Kwame Brown eager to fill role with 76ers

KWAME BROWN was taken with the first overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft with the anticipation and hope that the 6-11, multitalented center could help make the Washington Wizards a prominent member of the Eastern Conference.

This edition of Kwame Brown, now 30 years old and with 11 NBA seasons tucked under his various uniforms, isn't the one that brought out fierce emotions with Wizards owner/teammate Michael Jordan. The Brown that the 76ers and coach Doug Collins brought in this summer is one the organization wants to be a premier interior defender, perhaps score some points down low and provide a much-needed physical presence in the paint. If it's possible, Collins would like fans to forget Brown was the top pick and look at him as a role player this team sorely needs.

In the past few games, though in limited minutes, Brown has provided a defensive spark in the post where the team is noticeably limited. As he gets in better shape after missing time with a calf injury, the minutes may pile up as the weight goes down.

"When Kwame came in he had gotten hurt this summer, he'd hurt some ribs. He wasn't able to do much for about 3 weeks," said Collins, Brown's first pro coach in Washington. "When you think about it he only played about nine games for Golden State, he tore that pectoral muscle and when we signed him he was 300 pounds. We talked about getting his weight down to 280 and thought he could play there, maybe in the high 270s. He comes in here and then he hurts his ribs. In training camp he was a little overweight and we were trying to monitor to keep him on the floor to get healthy and get into condition and then he pulls his calf muscle. The injuries have really held him back.

"We know what Kwame can do and that's why we signed him. As you see him working himself back in shape you can see what he can do. He helped us win three games in this homestand. We won five and he helped us win three of them. Against Utah, and then he went in and played [Marcin] Gortat [Phoenix Suns] for a few minutes the other day then [Tuesday] night against [Dallas' Chris] Kaman. When he and Thad [Young] are on the floor together defensively they are both very quick on those pick and rolls. Kwame has very quick hands, he can defend the post and he can knock the ball away from you. He holds his position and it's tough for guys to back him down and get into the paint."

And without Andrew Bynum, no one else on the team can consistently be a stopper in the paint the way Brown can, though he insists there is even more he will contribute.

"I think everybody's just trying to figure it out," Brown said Wednesday after a long workout on the antigravity treadmill. "It's hard to lay out an ideal [lineup] when you don't have all the pieces. We don't have Andrew, I've been injured a lot so I've got to show more on a consistent basis for him to have an idea of what we've got. But my teammates love when I can duck in and they can drive the ball to the basket without the big man contesting it. That's one of the things that doesn't show up on the stat sheet but it's one of the thing that's important to a team and that's what we're about, we're about a team.

"I can do a lot more. It's unfortunate that I got injured. I'm going to surprise him [Collins], just like I surprised Paul Silas in Charlotte with some of the things I can do when I'm healthy. I don't talk about it. I just go out and try to do it. I know that I've been injured, I know that he's been patient with me so hopefully I can just come out and play hard and get better."

Ideally, Brown will be a glorified thug in the lane, banging bodies, grabbing rebounds, committing hard fouls when necessary. Basically, he'd be the type of player Philadelphia fans would love, perhaps a crowd favorite if Collins would get his wish and everyone forgets Brown was the top pick way-back when.

"I just go out and do what I do," said Brown. "You just have to do a job. The way you keep a job in this league is you find out what a team needs and you excel at it and what they expect you to do, and that's what I try to do. You don't survive 12 years thinking [of failed expectations]. That's the outside world. A couple years ago I just realized that I've outlived guys who were high picks and 50th picks and they were just solid. I modeled myself after guys that have longevity. That's what I wanted to be. To be in this business you have to know your role and know what you want to do. Forget expectations, you just have to go out and do a job."