," says Kwame, the second youngest of the eight children. "He would tell us, 'I gave my life to the devil.' We couldn't say anything about God, about church—nothing. He would pick up whatever he could find and beat you or spank you. The next day he would come home from work with a gift for you. I don't know why. I guess that was how he would try to buy your friendship."

The relief the family felt when Willie was arrested was tempered by the realities of life without the regular paycheck he earned as a truck driver. Joyce did the best she could by finding work as a maid at the Brunswick Days Inn. While raising her children, she suffered from high blood pressure, lost a kidney to disease and eventually went on disability with a bad back. After living hand-to-mouth for so many years, Kwame has a hard time imagining himself wasting money, no matter how much he is paid. "Invest it right and don't spend money on all those stupid little chains everybody wears, and you'll be all right," he says.

Yet as recently as three years ago, admits the apparently levelheaded Brown, he was following the path of his father. "I could be in prison right now," he says. "I grew up around a bunch of violent people, and if anybody did something wrong to me, I would hit the person. The payback for anything was physical abuse."

One symptom of Brown's lack of direction was his poor performance in school, which led him to Williams during his sophomore year. The associate director of The Gathering Place, a ministry for teenagers in Brunswick, Williams filled the role of the father Brown never had. "He was just a lazy guy," says the 37-year-old Williams, who impressed on Brown the need to hit the books. Brown made honor roll in his last four semesters and qualified to play for Florida, whose scholarship offer he accepted last summer before deciding to enter the draft. Brown also joined the church, sang in the choir and two years ago was baptized by Williams. Mr. John, as Brown refers to him, even cuts his hair.



In the last of his four years as a starter at Glynn, Brown averaged 20.1 points, 13-3 rebounds and 5.8 blocked shots. Beyond his physical skills, he impressed NBA scouts by demonstrating a good rapport with his less gifted teammates. Brown says he never realized he might be the best high school player in the country until last summer, when he began to meet the bigger national names. Against fellow lottery selections Chandler (the No. 2 pick), Eddy Curry (No. 4) and DeSagana Diop (No. 8), he more than held his own.

Unlike most other high school draft choices of recent years, Brown has the muscle to play inside as a rookie, and his strength will increase as he begins lifting weights regularly for the first time. He didn't fill out until this year—"I wasn't 200 pounds until I was a junior," he says—by which point he was already a deft ball handler with a reliable midrange jumper. "Everybody in the NBA has to have a great jump shot," he says. "If I develop mine more, I could even play some small forward."

Again, he uses Jordan as his model, noting that he perfected the turnaround shot that made him unstoppable. "What Mike did, he found out what his weaknesses were, and he kept working on them until he didn't have any," Brown says. "That's what I need to do."

Jordan has already invited his new protege to his estate in suburban Chicago for 10 days of well-heeled boot camp in August. "The guy took probably the biggest risk of his life, picking a high school player Number 1," Brown says. "I'm conscious that if I screw up, I'm messing with Michael's reputation. I know he's going to work me to death."

When they sat together during a press conference in Washington after the draft, Brown playfully repeated his vow to beat his boss. "That is a dream," responded Jordan. This is a relationship unlike any Jordan has experienced in basketball. After spending a career making sure he was the preeminent player in the game, Jordan now finds it in his own best interests to make Kwame Brown the league's best. Little did young Kwame imagine, as he was watching his idol on TV all those years ago, that he would be the one chosen by Jordan to extend his legacy.

Says Williams, who knows a bit about the big picture, "I really don't think it's an accident it's turned out this way."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1022963/index.htm

[MisterAmazing]

In 19-year-old Kwame Brown, Wizards boss Michael Jordan may have drafted a player Whose competitive fire rivals his own


:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

[WeGetRing2012]

:lol :lol

That article is just awful. Kinda like what Cuban was saying on Sportsnation :lol :lol

[Force]

Reports at the per draft work outs said Kwame was killing chandler and curry. Seriously he was the best of the 3 at that moment....and then it all changed

[StateOfMind12]

As much as I love and respect what MJ did to the Bulls. He was pretty much a cancer to the Wizards when he came back from retirement.

http://i.imgur.com/xVQ1W.jpg

[Tenchi Ryu]

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm
I swear to god I stopped reading and laughed so hard at the same spot

[BuffaloBill]

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm


Air Kwame

[rawimpact]

As much as I love and respect what MJ did to the Bulls. He was pretty much a cancer to the Wizards when he came back from retirement.

http://i.imgur.com/xVQ1W.jpg

he's been a cancer to every team he's touched post-bulls.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm
This. LMFAO.

