I believe people can change. We can't wake up and say, "Hooray, I'm different." But if we make the decision daily, and over a period of time, we can be something other than what we were.

Kwame Brown better hope so.

Michael Jordan is aware that you signed Brown, right?

"Michael gave his blessing," Charlotte Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins says.

Brown, 6-foot-11, is the newest Bobcat. He no longer is the skinny big man who came to the NBA straight out of Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Ga. He's a man now. His legs are massive. He weighs 275 pounds. He's 28.

Jordan selected Brown with the first pick in the 2001 draft. The Bobcats owner was president of the Washington Wizards at the time. After adding the big man to the roster, Jordan joined him on the roster, coming out of retirement to play.

But Jordan did not perform like Jordan and Brown did not perform like a No.1, or even a first-round, pick. Jordan has been ripped for selecting Brown. But in his defense, the draft was littered with busts such as Tyson Chandler (No.2), Eddie Curry (No.4) and the Charlotte 49ers' own Rodney White (No.9).

There were exceptions, among them Pau Gasol (No.3) Joe Johnson (No.10) Gerald Wallace (No.25), Tony Parker (No.28) and Gilbert Arenas (No.31). But at the time, the choice appeared obvious - Brown, Chandler or Curry.

Brown was not Jordan's worst pick. Adam Morrison was. Morrison, whom Jordan selected with the third pick in the 2006 draft, was worse because Jordan disdained obvious talent such as Brandon Roy, who went No.6, and Rudy Gay, who went No.8.

Some players are one dimensional. Morrison is the rare player who has no dimensions.

Brown, however, has imposing dimensions. After he completes his team physical Tuesday, he meets the media at Time Warner Cable Arena. There's a platform on which players usually sit. Brown is so big he might hit his head. So he sits in a chair on the floor.

I ask him about his relationship with Jordan.

"A lot of people speculate about my relationship with Michael," says Brown, who speaks softly and is courteous. "But obviously I'm here, so it can't be as bad as everybody says."

We've all read the stories, however. If Jordan and Brown had been a couple, they would have gone on a TV show in which nobody talks and everybody yells. But only Jordan would have yelled. Brown would have been in a fetal position or rope-a-dope.

"Don't always believe what you read," Brown says.

Obviously he is talking about the Internet.

"I definitely wouldn't have signed on if it was as horrible as you think it was," Brown says.

Somebody asks Brown if the pressure with which he contended as a rookie was unfair. To his credit, he says the $3million a year he was paid as a 19-year-old might not have been fair.

Brown is big. That's what he does best. He is not a scorer. He offers a presence. If there's a battle for territory, he should win it most of the time.

Brown has played nine seasons for four teams and averaged 6.7 points and 5.4 rebounds.

But last season, he washed out with Detroit, scoring only 3.3 points and grabbing only 3.7 rebounds. That's about one rebound for every 75 pounds.

Yet you watch him walk out of the room and think, for $1.3million a season, this guy ought to be a steal.

Higgins says he knows of one other team that wanted Chandler and two others that were interested.

"He chose to come here," says Higgins.

Higgins adds: "It's on Kwame now."

It's on Jordan, too.