Staples Center Boos And Player Polls: Kwame Brown’s Nightmare With L.A. Lakers

Everyone has a bad day at work. The boss wants you to increase sales. Clients are unhappy. The photocopier is a nightmare and the coffee tastes like oil.

Kwame Brown’s NBA career has resembled one hellish day at the office. The boss, clients, photocopier, and coffee all rolled in one. And it’s an everyday thing.

After all, Washington was a disaster; Los Angeles isn’t working.

This week, Brown was gift wrapped another opportunity to salvage his career when Lakers’ starting center Andrew Bynum suffered an unfortunate knee injury.

With Bynum out for two months, Brown inherited the starting five-spot. Through two games, the former first overall pick is averaging just 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 4.5 turnovers.

Not great, but not terrible, either? So where’s the bad news? Well, Brown’s had an especially rough week even by his standards.

On Tuesday, CNNSI announced the results of a player survey. They asked 244 NBA players which current player gets the least out of the most talent. Brown was a runaway winner. Below are the full results from the survey.

CNNSI player poll: Which player gets the least out of the most talent?

Kwame Brown, Lakers C...... 17%
Tim Thomas, Clippers F...... 10%
Eddy Curry, Knicks C...... 7%
Vince Carter, Nets G...... 6%
Darko Milicic, Grizzlies C/F...... 5%
Tracy McGrady, Rockets G...... 4%
Darius Miles, Trail Blazers SF...... 4%
Stromile Swift, Grizzlies C/F...... 3%
J.R. Smith, Nuggets SG...... 3%
Gerald Green, Timberwolves G/F...... 2%

Getting called-out by your peers is bad. But it gets worse. Yesterday, the Staples Center faithful officially turned on Brown, showering the hulking post with more boos than Ashley Simpson at the Orange Bowl.

I’ve ragged on Brown before. However, his career can be saved. Expectations must change, though. He’ll never be a first-option on offense, but can anchor a defense with his rebounding and athleticism.

I’m thinking Ben Wallace, Tyson Chandler, or Marcus Camby. I’m definitely not thinking Dwight Howard or Yao Ming.

But Brown must accept being a blue-collar, lunchbox guy. Right now, he’s unsure of himself and looks lost when on the floor.

Andrew Bynum benefited from training with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Lakers, if they extend Brown beyond this year, should hire Horace Grant to serve as his mentor.

This would help. Without changes, Brown’s career will continue to feel like a bad day at the office.

What’s up with Kwame Brown? Get at us in the comment box below or hit us up in our fan forum. Click here to read and subscribe to Oly Sandor’s NBA blog.