[NewYorkNoPicks]

Does anyone think Kwame COULD HAVE BEEN GOOD? Was it simply his confidence that was crushed leaving him mentally damaged? Or did he never really have the ability? He always looked so raw and awkward to me, especially nervous on offense too.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

Does anyone think Kwame COULD HAVE BEEN GOOD? Was it simply his confidence that was crushed leaving him mentally damaged? Or did he never really have the ability? He always look so raw and awkward to me, especially nervous on offense too.
No, I don't think so. His hands are too small.

[Cali Syndicate]

As much as I love and respect what MJ did to the Bulls. He was pretty much a cancer to the Wizards when he came back from retirement.

Took a 16-63 team from a season to a playoff contending team prior to injuries. Wizards dropped 12 games the season following his retirement.

Jordan was an asshole, but a cancer? Naw, not really.

[9512]

No, I don't think so. His hands are too small.

And that's the consensus excuse I hear from his haters and fans alike (if he has any?)...

But Ben Wallace had small hands too.That didn't stop him from becoming a force in his own right right.

[Collie]

Kinda amusing reading that article today.

[9512]

Took a 16-63 team from a season to a playoff contending team prior to injuries. Wizards dropped 12 games the season following his retirement.

Jordan was an asshole, but a cancer? Naw, not really.

he was a cancer to players' self esteem and confidence. It wasn't just Kwame. Just ask Bill Cartwright, Horace grant, Stacy King, Will Perdue, etc...

[RoundMoundOfReb]

And that's the consensus excuse I hear from his haters and fans alike (if he has any?)...

But Ben Wallace had small hands too.That didn't stop him from becoming a force in his own right right.

Wallace is a defensive force though. Kwame himself is not a bad defender (obviously not on Wallace's level)

[sacredcow]

Worst draft class ever.

[LamarOdom]

Worst draft class ever.

No not really, it did have some great players like Gasol, Z-Bo, Gilbert Arenas, Tony Parker, Chandler, Joe Johnson, Wallace also some good in Battier, J-Rich and Okur.

They year before and after was much much worse and I would say the 00 is one of the worst ever with only three all stars.

[9erempiree]

Took a 16-63 team from a season to a playoff contending team prior to injuries. Wizards dropped 12 games the season following his retirement.

Jordan was an asshole, but a cancer? Naw, not really.

Yes, but you must realize that when MJ came back to play he had to relinquish his title as GM.

Therefore, somebody besides MJ was starting to bring in free agents to build around the team with MJ now.

Yes, he was a cancer every team he touched. It wasn't MJ's play that made the team better from previous year, it was the additions that dramatically helped the team out.

[sacredcow]

No not really, it did have some great players like Gasol, Z-Bo, Gilbert Arenas, Tony Parker, Chandler, Joe Johnson, Wallace also some good in Battier, J-Rich and Okur.

They year before and after was much much worse and I would say the 00 is one of the worst ever with only three all stars.

Ah yeah that was an enormous brain fart on my part getting the draft classes mixed up. A lot of those classes seemed to get lumped together for me sometimes.

[I LUV KOBE]

During that time Kwame was a legit number 1 pick but instead Jordan destroyed him and turn him into scrub.. If only he played with Kobe during his rookie year and so on, he could have been easily the next KG..

[Owl]

Jordan certainly didn't help, but it is clear that he wasn't worthy of a pick that high even if everything had gone right for him.

He did do okay (not amazing but solid) for a 21 year old in his 3rd year, or year 11 A.J. (After Jordan). 10.9 points and 7.4 boards in 30 minutes (and I'd imagine his D was reasonably solid as it has been one of his few calling cards since then). Since then his level has ranged between adequate back-up (most of the time) and why is he still even in the league.

[Wavy Crockett]

:oldlol:

Jordan is a dick. I didn't believe Chamillionaire at first but I guess it's true.

[AngelEyes]

he was a cancer to players' self esteem and confidence. It wasn't just Kwame. Just ask Bill Cartwright, Horace grant, Stacy King, Will Perdue, etc...

Just ask the players who he led to championships and helped make rich? Ask those players?

[AngelEyes]

For anyone that was actually around and watching basketball at the time they'll know the hype that Brown was receiving and he was definitely the consensus #1 pick. It's not like this was a particularly strong draft and there were a lot of proven commodities. No body knew how good Gasol would be, he was a foreign project, as most of them are. Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler were both High School projects and neither one was very good in the beginning. It's revisionist history to go back and pin the drafting of Brown entirely on Jordan. It was a bad pick and he should have done better research into his game and character but he was most definitely a highly touted High School player and the consensus #1 pick.

