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Dave
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Post subject: Kwame Brown Asked to Play His Role
 Posted: Oct 03, 2008 - 05:34 PM CST
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t was getting late at Pistons media day Monday, and it was time for power forward Rasheed Wallace to speak.
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As the cameras and tape recorders gathered around, Wallace was asked about the team's free-agent acquisition, Kwame Brown.
Wallace, who has befriended players around the league, said he had offered advice to Brown when Brown played for the Wizards, Lakers and Grizzlies.
And here's what the veteran big man had to say to the young pup:
"I've told him this throughout his career, that I think he's more of a player who needs to be coming into the mix as opposed to being the main cake, if you get what I'm saying," Wallace said.
We get it.
When the Pistons signed Brown, 26, to a two-year, $8-million contract this summer, it wasn't exactly the move Pistons fans had in mind when president Joe Dumars said he was open to doing whatever it takes to get the team back to the NBA Finals.
Brown, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft, has to be considered a bust at this juncture of his career after struggling through seven seasons filled with highs, lows and injuries.
But the thinking is that Brown, a 6-11 athletic center with strength and quickness, will thrive in an environment where he is just an ingredient -- not the cake.
"We're not asking Kwame to be our main scorer," Wallace said. "We're not saying Kwame is going to get 15, 20 touches a game with him averaging 20.
"We just want him to play."
And after three days of training camp, it appears Brown has taken to the Pistons organization. He arrived for workouts in August, and observers say he has impressed with a willingness to work.
Brown, meanwhile, has been impressed with the Pistons.
"The professionalism is different," Brown said Thursday. "They're not playing just to win games, they're trying to win the Eastern Conference finals and then win a championship.
"There's a whole different expectation level. There's a whole different environment. It's not that guys are cocky -- we know what we're about. We know we're going to win as long as we buy into the system."
During the first few days, Brown has shown that he will be a factor as he is in a competition with forwards Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell for a possible starting spot.
"He's a presence inside and has a real good feel for the game defensively," coach Michael Curry said. "Offensively, the only problem he has is when he rushes. We've been working on him in those areas, and we will continue to let him be a presence for us on the inside and continue to rebound the ball and defend."
And if he takes care of those areas, he will do just fine. But Brown is quick to point out that there's an intense spotlight on a franchise that has appeared in the past six Eastern Conference finals and aspires to be the last team standing in June.
While it's not the pressure of being the No. 1 pick, there is still pressure.
"This organization puts pressure on itself because it wants to win championships," he said. "They don't come in here and say they want to win a lot of games. There's still a lot of pressure, but we have guys around where there's not one guy taking all the pressure -- there's not two guys taking it. All of us as a whole are going to be blamed if we don't meet the expectations of where we're supposed to get to."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... 30392/1048 |
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