Jordan drafting Kwame Brown no. 1 was a big deal

SB Nation

Babe wake up, Michael Jordan drafted Kwame Brown fist overall.   It was the first time a high schooler had ever gone number one.  What could go wrong? "Nothing!" said Wizards' president off basketball operations, Michael Jordan. (that's not a direct quote, that's an inferred-but-imagined, quote)  He was not correct.   Look, the 2000 draft was a tricky one,  with no consensus number one pick and a bunch of high schoolers. But Jordan made the wrong choice and also was really mean to that wrong choice.  He could have traded the pick, Elton Brand was available and in consideration. Jordan could have picked someone else, Pau Gasol was in the 2001 draft! But he didn't.  My point being: Michael Jordan drafting Kwame Brown first overall was a big deal.  My point is: Michael Jordan drafting Kwame Brown first overall was a big deal.

Transcript

00:00You're kidding, the Wizards got the number one draft pick?

00:04Call it unfair, spout conspiracy theories,

00:07but you must admit, us Wizards fans deserved some luck.

00:11And look at us in the summer of 2001.

00:14We had the best basketball player in time and space

00:17responsible for making the most important decision in franchise history.

00:22Alright, being a Wizards fan was about to stop being embarrassing.

00:27Right?

00:28Right?

00:30Winning the draft lottery provided Michael Jordan an opportunity

00:33to turn around a very sad franchise

00:36while repairing his reputation as an executive.

00:40Or, let's just say,

00:43Michael Jordan drafting Kwame Brown first overall was a big deal.

00:49Be sure to check out Secret Base on Patreon.

00:52We drop new stuff every week.

00:53It's always a good time,

00:55except for that one time that we don't talk about.

00:57Ah, just joking.

00:58It's always lovely.

01:00Now back to the show.

01:02At the turn of the century,

01:03Michael Jordan, retired six-time champion, best player ever,

01:07president of basketball operations for the struggling,

01:10home-fans-boo-us Wizards, had a problem.

01:14The Wizards were ruining his reputation.

01:16As an executive, nothing could touch his reputation as a player.

01:20And that became the headline.

01:21Great player, not-so-great executive.

01:25To be fair, the Wizards were a hard team to be president of.

01:29When MJ joined in January of 2000,

01:33the franchise was the ashamed owner of a 12-and-28 record

01:37and three highly-paid, underachieving, old and or disgruntled vets,

01:42some of whom were the cause for the home fan booing.

01:45Looking at you, Juwan Howard.

01:47But all three of them were the reasons the Wizards were over the salary cap,

01:51incapable of signing free agents, and facing a large luxury tax.

01:55So, rough team to sign on to.

01:58But, to continue to be fair,

02:01Michael Jordan didn't help the situation.

02:04His first move was to publicly goof up the hiring of a new coach.

02:09His next move was three non-moves,

02:12as he tried and failed to trade the Triste Trio, as I've dubbed them.

02:17The Wizards had a terrible season,

02:20but MJ's confidence was unchecked.

02:22I guess if you win six championships,

02:24you tend to believe in yourself or something.

02:27Jordan staked his reputation on the Wizards' 0-1 season,

02:30claiming they'd improve to at least 500 and be in the playoffs.

02:35But confidence and a trademark extreme competitiveness

02:38proved to maybe not be the best tools for the front office.

02:43Those tools were soon called something else.

02:46The Wizards were a laughingstock.

02:48Unless laughing at them was too mean, you don't punch down.

02:52And it wasn't just the win column.

02:54Coach Leonard Hamilton, a Jordan hire, by the way,

02:57had no NBA experience and was struggling to maintain order.

03:01The team was falling apart.

03:03Rod Strickland kept getting DUIs and skipping practices.

03:07Tyrone Nesby, a Jordan trade acquisition, by the way,

03:10blew up at the coach during a game

03:12and had to be escorted to the locker room by security.

03:15And Michael Smith was sent home early from a road trip

03:18for a similar bench freakout.

03:21Wizards players were still toting around Washington Bullets gear.

03:25Is that on Michael Jordan?

03:26Seems like he could have done something about it.

03:29If he even knew about it, Jordan was never in D.C.

03:33He was managing the team from his home in Chicago via telephone.

03:37Did he forget he said we could hold him accountable if this team was bad?

03:41Jordan was criticized right and left.

03:45Sports writers seemed to enjoy making fun of his airness.

03:49But worse than being made fun of,

03:51D.C. fans were just tired of him.

03:54He wasn't worth talking about.

03:55The nicest thing people could say about MJ's executive abilities

03:59was the jury's still out because the Wizards were so...

04:04Hey, what's a nice way to say, like, totally fucked up?

04:08Oh, there is a one.

04:11All right, I tried.