[Da KO King]

Michael Jordan being a horrible person and not understanding what running a team or developing players requires is what ruined Kwame Brown.

People like to pretend Jordan was/is a godsend to young players when in reality he is a curse. There is a reason that no young player Jordan has every worked with directly on a continual basis has reached their potential.

[Kews1]

i wonder if Kwame knew that he was about to troll the **** out of the whole NBA by being the biggest draft scrub ever?

He must of known that he was actually pretty ****ing shit at basketball :lol

[Rake2204]

Does anyone think Kwame COULD HAVE BEEN GOOD? Was it simply his confidence that was crushed leaving him mentally damaged? Or did he never really have the ability? He always looked so raw and awkward to me, especially nervous on offense too.
Back then I had no real doubts he'd be good. 2001 was the first year a high schooler was drafted first overall and at that point, it was still understood that it'd take a few years for the really young guys to develop into star-ready NBA players. For instance, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Jermaine O'Neal, and Tracy McGrady all had to bide their time before they discovered how to fully function in the NBA. I didn't think it'd be any different with Kwame Brown.

I actually thought Kwame was on his way up just his 2nd year in. We started to see some big blocks and athletic looking dunks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSDcfbuqfo4#t=0m51s). Further, he seemed a little more confident. I thought it was just going to continue onward and upward.

[Poetry]

If only he played with Kobe during his rookie year and so on, he could have been easily the next KG..

Everything you say makes me laugh :oldlol:

[SilkkTheShocker]

Kwame was definitely the consensus #1. Chandler had a lot of fans, but Kwame was thought to be a more capable offensive player. Teams also weren't sure what Chandler's actual position was. Curry was a distant 3rd, but he was up there. The man was virtually unguardable in the paint. Gasol was a relative unknown, but he started picking up steam like crazy a month or so about the draft.

[SilkkTheShocker]

I wonder how long it took until the Wizard's FO realized they'd made a terrible mistake. Probably the first practice.

I don't think they were ever totally sold on him. Didn't Jordan try to trade the #1 pick for Elton Brand?

[Toizumi]

I don't think they were ever totally sold on him. Didn't Jordan try to trade the #1 pick for Elton Brand?

Don

[Rake2204]

[QUOTE=Toizumi]He really disappointed in his first few years, but even after he was traded to LA, I expected him to have break out year at some point. He was in a crappy situation in Washington and I hoped the trade would do him well. He had some good games from time to time and I thought the talent was there.
A lot of LAL fans were really positive towards the trade as well, expecting Kwame to become a double double guy and having the benefit of playing with Kobe. Of course there were a lot of doubters already. In LA it became evident that he just isn

[raprap]

:lol that article made my day.

[BoutPractice]

The sad thing is that Darko actually had all the makings of a great player. They just forgot to check if he had a brain.
Kwame, on the other hand, has always had horrible hands. Not just small hands (you can be great at catching the ball with small hands, Anthony Davis would be a great example), horrible hands.

[Toizumi]

That paragraph kind of reminds me of my feelings on Darko Milicic. I kept waiting for him to break out and time after time, I'd think he was just about there, only it'd never actually happen. Toward the end of the regular season, it seemed Larry Brown would let Darko out of his cage and he'd put up just solid enough numbers to make some of us believe (a 16pt (7-11), 5reb, 3blk performance in the 2nd to last game of '05). Alas, our belief would be misguided.

I had the same with Darko. I was a big fan of those Pistons teams, since Sheed was my dude.
Darko received a lot of hype after he was drafted (on the cover of SLAM with the rest of the Pistons and all) and Larry Brown is hard on rookies, so I figured they were molding him into a solid player in training before he

[Rake2204]

[QUOTE=Toizumi]I had the same with Darko. I was a big fan of those Pistons teams, since Sheed was my dude.
Darko received a lot of hype after he was drafted (on the cover of SLAM with the rest of the Pistons and all) and Larry Brown is hard on rookies, so I figured they were molding him into a solid player in training before he

[BoutPractice]

I definitely always thought the failure of Darko had more to do with his mental side than it did his ability or potential.
Why, this is a perfectly sane young man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woWqSmichOo

[Toizumi]

Yep, your thoughts pretty much echo my own. I definitely always thought the failure of Darko had more to do with his mental side than it did his ability or potential. I think it was a 17 year old kid receiving millions of dollars and thinking he deserved more playing time than he received, leading to a bitter and detached unwillingness to perform and improve. Also, I still have that SLAM.

