Kwame in LA

[Court_vision]

I like this kid. Despite the fact he's had some really low periods since being drafted number 1, I really think he'll make it. LA just got themselves a hell of a bargain IMO.

Swingmen like Caron are easy to get...big athletic guys with some post moves and solid D...and are young...are extremely rare.

So, which Kwame will the Lakers see? The immature kid who breaks down mentally?

Or...this guy:

http://www.realgm.com/src_goaltending/54/20050712/the_book_on_kwame_brown/

From about January on during the 03-04 season, Kwame averaged something like 15 and 8. He had Arenas and Hughes on and off returning from injury and some of the other guys were doing some scoring (and a lot of shooting and missing). He played 74 games that season. In the 25 games where he got ten or more shots in a game, his averages were:

16.72 ppg, 9.16 rpg, on 53% shooting from the floor.

Think about that; averaging ten shots a game, he’s posting about 17 ppg and nearly 10 rpg while shooting more efficiently than Tim Duncan usually does. This is before he really developed a jumper as well and before the refs started to give him a little respect on his spin move and while banging with his back to the basket.

In the six games he got twelve or more shots, he averaged:

20.2 ppg, 11 rpg, on 52.8% shooting. No real drop in efficiency and he became a 20/11 player. Now obviously six games is a rather limited sample but from the way he was playing, it was clear that he had the potential to be a perennial All-Star if put in the right situation.

[Mofasa]

Re: Kwame in LA

It's clear that brown has the talent, and he will be able to get his shots in LA as the 3rd option. This could be a steal for LA.

If all kwame's problems are in his head he has come to the right place, if anyone could reach him it would be phil.

[nkhera1]

Re: Kwame in LA

How come he couldn't do that consistently then?

[Mofasa]

Re: Kwame in LA

Thats the million dollar question. we will find out soon enough.

At first I didn't like the trade but I read some quotes from Kwame and it seems like he wants to make things right>>>it's a step in the right direction for him.

And if he can give us 10/10 at the least this is a great trade, and I don't see why he cant' given that mihm had 10/7 last year.

Also playing with kobe is going to free him up (double teams) so he could do very well next year.

[Skins4Life]

Re: Kwame in LA

Thats the million dollar question. we will find out soon enough.

At first I didn't like the trade but I read some quotes from Kwame and it seems like he wants to make things right>>>it's a step in the right direction for him.

And if he can give us 10/10 at the least this is a great trade, and I don't see why he cant' given that mihm had 10/7 last year.

Also playing with kobe is going to free him up (double teams) so he could do very well next year.

You'r assuming he wakes up for practice/games....

[Mofasa]

Re: Kwame in LA

lol...just trying to be positive

[Tha_Kid]

Re: Kwame in LA

You'r assuming he wakes up for practice/games....

You've obviously been reading too much Wilbon, you can find a better source for unbiased information....

[Skins4Life]

Re: Kwame in LA

You've obviously been reading too much Wilbon, you can find a better source for unbiased information....

First of all, I was being sarcastic.

Second of all, even if you are unbiased (which I am for the most part when it comes to the Wiz) Kwame was very immature and very much..............dare I say a bust. I understand he was/is young, but I heard/saw enough on my own to formulate my own opinion....

[ShaKobe]

Re: Kwame in LA

Thats the million dollar question. we will find out soon enough.

At first I didn't like the trade but I read some quotes from Kwame and it seems like he wants to make things right>>>it's a step in the right direction for him.

And if he can give us 10/10 at the least this is a great trade, and I don't see why he cant' given that mihm had 10/7 last year.

Also playing with kobe is going to free him up (double teams) so he could do very well next year.

It's actually the $7 million dollar a year (if not more) question.

And I don't think Kwame just getting 10/10 would qualify this as a great trade. We are giving up:

Caron
15.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.43 spg, .3 bpg
Chucky
13.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.4 apg, 0.89 spg, .02 bpg

For a total of
29.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 6.3 apg, 2.32 spg, .32 bpg

So, unless Kwame equals those numbers, it's not a great trade.

I dunno, I guess I'm more of a glass half empty kind of guy. I expect the worst and hope for the best.

[billmatic]

Re: Kwame in LA

And I don't think Kwame just getting 10/10 would qualify this as a great trade. We are giving up:

Caron
15.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.43 spg, .3 bpg
Chucky
13.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 4.4 apg, 0.89 spg, .02 bpg

For a total of
29.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 6.3 apg, 2.32 spg, .32 bpg

So, unless Kwame equals those numbers, it's not a great trade.

that makes no sense. by that logic i guess the lakers got the better of the shaq trade?

