Kwame Brown had finally faded from the cruel limelight of first-round-bust scrutiny. After getting traded as the key joke piece in the Pau Gasol deal, Brown wound up in Detroit, hoping for a fresh start. And his first season was not a complete disaster. This season, though, he’s found himself benched because he’s failing to contribute in the one area he was supposed to have leverage: defense. From ESPN.com:
“Listen, man, I don’t want something to be flared up on what I say,” Brown told The Detroit News. “I will do what the coach says in order to get better, although that is a first because there is one thing I do bring to the table and that is defense. That’s the first time I heard that. It’s the first time a coach said I don’t play defense. But like I said, I will learn to play the defense he wants me to play.”
Brown really could wind up being a pretty solid NBA player, even as just a backup. He’s still relatively young, still healthy, and if he can put the effort out there, he can be one of those guys who you marvel is part of a contender, even if he’s not a vital component. A healthy NBA player’s career is long and winding, but you have to wonder how many chances Brown will get before the plug is pulled for the last time.