Which one doesn't fit:

Also:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-81P6HlWkdUM/TgkYJ_rg7vI/AAAAAAAAABs/YYIsRIm5sM4/s1600/kidd.jpg

Got me there :cheers:

[Punpun]

In 19-year-old Kwame Brown, Wizards boss Michael Jordan may have drafted a player Whose competitive fire rivals his own

MJ was in for a disappointment. :yaohappy:

[GOBB]

I don't remember him being the csensus #1 pick. Weak draft for a consensus

[Droid101]

He had a 30pt 15rb game. There was promise.

He just didn't ever get better.

[GOBB]

Kwame Brown wasn't even the top high school player. He literally came out of nowhere with draft talk after McDonald's All American game. Refresh my memory with links a lit him being the top pick. I render MJ being torn with Eddie Griffin, Rodney white and Kwame Brown.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Kwame Brown wasn't even the top high school player. He literally came out of nowhere with draft talk after McDonald's All American game. Refresh my memory with links a lit him being the top pick. I render MJ being torn with Eddie Griffin, Rodney white and Kwame Brown.
Eddie Griffin probably goes #1 if he wasn't such a headcase. He tons of baggage and he was a cancer at Seton Hall. His stock took a beating leading into the draft.

[Rake2204]

Some short Kwame Brown high school clips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_r4xz8NKq0

As an aside, Tyson Chandler was a hilariously awesome high school player to watch (his clips were also in the above link). He was massive and powerful (as skinny as he was) and he seemed to derive a singular joy from beating down layup attempts and dunking as hard as humanly possible.

And then there was this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwb29elC34I

[Punpun]

Chandler panned out pretty well. It's not so much that the C position is weak but that there are a ****loads of average C who are pretty good all thing considered. Only 2 or 3 are elite tho.

[RRR3]

Why, this is a perfectly sane young man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woWqSmichOo
:biggums:

[Raz]

While I don't thin kKwame could have been a hall of famer or a consistent all-star - I do think he could have been a 10 year starter and made a few all-star games.

I have a soft spot for guys that everyone hates on, Brown, Milicic, Rubio etc. So I tend to try tune into their games when I can.
There are quite a few games I remember vividly from Kwame's first 3 seasons:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200210310WAS.html
^Kwame tore us a new ass in that game. That was probably the most disappointing Celtics game I have ever seen. I didn't have much idea about advanced stats at the time, interesting to see Jared Jefferies having a +50 +/-

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200403170WAS.html
^Kwame was killing Chris Webber (he was gimpy though). This was Kwame's best professional game, and it helped showcase what was missing from his development. Kwame had been teamed with ball-hog alpha dogs. Gilbert Arenas took 29 shots in this game to score 27 points. Jordan was a 40 year old leading the team in shot attempts.

I think if Kwame had been put in a situation to succeed with a coaching staff and an actual system on offense, rather than hero ball, he could have developed during those first 3 years in the league. Washington basically gave up on Kwame in his 4th season as a 21/ 22 year old. Ultimately, I think that Washington failed Kwame. They failed to develop him, they failed to give him a platform to succeed. Kwmae is at fault, too. After Washington his confidence was shot, and he stopped trying to expand on his game, instead focusing on what he could do well. There is no reason why Kwame Brown could not have had a career similar to Kevin Willis in terms of production and accolades.

[Raz]

Eddie Griffin probably goes #1 if he wasn't such a headcase. He tons of baggage and he was a cancer at Seton Hall. His stock took a beating leading into the draft.

Dead right (no pun intended).

Griffin was seen as the complete package - with exception to his head.

[chocolatethunder]

No, I don't think so. His hands are too small.
That's just stupid. You listen to espn too much. His hands are too small and Shaq's are too big to shoot free throws. Why do people believe this bullshit? Yes he has small hands, yes Shaq has large hands. Neither of those attributes are the reason one is good or bad at anything. Kwame's hands don't prevent him from knowing how to move without the ball or or have a post game. That's stupid.

[Raz]

That's just stupid. You listen to espn too much. His hands are too small and Shaq's are too big to shoot free throws. Why do people believe this bullshit? Yes he has small hands, yes Shaq has large hands. Neither of those attributes are the reason one is good or bad at anything. Kwame's hands don't prevent him from knowing how to move without the ball or or have a post game. That's stupid.