Caron
15.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.43 spg, .3 bpg
Lamar
15.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 0.66 spg, 1.02 bpg
Brian Grant
3.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.5apg, 0.33 spg, 0.33 bpg

Shaq
22.9ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.49 spg, 2.34 bpg

[XBox_Roughneck]

Re: Kwame in LA

that makes no sense. by that logic i guess the lakers got the better of the shaq trade?

Caron
15.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.43 spg, .3 bpg
Lamar
15.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 0.66 spg, 1.02 bpg
Brian Grant
3.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.5apg, 0.33 spg, 0.33 bpg

Shaq
22.9ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.49 spg, 2.34 bpg

I don't think anyone should judge this trade prior to the first 10-20 games of the regular season. If the Lakers are winning more than they are losing, regardless of what Kwame is doing, the trade will have been a good one for all Laker fans.

[ShaKobe]

Re: Kwame in LA

that makes no sense. by that logic i guess the lakers got the better of the shaq trade?

Caron
15.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.43 spg, .3 bpg
Lamar
15.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 3.7 apg, 0.66 spg, 1.02 bpg
Brian Grant
3.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.5apg, 0.33 spg, 0.33 bpg

Shaq
22.9ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.49 spg, 2.34 bpg

True, I'm not really making that much sense, but I was just pointing out that a 10/10 output by Kwame would not be a great trade. Shaq had a lot of intangibles going for him as well. He commanded double and triple teams, which I don't think Kwame will do. That's all I was pointing out.

It will remain to be seen if the trade is good or not. It will be at least a full season, if not more, to determine that.

[Mofasa]

Re: Kwame in LA

Thats for his first year...but for some wierd reason i think he will do better than that.
Don't ask me why lol.

But kwame's real worth is that he balances the team. With Caron, kobe and lamar we had too many 'similar' players...

Now we could put lamar at the 3 and we have a another big body down low. Trust me that alone is worth alot, and i think was the main reasoning behind the trade along with the fact that kwame could have a breakout year, with a change of scenery and attitude.

[Mofasa]

Re: Kwame in LA

As was widely expected, coach Phil Jackson reportedly had a phone conversation with Michael Jordan about Brown a few days before the Lakers and Wizards concluded their agreement. When Jordan was playing in a Wizards uniform, he tried to berate Brown into growing up, but it didn’t work. Instead, Brown withdrew and sulked.

But obviously Jackson heard enough positives from Jordan about Brown’s potential to endorse the transaction. The Lakers also introduced Brown to general manager Mitch Kupchak, himself once a power forward with Washington, as well as Magic Johnson and owner Jerry Buss, and Brown supposedly came away impressed by everyone’s level of interest in him. Even though Brown himself probably wouldn’t describe it in these words, for him this is the Michael Jordan of fresh starts.

It will help, too, that he’ll have the benefit of the doubt when it comes to playing time. The Lakers need him at power forward because they don’t have one. And he can flourish here. Kobe Bryant at shooting guard and Lamar Odom at small forward will be offensive options Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, so there probably won’t be much demand for Kwame to get his touches. The Lakers could use rebounding and defense from Brown primarily, and if they can get nightly double doubles out of him, they will have pulled off an excellent deal.

Like all sports, the whole game is confidence. If Brown is nurtured along, if he’s led to believe that he’s believed in, and if his fragile young ego develops a thick and impenetrable layer of armor as a Laker, then this is one of the biggest steals since Brinks. But if he crumbles at the first indication of dissatisfaction by Jackson, Bryant or the fans, there may be no saving him.

LINK

A neutral view of the trade.

[HardwoodHeisman]

Re: Kwame in LA

I'm sorry but I'm not buying it just yet. I haven't heard a good thing about this kid since he got into the league, now since he's been traded to the Lakers I'm supposed to believe he can have a breakout year?

There are too many questions that haven't been answered about him, and the main one is how is he going to deal with the pressure? If Shaquille was still in town, Kwame would be nice because he wouldn't have to deal with being as big of a contributor as he'll have to be now for us to be successful. And if he doesn't perform, he's going to take a beating by the media that I'm not so sure he can handle.

This would be a different story if his time in Washington was actually put to use and he made most of his weak areas strengths. He has a lot of room for development that hasn't yet been filled, so my expectations for him will not be that high.

But if he crumbles at the first indication of dissatisfaction by Jackson, Bryant or the fans, there may be no saving him.

This is what I'm worried about.