There is a sizable hole in the blanket the Washington Wizards use to protect rookie Kwame Brown. It's big enough that you could slip Richard Hamilton through it.

It's just big enough to cause problems.

Whenever you talk about these Wizards -- now home of Coach Doug Collins and The Bald One -- you must talk about their inner battle. There is the win-now mentality that having Michael Jordan on your team provides vs. the need to build a young team properly.

Brown -- could-be NBA superstar, would-be Florida Gator -- is at the center of all this.

He is the future of this team because Washington committed the No. 1 overall pick to draft him last June, making Brown the first high school player to take that honor.

Jordan is the now, though. He has returned to the NBA after three years to squeeze out the last bit of stardom he has.

Jordan is also here to help the young Wizards, conceivably by doing more than shooting a lot and filling the MCI Center for each home game.

Even the optimist in you worries about this. You know Jordan's legendary drive by now, and with that comes impatience. You wonder whether the presence of Jordan ultimately will stunt the Wizards' growth. At the forefront of that growth is Brown, 19.