If it were true, Jordan would be a horrible shooter as well. His hands are huge, but he had no problem.

[rufuspaul]

http://i.imgur.com/xVQ1W.jpg


I think my middle school coach said those exact same words to me once. :oldlol:

[Pointguard]

He wasn't the consensus at all. It was thought to be one of the best big men drafts ever. Both Curry (he already had a post game) and Chandler (gets after it on defense) had more reputation than Kwame did. Even Diop was considered a very good prospect in the class of the big four. Pau was considered very skilled and tougher than the European brand before. Jason Collins was considered a steady guy that would be around for a long time. And Memet Okur a steal at that late pick. Dalembert was considered a project. Outside of those guys I only remember some talk about Richard Jefferson being an all around, smart and skilled small forward.

I still don't know of a draft that had as many big men still in the league 10 years later or had as many center's that started like this draft had.

[Pointguard]

I think my middle school coach said those exact same words to me once. :oldlol:
The irony of your name looking like Rupaul makes this a bit funnier than intended.

[Metroid]

I think my middle school coach said those exact same words to me once. :oldlol:

This was my coach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQIjC88vOjc&feature=player_detailpage#t=65s

[Rake2204]

He wasn't the consensus at all. It was thought to be one of the best big men drafts ever. Both Curry (he already had a post game) and Chandler (gets after it on defense) had more reputation than Kwame did. Even Diop was considered a very good prospect in the class of the big four. Pau was considered very skilled and tougher than the European brand before. Jason Collins was considered a steady guy that would be around for a long time. And Memet Okur a steal at that late pick. Dalembert was considered a project. Outside of those guys I only remember some talk about Richard Jefferson being an all around, smart and skilled small forward.

I still don't know of a draft that had as many big men still in the league 10 years later or had as many center's that started like this draft had.
I forgot Memo was a part of that draft. The Pistons had two years where they were supposed to have skilled foreign big men coming over, right in the heart of the European NBA uprise. The first player we brought over ended up being less than I expected (Zeljko Rebraca). I could tell Memo was going to be a different breed from the start though, for the very first play I remember watching him make was a step back three pointer. Zelly was never doing that.

[GOBB]

He wasn't the consensus at all. It was thought to be one of the best big men drafts ever. Both Curry (he already had a post game) and Chandler (gets after it on defense) had more reputation than Kwame did. Even Diop was considered a very good prospect in the class of the big four. Pau was considered very skilled and tougher than the European brand before. Jason Collins was considered a steady guy that would be around for a long time. And Memet Okur a steal at that late pick. Dalembert was considered a project. Outside of those guys I only remember some talk about Richard Jefferson being an all around, smart and skilled small forward.

I still don't know of a draft that had as many big men still in the league 10 years later or had as many center's that started like this draft had.

Yeah I swear Kwame story was him coming into the mix late.

[nickrinaldi88]

Kwame Brown: "If you draft me, you'll never regret it"

[Pointguard]

Yeah I swear Kwame story was him coming into the mix late.
Yeah, Chandler and Curry had a longer history of HS success and were talked about a bit more. Though Kwame did look more athletic than they did and he had more bounce, but both Curry and Chandler knew where their strengths were and you knew they had confidence - and all of this stood out in the interviews and playing clips. And you could tell Chandler was more determined than the others.

[PP34Deuce]

i remember hearin scouts rave about him. he had an nba body and was very athletic. not many 18 year olds are legit6 10 and 250. eddy had weight fluc problems and tyson was real skinny.

[IGotACoolStory]

There was no consensus that year. I even saw Eddie Griffin #1 on some draft boards and that guy went 7th.

Outside of Gasol, every pick would have been terrible. Guys like Z-bo, Johnson, and Parker would have been massive reaches at the #1 slot. No GM would have done that.


So that leaves you with who? Kwame? Chandler? Griffin? Curry? They all aren't worthy of a top pick.

[DaHeezy]

I rememebr watching the draft and up until the announcement thinking it was either Eddie Curry or Tyslon Chandler. I've heard of Kwame but didn't think he'd go top 5 even. It was a shock to me.
All I kept thinking it was a move in where Jordan could pad his ego by having a pick out of nowhere and credit himself for being a draft genius

[Soundwave]

He was the consensus no.1 that year as I remember it.

The hype was that he was the next Kevin Garnett (ie: athletic big from high school) but with more of a power game.

Obviously that never panned out.

