After reading all the people ordering to trade Brooks away and let Lowry run the team next year, it has caused me to create a thread where I completely disagree with the idea and all the reasoning behind it. Some say his trade value is peaking right now because he is the league's Most Improved Player and he has a cheap contract. Others want to trade him because we "gave up too much money" to sign Lowry, therefore Lowry should start. None of these even seem like logical reasons to me to ship out Brooks. First, lets look at AB's stats over his first 3 years in the league: 07-08: 12mpg 41%fg 33%3pt 86%ft 1.1rpg 1.7apg 5.2ppg 08-09: 25mpg 40%fg 36%3pt 86%ft 2.0rpg 3.0apg 11.2ppg 09-10: 35mpg 43%fg 40%3pt 82%ft 2.6rpg 5.3apg 19.6ppg Now here are his College Stats. One thing that is obvious is that AB continued to get better each year in college all the way through his senior year. He has mentioned that he got better each year in college to prove that he can do the same thing in the NBA, which he has done. He knows he has things to improve on such as defense and distributing the ball, but I'm sure he is working hard to get it done. Salaries: NBA Salaries (HoopsHype) Brooks is on the books for 2 mil next season and will become a RFA with a qualifying offer of 3 million for the next season. Do you think that if Brooks was traded to a team, they would not be aware that he is going to require a pay raise with a contract extension. Sure, he is cheap now, but thats only going to last for one more year. When AB's raise comes, I'm fully expecting Morey to come up with a contract extension worth every penny. How about the on-the-court aspect of things? For this team, it is obvious that Brooks>Lowry. If you have a guy with range like Brooks feeding the ball down to Yao in the post, it gives Yao a ton of space to work with. Some say Brooks won't be able to make the entry pass(this is where Lowry may be superior to AB), but I'm sure they practice this kind of stuff and he will not have a problem with it in the future. We all know KLow7 can't shoot the 3-ball and as far as I know, that has not changed and will not change in the immediate future. Sure, Lowry can get the ball to Yao, but if Lowry's defender chooses to double up on Yao because Lowry can't space the floor very well because of his lack of shooting, then the combination will not be nearly as deadly as Brooks-Yao. Now I think Lowry is a great player and a starter on any other team, but AB is the obvious choice to play next to Yao. Just look at the Magic(Howard-Nelson) or even the Lakers(Shaq/Gasol/Bynum-Fisher). They have PG's that can shoot the 3 to help their big men inside and space the floor. ClutchFan Trade Proposals: Granger: One of the biggest arguments lately has been, "Would you trade Brooks for Granger?". Now I know the salaries don't match and fillers would be required but we all know the basis behind the question. In my opinion, trading AB for Granger is more of a lateral move than anything. You take out someone who CAN'T shoot(Ariza) and input someone who CAN(Granger). Then you take out someone who CAN shoot(Brooks) and input someone who CAN'T(Lowry). Now don't get me wrong, I would love to have Granger here but shipping out AB is not worth it. Especially if a deal can be worked out that doesn't have to include AB. Maybe Lowry will actually continue to improve this year and raise his trade value. Then a deal similar to Lowry/Ariza/Jeffries/NYKpicks for Granger may get the job done, depending on how things pan out in Indiana this year. If that happens, imagine a lineup of AB/Martin/Granger/Stretch4/Yao. That is sickening. If a deal for Granger doesn't come about, there are other SF's that could be on the market: Iguodala, Melo, GWallace. I'm just saying you don't want to give up Brooks for any of those with the exception of Carmelo of course. I'm also willing to bet that if AB was offered in a trade for Granger then the Pacers would bite, but Morey just isn't that stupid. CP3: If I'm the Hornets, then all I say to this one is: We're trading CP3 because were confident we have a replacement PG in 2nd year player Darren Collison. I get Hornets games on cable so I got to watch this kid all season and he is definitely a capable replacement if CP3 wants to leave. He had a 20 assist game as a rookie to go along with 13 other games with 10+ assists. Maybe it's the system, I don't know. But did I mention he could shoot the ball too? 48%fg 40%3pt 85%ft. Geez, lets just trade AB for this guy! Finally, lets just talk Kyle Lowry. He's looking forward to a big paycheck for the next 3-4 years. I for one think he is going to earn it, whether he is our backup PG or starting for another team. Lowry is way more important to this team than just a "backup PG" so I feel he deserves the money. We all saw what happened to the Rockets when Lowry got injured. Lowry fits great on this team with the role he plays. He plays backup PG, but he also plays next to AB since he is capable to guard at the 2 position as well. I really like the way he controls the tempo when our bench gets on the court. He is a complete GAME CHANGER. So, pay him his $$$ and have him come off the banch. We will be extremely deep at the PG position and we will see the rewards from it. Also thought I would include this article I found because I haven't seen it yet: Four Reasons Why Aaron Brooks Will Be An All-Star in the Next Two Years(Bleacher Report) AggieRocketsFan
You are supposed to put The Official in brackets like this [The Official] Keep Brooks Thread thread phail
If someone offers a semi star-star player that we need then why not let him go before his contract costs us too much? Don't fall in love with players.
I would rather give up Lowry in a package deal for Granger no doubt but if it's AB that has to get it done, then goodbye Brooks hello Granger.
This aggie disagrees with OP. Brooks is a great shooting guard, but an awful awful point guard. Can't defend, can't distribute the ball, can't set up teammates, doesn't have the court vision you'd expect a point guard to have, and is just plain selfish. Give me Lowry over AB any day. Brooks benefited greatly from the situation last year (having to be the primary scorer on the team). Trade him while his stock is high and find us a decent back up PG behind Lowry.
Both. Trade him and then keep him. Trade him then he doesnt resign and we resign him instead after we let go of Yao.
Because AB is already a semi-star player and I don't even think you could find a semi-star player being offered whose contract doesn't cost too much... I'll take Iggy over Granger if it means keeping Brooks.
Keep AB!!! <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zNm1xot6sSo&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zNm1xot6sSo&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
Brooks is actually a great PG. Look at Tony Parker for example. They both have very similar games, especially if you look at stats. Would you say Tony Parker is uncapable of leading a team to a championship? They are not pure PG's by any means, but they can still get the job done. I would also add Chauncey Billups to that category. (Big Shot Brooks? ) With Lowry, the perfect comparison would be Andre Miller. How many rings has he won? :grin: It just seems like their style of play works very well coming off the bench and pushing the tempo.