Ready to Start Bonding

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">EL SEGUNDO ? Kwame Brown is 23, but the bags under his eyes are visible from across a room.

"There's a lot of stuff people don't know about me," Brown said Wednesday. He'd just finished his introductory Lakers news conference and a barrage of TV interviews, offering mostly basic explanations instead of delving into how far his back story really goes.

"I've been in pressure situations all my life," he added.

There is more than the news of his suspension during the past postseason and being Michael Jordan's disappointment before that. Far less frequently have come reports of what happened before he was the first high-schooler taken first in the NBA draft ... going hungry with seven siblings, his abusive father leaving home to serve a life sentence for murder, several brothers also winding up in jail.

Add it up, and it is not surprising that Brown has played scared more than he has played great. Asked Wednesday what motivates him to play great, Brown hesitated, repeating the question to himself.

"That's a good question," he said. "Just competition. Competing is everything. That's what it's all about. I just don't want to lose. So I guess what motivates me to perform my best is being scared to lose."

If fear of failure can indeed unlock Brown's potential, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak expects Phil Jackson to find that key and use it.

"Phil has a way of getting through to players," Kupchak said. "I felt during the initial meeting about a month ago, there was a certain magnetic bond between these two people."

From the Lakers' perspective, Brown already lost so much in four NBA seasons in Washington that now is the time for Brown to start winning. Brown, who is switching to his old high-school number (54), agreed.

"I'm going to do well," he said. "There's no doubt in my mind I'm going to do well."</div>

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I love the last statement, "There is no doubt in my mind I'm going to do well."

That shows it all right there. Kwame is determined to get his career on track. Who better to do it than Phil Jackson? Phil had to really like this kid for the deal to go through, that simple.