Adam Morrison has made his peace with the player he is and the one he believes he still can become.
Others have heaped criticism on Morrison, 24, for not living up to the immense expectations placed on him when Charlotte Bobcats co-owner Michael Jordan selected him as the third overall pick in the 2006 NBA draft.
Not long ago, Morrison was one of the biggest stars in college, leading the nation in scoring with 28.1 points a game for Gonzaga.
In his first season with the Bobcats, Morrison had the look of a talented player when he averaged 11.8 points and was named to the NBA's All-Rookie second team. Then Morrison tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a 2007 exhibition against the Lakers and missed all of last season.
Last month, in a salary move, the Lakers traded Vladimir Radmanovic to Charlotte for Morrison and Shannon Brown. Morrison, a 6-foot-8 forward, has played only 28 minutes in four games for the Lakers since being acquired five weeks ago.
Morrison has heard plenty about how he was a great college player, but he has yet to deliver in the pros.
"I think some of it's fair to say," Morrison said. "But then some of it is not. This is [really] my second season. I came off an ACL surgery. My career is not . . . close to being over."
Morrison has played in 48 games this season and is averaging 4.4 points per game. Known as a shooter, he is making just 36.4% of his shots, and 33.7% of his three-point attempts. Larry Brown, his third Bobcats coach, became worried about Morrison's shooting woes after a December loss to New York.
"After he missed those first couple [shots], he didn't even look at the basket," Brown said after the game. "As soon as I heard someone yell at him [from the crowd], I ran a play for him. And he didn't touch it."
Morrison said his knee still isn't fully sound and that's affected him, because as a jump shooter he needs all the lift he can get. Yet the pundits, he said, disregard his injury, and seem to forget what he accomplished as a rookie.
"That's the one thing that does bother me," Morrison said. "It was like I didn't really do anything that year. Then now I come off the surgery and I don't really get the benefit of the doubt until I get healthy. But this is a business and this is the pros so I understand how some people are."
