Since being the first pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, Kwame Brown has been a disappointment. There?s no question he entered a difficult situation. There?s also no question that Brown has done one thing consistently in his pro career ? shift the blame for his poor performance onto others.

Doug Collins and Michael Jordan set about systematically humiliating the youngster as a means of motivating him to perform better. Their goal was to turn Brown into a star, but it was the wrong strategy. Brown receded from their taunts and scorn, and his withdrawal and tentativeness revealed they had no plan B. Trapped in some kind of warped Spinal Tap, they took their vitriol to 11.

It triggered in Brown a victim?s mentality, and it became easy for him to place responsibility for his troubles on the team?s leaders.

His supporters point out that he?s still just 21 years old, and insist that if the team is patient, he?ll come around. Except, NBA history suggests that in most cases great players show their greatness early. Magic Johnson won an NBA championship at age 21. Isiah Thomas averaged 17 points and nearly eight assists during his 21st year.

Both had two years of high-level NCAA experience by then, and Magic had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on his side. But how about Moses Malone, who averaged 18.8 points and 14.6 rebounds per game for the ABA?s Utah Stars in his first year out of high school?

Or Shawn Kemp, who had 15 points and 8.4 rebounds as a 21-year old in his second year for a fifth place Seattle team.

The conventional wisdom is that more recent high school to pro kids need time to develop before they?ll be NBA contributors. That was true of Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O?Neal, Kobe Bryant, and even Kevin Garnett to a point. In terms of per minute production, Brown?s first few years are comparable to O?Neal?s.

But, since Brown entered the league, he?s been followed by Amare Stoudemire, who averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds for Phoenix, and LeBron James who is playing well despite being even younger as a rookie than Brown was. Garnett, the pre-LeBron gold standard of prep-to-pro players, was a solid professional almost immediately. Tyson Chandler, another high schooler from Brown?s draft class was making the leap this season before being derailed by back trouble. What?s the difference?

?LeBron has great feel for the game. Kwame doesn?t,? said an NBA scout. ?Amare and Chandler are energy and effort guys, but that hasn?t been Kwame either. He looks like a guy who doesn?t know how to play, and his personality wants to know what he?s doing first.?

The truth about Brown?s first two seasons ? and the first 11 games of his third ? is that he has not produced. Age, inexperience, poor coaching, and high expectations are limp excuses. Others with similar youth, experience, and expectations have performed better.

Much as he might like, he cannot escape the burden of being the first pick in the draft. The top guy is expected to become a great player. He?s supposed to lead his franchise and be a foundational bedrock. Brown has shown few signs he?ll ever be that kind of player.

The numbers aren?t helpful. There?s nothing in his statistics ? totals, averages, or per minute ? to suggest he?ll be anything more than what he already is: a slightly below average NBA forward. His rookie season graded out at replacement level, which means he was no better than the tenth man for an average NBA team.

He improved in his second season, ranking solidly above replacement level ? at about the status of a typical eighth man in a team?s rotation. Still, he didn?t look like a star in the making. His numbers most closely resembled Bill Willoughby's, who went from high school to the NBA in 1975 and never scored more than 7.8 points per game.

This season was supposed to be different. Collins and Air Jordan were banished, Eddie Jordan was enthroned, and Brown was poised for a breakout year. But, instead of coming out intent on proving he could play, Brown has been oddly passive on the court. A chiseled giant with athleticism most players only dream of; he?d stand and watch while teammates and opponents alike pounded after rebounds and loose balls, and outran him to both ends of the court.

What?s even scarier is that he believed he was playing hard. He wasn?t just saying the words, he was convinced they were true, like a child believing in the existence of Santa Claus. But within that delusion is a kernel of hope. Or rather, it leads to a reason to think he might one day be a fine NBA player.

Third-Year Rookie

For Brown, the question of whether he can become a star will be answered by how well he responds to Eddie Jordan and the new coaching staff. Entering the season, Jordan and general manager Ernie Grunfeld decided they would wipe Brown?s slate clean. Instead of viewing Brown as a third-year professional, they would treat him like a rookie, teach him like a rookie, and evaluate him like a rookie. They would not analyze his play as a number one pick, but as just another first year player trying to figure out how to compete.

That means not taking for granted that Brown knows anything. It means using mistakes as teaching opportunities, and trying to figure out how to help Brown unlock the vast potential he possesses. Jordan is committed to letting Brown play through mistakes, but it doesn?t mean Brown won't hear about them.

?He?s tough,? Brown said of Jordan. ?[But] he?s fair. He?s not treating one guy one way and other guys another way. If you do something wrong, he?s on you. If you do something right, he?s going to let you know without overdoing it.?

When the coaches discovered that Brown truly thought he was playing hard despite all evidence to the contrary, they treated it as a teachable moment. They broke down game films and taught a class to the entire team on what playing hard looks like. Then coaches met with Brown privately and gave him specific instructions on how to implement what they were teaching. They even directed him to an ideal example.

?I have to work on really playing hard even when my scoring is not there, which is tough for me,? Brown said before Wednesday night?s game against Cleveland. ?I need to come out and do what Etan does, and keep driving even if I?m not getting the ball. To just chase down and get the ball for myself by getting rebounds.?

Against the Cavaliers, Brown made an effort to imitate Thomas. Instead of watching teammates? shots in flight, he went to the glass. When Cleveland put up shots, he found someone to box out. The result was his best game of the season ? 15 points and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes.

?Coach talked about two guys going to the basket,? Brown said. ?When you have two big guys going to the basket, it?s tough to box us out. Etan?s a beast in there, Brendan?s a beast when he?s going to get rebounds. Maybe he doesn?t get it, but he frees me up. If we continue getting two guys on the backboard, it?s going to be tough to box us out.?

It wasn?t a perfect performance by any stretch. He tired late in the third quarter and his effort drooped. When that happened, he returned to the bench a minute into the fourth quarter and watched Thomas bludgeon Cleveland into submission.

The question about Brown is the same one Michael Jordan asked after a good game late last season: Can he do it every night?

Despite his struggles this season, the Wizards are not giving up on Brown. Coaches seem to have succeeded in changing his self perception. They?ve begun teaching him how to work and how to play, and according to coaches, Brown has been receptive.

?He?s getting better at being active off the ball,? said Coach Jordan. ?I think he?s always been a decent on the ball defender in the post, on the perimeter. He needs to show more improvement in defense off the ball. Seeing the ball, coming to penetration, getting some blocked shots. He?s the only guy on the team that?s taken more than two charges. On offense, he?s got to finish plays in the paint.?

In addition to trying to play with Thomas-like effort, Brown says he?s working on his skill set. For example, he?s working with assistant coach Phil Hubbard to develop offensive countermoves in the post, and has been studying Thomas and Jeffries to improve his timing in going for blocked shots.

And there?s another reason the Wizards haven?t given up.

?He?s so athletic,? said Cleveland center Chris Mihm. ?He?s very quick off his feet. He was really attacking the offensive glass tonight, getting some easy buckets there. I can tell he?s been working on his offense too. He?s a lot more comfortable with his back to the basket, and he has a couple nice post-up moves.?

How good Brown can be remains guesswork. The physical tools are there, and it appears he may finally be gaining an understanding of what it takes to be a good professional player. Is he willing to pay the price night after night, game after game? No one knows. The Wizards are giving him the opportunity to find out.

Kevin Broom is a Senior Writer with RealGM. He can be reached at KevinBroom@RealGM.com.