NBA / Aug 4, 2008 / 3:27 pm
Kwame Brown Signs With Detroit
ESPN is reporting that the Pistons have officially signed free agent big man Kwame Brown for a deal that is worth $4 million next season with an option for a second season.
This adds some more depth and size to the Pistons front court, but not much else. We can see him getting outplayed badly in camp by guys like Jason Maxiell and then never seeing the light of day in games. They’ll probably say goodbye to free agents Theo Ratliff and Walter Herrmann, but with Max, ‘Sheed and Amir “The Future” Johnson in front of him, Kwame sightings will be few and far between.
And how about the Grizzlies? They basically traded Pau Gasol for Kwame and Javaris Crittendon and they only get Kwame for part of a season …
August 4th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
CHEE says:
its unbeleivable a chump like brown can get 4mil/yr deal and hard working guys who actually contribute like delonte west cant get fair deal.
size is not everything.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
miamiVIS3 says:
Ummmm according to NBA.com they already resigned Hermann so I guess you’re wrong on that one.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Kudabeen says:
I think Kwame will see more time than expected. Sheed has been on the down sloop and Kwame will get major minutes at the 5 (major in the sense that he can guard that position better then anyone else on the team, including ’sheed).
I can see him getting 15 mins in the 5 man rotation and more against the bigger physical teams. I seem to be the only one that likes Kwame’s tools. Coaching and confidence are the issue. He still has a chance and now a great opportunity to be around guys that will left him up…
It will help if I can find an interview or start getting feed back in camp as to how determined he is to turn his career around…We’ll see
August 4th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Xavier says:
So Marc Gasol is not even worth mentioning? Spanish League MVP and holds the record for most weekly MVP’s, tied with Sabonis. If you think that guy has no value, specially when most would have considered him a lottery pick on this years draft, is because you’re not paying enough attention.
Nevermind also freeing the salary cap, for the Grizz this is a much better trade than what the Nuggets, Suns and maybe even the Mavericks did.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Homeless J says:
I’d rather have Theo Ratliff and his knees that are made out of mashed potatoes and superglue and held together by rubberbands than Kwame Brown. they go from Darko to Kwame, now they just need to get Olowokandi and they can complete the circle.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
doc says:
I think Kwame might grab a lot of boards this year.Sheed gonna school him and make him a better player.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
that's whats up says:
this is the second week in a row this story has been in the news and it still doesn’t sound any better
August 4th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Kudabeen says:
Can’t underestimate the impact of playing against/with guys who get it in at your position. We will find out really fast how serious Kwame is about Bball. Sheed, Max, Antonio… are gonna give him a close view of what an agressive/solid NBA big looks like…
August 4th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Kudabeen says:
Speaking of psychological:
Fran Friscilla (sp) made a great point about Coach K’s coaching that went under the radar. He says that Coach K should be utilizing his timeouts better, if for nothing else, to get the players use to it.
Think about in the past games where we could be up then lose a good portion of the lead…a timeout is call…then guys start feeling like they are losing or the other team has an advantage… I think he should definitely make use of his timeouts more as well emphasize the pick and roll offense a little more when bosh and boozer come in the game…
August 4th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Kudabeen says:
weird as hell…
I was in the J Kidd post and ended up here?
August 4th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
shake&bake says:
Is there 2 more opposite players at similar positions that Maxiell and Kwame. Maxiell is undersized and not that skilled, but busts his ass and gets the most out of what he has. Kwame is a beast physically and gets the absolute least out of what he has.
@Kudabeen- The issue with Kwame isn’t confidence and coaching, his issue is his attitude and lack of desire that is visible on the court. Hopefully he learns from Maxiell and even from Sheed’s passion and turns his career around.
August 4th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Celts Fan says:
@Xavier (post 4) I was gonna say the same thing. From all we hear, he should be legit, though you never hear, “This guy’s gonna be a bum,” from the scouts…
@Kudabeen: We will find out really fast how serious Kwame is about Bball.
We’ve already found that out. He’s not. Detroit got swindled. Sorry Youngfed…
August 4th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Three Stacks says:
Kwame is a good basketball player as long as he doesn’t actually have the ball in his hands for more than 2 seconds.
