Adam Morrison had a spectacular college career at Gonzaga. The NBA, however, hasn’t been the easiest transition for him.

Morrison was immediately labeled as an un-athletic guy who could score and happened to go to a small school. That prompted a lot of, “I see so much of Larry Bird in him” type statements. This, for a player who hadn’t even played a single minute in the league, seemed and still seems a bit unfair.

Any time these kinds of comparisons come up, if the comp (as the kids say) is a lofty one, and the player doesn’t live up to it, then said player is perceived as a failure.

The rookie year wasn’t bad at all. Morrison put up nearly 12 points a game to go along with 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Going into the NBA, the Gonzaga product was tabbed as a scorer. In terms of points per game for rookies in Morrison’s freshman campaign, only Brandon Roy and Andrea Bargnani scored more. It should also be pointed out that Morrison scored more points a game than fellow rookies Rudy Gay, LaMarcus Aldridge, Randy Foye and Paul Millsap.

Morrison then proceeded to tear his ACL. That obviously set him back a ways, but upon his return he wasn’t exactly at the top of the new coach’s rotation in Charlotte.

So, the Bobcats shipped him off to LA with Shannon Brown for Vlad Radmonovic. Morrison was buried on LA’s bench and despite winning a couple of championship rings, didn’t play much at all.

After training camp stints in Portland and Washington, Morrison is currently a free agent. It should also be noted that his production in terms of statistics as well as minutes have taken a sharp turn for the worst since his rookie year.

This is what I’m saying, Morrison isn’t a bust. He had a solid rookie year where he showed a lot of promise. However, injuries and other non-controllable things forced the GU product into being labeled a bust. This is probably harsh seeing as he’s played in only 83 games at a rate of a little over 10 minutes per game since his rookie year. Once someone gives Morrison a spot in their regular playing rotation, he won’t be unfairly labeled a bust.