04:13But winning the draft lottery provided Jordan with an opportunity

04:17to fix his reputation to prove everyone wrong

04:19and, yeah, set the Wizards on the right path forward.

04:22That's kind of a side effect.

04:23The pick was Jordan's to make alone,

04:27and he knew the pressure was on.

04:29Now the GOAT had a new and different problem.

04:32This draft would make or break his reputation behind the desk,

04:35and it was a tricky draft.

04:38There was no consensus number one pick,

04:40and there were lots of risks and unknowns.

04:43The projected lottery picks included four high schoolers,

04:46one college freshman who was still 18,

04:48one European, and just one four-year college graduate.

04:51No one had ever picked a high schooler

04:54or a European-born player at number one.

04:57How was Michael going to prove everyone wrong and ace this pick?

05:02Well, he could bypass all the potential pitfalls with this draft class

05:06and just trade the pick for a vet.

05:08Because, extremely athletic elephant in the room,

05:12MJ had been toying with the idea of returning to play for the Wizards.

05:16And logic dictates that he'd want an established star at his aging side

05:21so they could dominate the league sooner rather than later.

05:24Elton Brand was on his mind.

05:26But a few weeks before the draft,

05:28Jordan cracked several ribs in a workout and was like,

05:31ow, I'm not doing this,

05:34giving the team less reason to trade the pick away.

05:37And while we now know he did come back,

05:39I don't think he was purposely lying.

05:41Because, one, I get it.

05:44If I broke a rib, I'd retire.

05:46And my job requires no physical movement.

05:49I'm choosing to use my hands here.

05:51And two,

05:52why would he screw over the Wizards like that?

05:56But look,

05:57whether he intended to play or not,

05:58the Wizards weren't going to trade the pick

06:00because Michael Jordan didn't want to trade the pick.

06:04His druthers were to test his executive abilities in this uncertain draft.

06:08The arrogance,

06:09the self-confidence.

06:11So, what was his plan?

06:13Jordan said he wanted a point guard.

06:16There were plenty of point guards available,

06:18who we now know were stars.

06:20But at the time,

06:22there was only one PG predicted to land in the first round

06:26and not near the first spot.

06:28Jordan didn't want a shooting guard.

06:30He wanted to build around Courtney Alexander and Richard Hamilton,

06:33who both played the two.

06:35And MJ was also a two.

06:38But we're not supposed to consider that.

06:39Right, right, right.

06:41A big man would be nice.

06:43In this era of the NBA,

06:44it was hard to advance in the playoffs without a starring post player.

06:48And in this draft,

06:49there were plenty of large people to choose from.

06:52Your eye may be drawn to Pau Gasol here.

06:54He ended up with the best career of the bunch.

06:56And Jordan did bring him in for a workout,

06:59but Gasol didn't impress enough to make his final five.

07:04A wing player did,

07:05perhaps because he was the only known quantity on the board.

07:08A lot of people wanted the Wizards to take the known quantity.

07:13Shane Battier played four years at Duke,

07:15won a championship his senior year,

07:17and was beloved for his signature ability to draw a charge.

07:21Might not work at the NBA level.

07:24He didn't have franchise player potential.

07:27And with a number one pick,

07:29you kind of want someone who's going to make waves in the league.

07:32The other four guys on Jordan's list had that potential.

07:36There was Eddie Griffin,

07:37considered by some the best talent in the draft.

07:39He had a year of college behind him,

07:41and the scouting reports compared him to Tim Duncan.

07:44Unfortunately, he had a history of fights with teammates,

07:47and maybe the Wizards were wary of adding another troublesome figure to the locker room.

07:52The remaining three guys were high schoolers,

07:55which posed a risk.

07:57When I was in high school,

07:59I ran a red light because the other kids in the car told me to.

08:02Honestly, I would have done anything.

08:05Because risks can be rewarded.

08:08These straight-to-the-NBA kids were currently making their GMs look good.

08:13And the Wizards were keenly aware of just how well one of those guys in particular was doing.

08:19The one they passed over in the 95 draft because he was a high schooler.

08:24So, let's take a look at these teens.

08:27No, not creepy.

08:28Not like that.

08:30How about Eddie Curry?

08:31He was being compared to Shaq, but with more strength and polish at this age.

08:36But weight issues and effort issues marred his scouting report.

08:41Tyson Chandler was agile at seven feet tall.

08:44But he was lanky, not a bruiser,

08:47and he didn't have the skill set to be a Garnett type.

08:50Which brings us to Kwame Brown,

08:52the eventual number one pick,

08:54the first high schooler ever picked number one,

08:57and the biggest bust in the history of the NBA.

09:00There were some warning signs Kwame wouldn't work out.

09:04His footwork wasn't great,

09:05and he'd have to learn how to play with his back to the basket.

