LeBron James “ruined Russell Westbrook’s career”
Westbrook, Knecht, Wiggins and now Embiid and Edgecombe: Kwame Brown accuses LeBron James and raises the alarm over the new 76ers
LeBron James has been one of the NBA’s most influential figures, both on and off the court, for years. His influence within the league has now come under scrutiny from Kwame Brown, who during a recent episode of “The Basketball Show HQ” accused the four-time NBA champion of having a negative impact on the careers of several players.
Brown used a particularly harsh comparison to describe James’ influence:
I thought LeBron James was a normal person, then I realized he was part of a group. LeBron James is a machine, a marketing machine. He’s not an individual. And when you’re dealing with a machine, it produces toxic waste. What makes everything look good? It destroys everything around it
Kwame Brown
The former NBA player then named several players, pointing to Russell Westbrook, Dalton Knecht and Andrew Wiggins as examples of players who, in his view, paid the price for James’ influence.
If you look at the careers he’s destroyed – Westbrook, and all the other stuff that happened before it even started. Then there’s Dalton Knecht, who didn’t get the chance to develop because of his son. And then there’s Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 overall pick, and stories get made up about him so they can trade him for Kevin Love
Kwame Brown
When he arrived in Los Angeles, Westbrook (who could return to the NBA) was still considered one of the NBA’s biggest names, but his stint with the Lakers did not work out. The on-court fit with LeBron James and Anthony Davis proved difficult, and Russ often became one of the main targets of criticism during the team’s struggles. His career took a different direction from there, although attributing everything that happened exclusively to James would clearly be an oversimplification.
It is even harder to directly link LeBron to the other two cases cited by Brown. Dalton Knecht saw his role decrease significantly after a strong rookie season, but that alone is not enough to connect his decline to the presence of Bronny James, who also saw limited playing time. The accusation involving Andrew Wiggins likewise remains Brown’s personal interpretation and is not a proven connection.
Brown then shifted his attention to James’ new chapter with the Philadelphia 76ers, wondering who could come under pressure if the team fails to meet its goals.
That’s what I know. When I see him go somewhere, I think, ‘OK, I want to know which player is going to have to be sacrificed so this machine can continue to operate the way it’s supposed to.’ Now we know. It’s going to be V.J. Edgecombe and the center, Embiid. If Embiid doesn’t play 65 or 70 games and they don’t win the championship, it’s going to be Edgecombe or Embiid
Kwame Brown
The arrival of LeBron James in Philadelphia has been one of the most talked-about moves of the offseason and has inevitably raised expectations around the 76ers even further. For now, Brown’s comments remain a personal prediction, but they bring back a debate that has followed LeBron for virtually his entire career.