No one’s gonna ask him to score in Detroit. All he’s gotta do is plug up the middle, play defense, and rebound. Lucky for him, none of those things require more than 2 seconds with the ball.
Joe Dumars has been more right than wrong. You can’t compare this w/ Darko because Darko was a complete wildcard coming in. I doubt NBA execs saw him play more than once or twice before he was drafted. But with Brown, he knows what he’s gonna get, and I’m sure he was signed with tempered expectations.
If he just needs to be a big body for 15-20 minutes a game, he’ll be alright.
August 4th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Kudabeen says:
@shake&bake
Kwame learning from Max and Sheed is coaching…
A lot of times he has looked good until his first mistake, then you see him wilt. I think atmosphere will dictate his ceiling. 25 years old is not too old to learn new tricks. Like I said we will now quickly where Kwame is at mentally. Detroit will not let a soft dude contaminate their ranks.
August 4th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Coop says:
Dime wtf are you smoking? Memphis did the trade to reduce payroll not because they were getting anything good. The only reason they didnt wave Brown is because it never hurts to have a space 7 footer lying around. You think they thought ‘oh no, Kwame might leave us for nothing now?’ come seasons end? Get on it!
August 4th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Coop says:
waive*
August 4th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Tim says:
yeah if Kwame can figure out how to rebound a basketball and get it to Chauncey or Stuckey to get the offense going…I’ll be happy…
August 4th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Three Stacks says:
If they have male enhancement surgery, why can’t they have hand enlargement surgery? Wouldn’t it be pretty much the same procedure, except five times over per hand?
Kwame should get that done. He’ll be a superstar.
August 4th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
@Doc- You gotta be able to catch the ball to get boards.
Kwame Brown has the hands of a toddler.
This is sad for the D if they are expecting anything out of Kwame.
Why does Joe D have such a great rep anyway?
Coulda had Melo, Bosh or D-Wade and took Darko. He may have a ring but should have 3 or 4 by now.
August 4th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
daquest?on says:
@ celts fan and Xavier on draft day everyone was saying how marc gasol sucked and that pau was way better..by everyone i mean the basketball analysts on television
August 4th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
fatty says:
A parody my friend wrote up when Kwame was with the lakes
Los Angeles, CA * Kwame Brown, beloved sport figure, has passed away. Discovered this morning by lead janitor Hector Valenzuela, Brown was found tangled within a web of utility rope where a pile of bricks, obviously placed as booby trap of sorts and likely leftovers from his layup drill earlier, fell from approximately 10 feet directly onto his fragile cranium. The coup de grace, it seems like, was a series of vicious snake bites to the gonadrian section by the deadly black mamba.
It left a mark that looked eerily like the number 24.
There are no suspects at this time. LA county sheriffs have ruled this a freak accident and no further investigation will be made to unravel this fatality.
Emotions of Browns clumsy demise are mixed. Kobe Bryant, star guard of The Los Angeles Lakers had this to say: “Kwame’s presence in the inside will be sorely missed. This morning, at practice, we had to use a card-board cut out of Muggsy Bogues as our center. Though he did have more rebounds, blocks and steals in the middle than Kwame usually does, it took him a while to figure out the triangle and didn’t have the same fluidity on his shots. This is a huge loss to the organization.”
Phil Jackson, on the other hand, likes the void. “This morning’s practice was very productive. Usually, we have to break for a couple minutes for Kwame to catch his wind and you’ve seen his hands…Muggsy’s cutout has more stamina and surprisingly, better speed. Though he’s (Muggsy cut-out) getting shoved constantly by muscular athletes, he only falls over about a quarter of the time that Kwame does.”
On a positive note, all of Kwame’s clothes have been donated to a local woman’s shelter “Pink Roses for Independent Women”. Since Kwame’s entire wardrobe consists of pinks, rouges and lots of magenta, these fabrics can all be rewoven into smaller skirts and dresses.
Cassandra Sanders, the shelter’s spokesperson told us that Kwame had “a gorgeous sense of style, simply fabulous!”