09:09This one seems like a bright red flag.

09:12Though there were some brighter flags.

09:14The summer after his junior year,

09:16he committed to Florida and said,

09:18no way, NBA, I'm not ready.

09:21But because of his family's financial situation,

09:24he changed his mind and declared for the draft.

09:26Michael Jordan missed and or ignored the warning signs,

09:30as did most people.

09:32Because Kwame was too exciting.

09:35His scouting report glowed in every area.

09:38He was as fast as a guard and benching 340 pounds as a teenager.

09:42ESPN magazine published an article about him entitled,

09:46The Next Big Thing.

09:48And it wasn't just his physical capabilities.

09:51His character seemed solid, mature, admirable.

09:54The thinking was,

09:55he'd been through a pretty rough family situation in his 18 years.

09:59He beat the odds and was about to pull his family out of poverty.

10:03That absolutely takes maturity.

10:05As the draft grew closer,

10:07he was emerging as the favorite to go first.

10:09But the race was tight.

10:12Plenty of mock drafts had the Wizards taking someone else.

10:16And there were some who warned against Kwame,

10:18but they were mostly regarded as spoil sports.

10:21Twelve days before the draft,

10:23Jordan narrowed it down to Chandler and Brown.

10:26So he had them play one-on-one.

10:29And Brown simply destroyed Chandler.

10:32And then showed MJ's style competitiveness and confidence.

10:36After beating Chandler,

10:37he turned to Jordan and said,

10:38I promise you,

10:40if you draft me,

10:41you will never regret it.

10:43Which is kind of painful to hear now,

10:46so I'll move on quickly.

10:48The Chandler game sealed the deal for Jordan and the Wizards.

10:51And besides,

10:51it's not like Kwame needed to make an immediate impact.

10:54He had time to learn the league and develop.

10:57Damn it.

10:58This changed everything.

10:59Because now Michael Jordan's problem

11:01was more than needing to fix his reputation as an executive,

11:04he also needed his second return from retirement to be successful,

11:09or at the very least not embarrassing,

11:11which put a lot of pressure on the rookie to contribute right away.

11:16Kwame lost his grace period and gained an impatient bully.

11:20Michael Jordan,

11:22known for being hard on his teammates,

11:24was the exact wrong person to shepherd Kwame into the league.

11:28A wolf in Shepard's clothing.

11:30A lamb in an NBA center's body.

11:33So Kwame was a bust.

11:36I mean,

11:36he was in the league for 12 years and is very rich,

11:38but you expect more from a number one pick.

11:42The guys Jordan passed on all fared better than poor Kwame.

11:45Griffin was on the all-rookie second team.

11:48Eddie Curry won a title with the Heat.

11:50Shane Battier was on the all-rookie first team

11:53and got two titles with the Heat.

11:55Chandler was the 2012 Defensive Player of the Year.

11:58Oh,

11:59and he got a title the year before that.

12:01And Pau Gasol is in the Hall of Fame,

12:04then has two titles.

12:06So,

12:07needless to say,

12:07Jordan didn't raise his front office reputation.

12:11Instead,

12:11he cemented his bad reputation.

12:13No,

12:13actually,

12:14he pushed his reputation deeply into the wet cement

12:17and poured concrete over it.

12:19And then someone was like,

12:20that's the wrong kind of concrete,

12:21you idiot.

12:22After he stopped playing in 2003,

12:25the lowly wizards said,

12:26get away from us,

12:27five-time MVP.

12:29They fired him.

12:31And everyone was like,

12:32yeah,

12:33we get it.

12:33He's toxic.

12:35People were really not in love with Jordan

12:37in 2003,

12:39postulating that his return was for attention.

12:41It was about how good he'd look

12:43next to the ragtag bunch in their bullets gear.

12:46It was about drumming up business for his shoes

12:48and his restaurants

12:49and making people worship him again.

12:51It wasn't until 2010,

12:54when Jordan bought the Bobcats,

12:55that he had another opportunity

12:56to take a jackhammer to the cement,

12:59dig up his executive reputation,

13:00and try to resuscitate it.

13:03But instead,

13:04he kind of just poured a fresh layer of concrete on top,

13:07so now there's a bump on the sidewalk

13:09that keeps tripping children.

13:10You're still with me on this metaphor, yeah?

13:13The long and short of it,

13:14he's going down in history

13:16as a terrible executive.

13:18Really good player, though.

13:29Thank you so much for watching,

13:30and thank you to our patrons.

13:32Could you tell from watching this video

13:34what team I was born in the general vicinity of,

13:37and thus forever saddled with the fandom of?

13:40I bet you could.

13:41For Secret Base, I'm Clara Morris.

13:43Good night, and good game.

13:47Good night.

14:03Good night.

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