Kwame Brown accuses LeBron James of being “toxic” and sacrificing players

Kwame Brown has accused LeBron James of being “toxic” and of “sacrificing” players. The former No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft, who fell from grace, spoke bluntly about the impact James would have in an NBA locker room.

Speaking to The Basketball Show, Brown said he initially viewed LeBron James as “an individual” before concluding that he was part of “a group.” “LeBron is a machine. He is a marketing machine. He is not an individual,” he said.

The former big man, who was with the Lakers from 2005 to 2008 without playing alongside James, expanded on that image. In his view, when someone faces a “machine,” it produces “toxic waste”: “What is designed to look good ends up destroying what surrounds it.”

Brown then accused James of having “ruined” careers, specifically mentioning Westbrook. He also referred to Dalton Knecht, arguing that he was not given the chance to develop because of Bronny James, before mentioning the arrival of Andrew Wiggins, another No. 1 draft pick. Brown summed up his attack by describing James as a “marketing machine” that has “ruined careers.”

He has also turned his attention to the Philadelphia 76ers, whom LeBron James joined after leaving the Lakers. “I want to know which player they are going to have to sacrifice so that this machine can keep looking like what it is,” Brown said. The former Wizards, Lakers, Grizzlies, Pistons, Bobcats, Warriors and Sixers player added that Joel Embiid and V. Edgecombe would bear the blame if James’ 76ers fail to meet expectations this season.

Brown also argued that the Lakers’ decision to draft Bronny James was more about LeBron James’ legacy. In his view, James cannot catch Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant “in certain aspects,” but could claim to be part of the only father-son duo to have shared a basketball court, played in the playoffs and then been set to face each other.

Over his 12 NBA seasons, Brown averaged 6.6 points and 5.5 rebounds.