Brown is survived by 3 lobsters (Tito, Tyrone and Titus) who taught him all his ball-handling skills.
August 4th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
GEE...1 word says:
ridiculous
August 4th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
AB_40 says:
if het can’t resurect his career in detroit. He’ll be a role player the rest of his career.
August 4th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Timmy D says:
How can so many people still not get that the whole reason the Grizzlies did the Gasol trade to LA was to get the biggest expiring contract they could find. Do you really think they wanted Kwame Brown, they wanted his expiring 9 million dollar contract. Pau is getting 17 million a year the next three years and that put the Grizzlies in such a hole they had to find a way to clear up some space and that space was Kwame Brown
August 4th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Coop says:
exactly ^
Mox, that’s pretty narrow minded; Dumars brought together a load of disparate parts and got a ring out of them. He controlled payroll throughout and made good draft decisions except one. And that was bad but he’s not the only GM to go high for a big man project.
August 4th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Ding Dong We Got Big Snacks says:
Detroit fans, please welcome the “impact” player that Joe D has been promising.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
AY says:
why can’t the reignman get a look for the vet min? How does anyone justify giving kwame 4mil for NEXT year? you give him a look to see if he develops, but you don’t give him a look for 4mil. Geez, doesn’t shawn’s 13 kids need to eat also? Show some mercy.
August 4th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Luigi says:
if Kwame can play like he did in Washington. [few good games. big man in the mid. score a few times [30 pts 16 reb. vs Sac.] in 2002.
man but if kwame can play as good as that game. he’ll be the next castoff to superstar for Joe D.
but he cant n probly hes gonna use that signing. to bring highway robbery to some team. [Kwame 4 Caron =] n Kwame 4 Pau] even though it was for salary cap space.
August 4th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Everybody says Memphis GAVE Pau away..
Kwame Brown – GOOD backup Center (sucks for a #1 pick but at least hes still in the league.. Olowokani anyone?) plus loads of cap space
Javaris Crittenton – Could be a GOOD starting 1-2 in a good 2-3 years. Good jump shot and makes good decisions (better than Vujacic) and i was honestly sad to see him go..
Marc Gasol – i was bummed when we drafted him but after i looked him up it turns out dude is a Euro Stud.. He has ptotential and hes heavier (probably tougher) than Gasol..
The only reason everyone is crying is because it made us an instant contender.. Get over it.. Honestly if Kwame slows down (stop rushing his drop step which seemingly disorients him lol) and doesnt THINK about catching the ball he could do something, maybe 10 PPG?? and we already know he can board and play D.. And what does Detroit really want?? I BET detroit got him solely for guarding KG and keeping Rasheed from the torture chamber.. cuz Rasheed getting smashed on didnt help his whiny face at all..
August 4th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
weezy f says:
man the ballers network is DEAD here in nor cal come on people sign up!
August 5th, 2008 at 12:34 am
jz_smoove says:
kwame brown will/has hopefully grown up at 25 yrs old. nothin like joe D to polish up old garbage into gold.
August 5th, 2008 at 3:56 am
Coop says:
He doesnt polish garbage he polished talented guys with issues into gold (Bills, Sheed, Hamilton)
August 5th, 2008 at 4:10 am
Luigi says:
Billups was a castoff b4 he got 2 Detroit. and Rip was legit in washington…BEFORE STUPID MANAGEMENT TRADES HIM AWAY FOR J-STACK! [atleast we get Jamison later on]
Sheed was ballin n his ego was too big in Blazermania. so yeah.
Mcdyess was an all-star. then injuries made him a castoff n now hes producin. hopefully it can b the same with Kwame. [Castoff to producer]
it seems detroit takes players that nobody wants. but detroit has a player we want….Juan Dixon. dudes a scorer when he gets his burn
August 5th, 2008 at 4:14 am
imung lolo upaw says:
it just bothers me how someone who can play as much as Herrmann gets a one year minimum offer from Detroit while Kwame gets 4 mill a year.. that’s just wrong.. Herrmann was nasty in Charlotte before sam vincent showed up..
August 5th, 2008 at 7:41 am
YOUNGFED says:
@34
Ditto