If a little trash talk from Michael Jordan destroys your career, lets be honest, you were way too mentally fragile for the NBA to begin with. Jordan/Pippen gave it to Toni Kukoc pretty good too, but he dealt with it fine.

The NBA is a man's game, if you're going to cry about some trash talk and let it impact your career that much ... you're not cut out to play in the league in the first place. That Jordan "rant" wasn't much different from what many college kids go through getting ripped by their coach in practice.

[LJJ]

Kwame, Eddy Curry and Chandler all would have been huge busts at nr 1.

Turrible draft class.

[Mach_3]

As much as I love and respect what MJ did to the Bulls. He was pretty much a cancer to the Wizards when he came back from retirement.

http://i.imgur.com/xVQ1W.jpg

I hope Kwame didn't just let another man completely disrespect him like that.

[Rake2204]

Yeah I swear Kwame story was him coming into the mix late.I do not remember well, but you seem to be correct. I watched the 2001 NBA Draft Lottery today, which took place on May 20, 2001, one month and seven days prior to the NBA Draft. And I know fan votes often aren't the most reliable or intelligent forms of communication and knowledge, but of the 23,322 people who voted on NBA.com as to who should be the #1 pick in that year's draft (before it was known the Wizards would have pick one), here's how it broke down:

Who Will Be Selected #1?

Shane Battier: 68%
Eddie Griffin: 14%
Eddy Curry: 12%
Kwame Brown: 6%

[9512]

As much as I love and respect what MJ did to the Bulls. He was pretty much a cancer to the Wizards when he came back from retirement.

http://i.imgur.com/xVQ1W.jpg

He was pretty much the same with the Bulls. It's just that with wizards he didn't win titles anymore. Just ask stacy king, will perdue, bill Cartwright, Toni kukoc, Horace Grant, and even pippen of his mental abuse of his teammates.

It seems like Kwame was the most affected by MJ And he developed this learned helplessness thanks to him. I think had MJ approached him differently, we would've seen a different Kwame. Not necessarily some future HoFer but a decent player who potentially could be a Borderline All Star. If Tyson Chandler can do it, then kwame could've done it in a league with fewer good big men.

And all of this BS with his small hands and bad feet and what ever else Stephen A Smith said about him the day after the Pau to Lakers trade. That's false. Ben Wallace had small hands but he was still effective in spite of them. From personally watching kwame, all I saw was some player lost and paralyzed by abuse. He looked tentative, fragile, and it was like MJ was hovering on his shoulder ready to unleash his "faqqot" abusive rant.

As the article said, he was beaten by his father and when he experienced that MJ "fQqot" rant, it was like his father again but this time the mental was destroyed.

But hey MJ's the greatest he can do no wrong...

[alexd]

[QUOTE=Toizumi]I had the same with Darko. I was a big fan of those Pistons teams, since Sheed was my dude.
Darko received a lot of hype after he was drafted (on the cover of SLAM with the rest of the Pistons and all) and Larry Brown is hard on rookies, so I figured they were molding him into a solid player in training before he

[Nick Young]

People should post that ESPN the magazine Darko hype article just for the LULZ

[kNicKz]

People should post that ESPN the magazine Darko hype article just for the LULZ

http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/4eb418c269beddf175000029-590/darko-milicic-bombed-after-being-taken-ahead-of-carmelo-anthony-in-2003.jpg

:roll:

[Lebron23]

Curry and Chandler were the consensus no.1 pick back then. Jordan and Collins thought Kwame had the potential of becoming the next Jermaine O'neal. Young Jermaine won the Most Improved Player, and he put some solid numbers in the playoffs

[esmile]

2001 NBA Draft Day :


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hUoEujG7ek

[jayfan]

Terrible draft.


.

[pandiani17]

Eddie Griffin probably goes #1 if he wasn't such a headcase. He tons of baggage and he was a cancer at Seton Hall. His stock took a beating leading into the draft.

This is the correct answer. Griffin was being projected as a number 1 pick in the 2001 before he went to Seton Hall. Although he had a suberb year statistically (10 rebounds and 4 block or something like that) he had a couple of fights with his teammates that gave him a bad reputation and that's why he slode into number 7 to New Jersey, and then was traded to Houston for three draft pick (Richard Jefferson included). After Eddie's stock plummeted, it became a thing of High-Schoolers, and correct me if I'm wrong but Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler competed for that No.1 spot the day before the draft in front of the Wizards executives. Kwame came on top and the rest is history. By the way, RIP Eddie, I always liked his game and he seemed a shy, humble, good guy with a troubled soul.