Both Brown and Jordan said the incident was a misunderstanding and that they have moved on. "That's in the past," Jordan said. From the backlash that followed, Brown realized that he will never be able to bury his past indiscretions, such as when he cursed Collins during a game in Phoenix in 2003.
"I think that dark cloud will always be there," Brown said. "As soon as something even resembles Kwame Brown rebelling, then everybody is attacking you. 'Oh, he's doing exactly what he always does.' That's going to be with me wherever I go. You only get one first impression. And the first impression of me has been what Doug Collins has said, what M.J. has said. And most people who know me, know that I'm easy to get along with -- until you make me mad."
Forward Kwame Brown has been hit by injuries and a one-game suspension during this, his fourth season.
(John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)
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Two games after the suspension, Brown had his most inspired effort, scoring a season-high 16 points in Miami, but he began to drag after that. Although his surgically repaired right pinky toe was healed, Brown had complications with the side of his foot. Brown looked his worst during a road loss in Phoenix, grimacing as he ran the floor. Three nights later in Sacramento, frustrated with his injury and his lack of involvement in the offense, Brown lamented that he felt like a "chicken with its head cut off."
"He was trying to work through it; and give him some credit for being a professional athlete," Jordan said. "That's what all good ones do. They try to play through the pain. It got to a point where he just couldn't do it."
After straining a tendon in his right ankle against Charlotte, Brown was sidelined for four games before the Wizards hosted Seattle on TNT on Jan. 6. Brown was told only to dress, but when the Sonics started a mini-comeback as Fortson controlled the middle with sharp elbows and booming hips, Jordan called on Brown to push around his weight. "At that point, I was at my strongest," Brown said. "I didn't have any problem doing that."
Brown heard the fans boo as he entered the game in the fourth quarter. "When they did that, they kind of picked me up. To like, 'Wow. I've got to show them.' " In five minutes, Brown forced a turnover against Fortson and knocked Sonics point guard Luke Ridnour silly with a pick that sprung Arenas free for a three-point play. When Brown left the court, order was re-established for the Wizards and he was cheered. Some fans even stood to applaud.
Brown wouldn't play for another seven weeks. During that time, he rehabbed in the swimming pool and the weight room, slimming down to 265. He often joked about being traded before the deadline passed, but Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld said that he had no intention of moving Brown. Grunfeld received several inquiries, but he is unwilling to give up on the 7-footer, who turned 23 earlier this month.
"We think he has a nice upside," Grunfeld said. "I think he can be part of the nucleus we're trying to build here. He can be part of that foundation. He gets along with his teammates. If he would've shown the same improvement this year as he did last year, I think we all would've been very happy. But unfortunately, he had the injury and I'm sure it was a bump in the road for him."
Grunfeld tried to relieve Brown from the pressures of carrying the team when he traded for Jamison, who has blossomed into an all-star in his seventh season. The grind of playing power forward recently pushed Jamison to the injured list because of right knee tendinitis, but with the Wizards relying on all-stars Arenas and Hughes in Jamison's absence, Grunfeld said Brown's role hasn't changed for the rest of the season.
"Any time you're a number one pick, there is additional pressure that comes with that -- especially when you're the first high school player to go number one. But now, I don't think it's a pressure-filled situation for him," Grunfeld said. "There is no pressure for him to carry a team. If he plays hard, plays with good energy and does what we want him to do -- which is to rebound, defend, run the floor and do whatever the coaches want him to do to help us win, I think everything will be fine."
The Wizards have informed Brown's agent, Arn Tellem, that they plan to match any offer sheet Brown signs in the offseason. Although Brown likely won't command a maximum extension from any team -- league sources believe he won't get much more than the Wizards offered before the season -- he will get considerable interest in the free agent market, given the dearth of skilled big men in the league.
"There are two sides," one Eastern Conference general manager said. "You have a side that doesn't think much, then you have another side that thinks he can be a player. . . . Somebody is going to take a chance on him. He's going to get paid."
The jury is apparently still out for TNT analyst Charles Barkley.
"Right now, you don't have any idea what they've got in Kwame," he said. Reminded that Brown is still young, Barkley responded: "That don't mean anything. That don't mean he's going to get better. He's had a chance. He's got three years already? I don't think anybody has any idea right now what kind of player he's going to be."
Whatever he becomes, Brown said he intends on developing in Washington.
"I don't know anywhere else and now that we're starting to win, there is no excuse to want to leave. It's a good situation," he said. "I was thrown into a fire and they've been very patient with me. They got a number one draft pick -- the first one ever [out of high school] and they expected a lot out of me. It was a different situation with Michael here. But now that he's gone, and everybody in that regime is gone, it's time for me to just come in and play."
The Wizards (36-28) are still trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 1997, and Brown is confident that he can make a significant contribution for the remainder of the season. He has started six games this season, averaging 8.8 points and 9.2 rebounds in those contests, and he expects to return to the starting lineup tonight in Denver after missing the past two games because of the flu. Brown had season highs of 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Bobcats on March 5, posting up Emeka Okafor and Primoz Brezec and getting to the basket with limited resistance. He displayed with a confidence that hasn't been seen since last season.
"It's all part of a big puzzle that's going to help later. We're going to be a team to be reckoned with," Brown said.
What is Brown going to do? The question remains, but Brown feels that the Seattle game will eventually serve as a metaphor for his career: jeered on the way in, cheered on the way out.
"I know the best is yet to come," Brown said. "You don't go through this much and then it gets worse."
