Rockets deal for Dillon Brooks (4 yrs/$86 million + incentives)

It was the coach that hand picked these free agents! LOL. The abusive cycle continues.

 

The Rockets are just punting the next 3 seasons so it isn't really terrifying. We just wanna be entertained and see some wins, you can't win a ring with a bunch of 21 yr olds and 2 vets.

Even worst case and the Rockets messed up, our pick is top 4 protected anyway.

At this point it is what it is, personally I thought Brooks is ridiculously overpaid and would rather have Grant Williams at half the price while also being younger but what's done is done Brooks is here now.

 

I don't see that he has a choice given Brooks contract.

 

That's a MASSIVE negative to just try to gloss over LOL.

He wasn't a scapegoat, he was one of the worst offensive players in the entire league....not at all hyperbole, look it up, and he was demanding a larger role in the offense and being a locker room problem over it.

It would be like if Nix was demanding the Rockets run everything through him. It wouldn't matter if he was a plus defender, the harm to the offense offsets any good he does on the other end.

I think you are vastly overrating Brooks simply because the Rockets are stuck with him, if it was the Mavs who were dumb enough to sign him, you'd be laughing at them for it just like EVERYONE is laughing at the Rockets for being that dumb.

 

I’m not “overrating” him. We paid him more than he is likely worth, but I guarantee a contender would have given him the full MLE (around 55 mil), and I do think he was a net positive for a very good team.

 

As long as brooks can teach them how to dance the money is worth it … amirite @Jontro

 

Yeah agreed - i've said this before but the degree to which Rockets MGMT is putting Udoka on the hook for these decisions is a little weird, but maybe it's part of the deal of "we'll pick you out of the penalty box and give you a lot of $ but we're going to fall guy you if we need to" .

Still probably won't save Stoney's job if it busts, but I think Patrick just might survive.

 

He got 2 meetings other than the Rockets in FA, the Lakers and the Bucks, both teams immediately went in other directions after that meeting and Brooks received no offers from them.

Given his baggage, he'd be looking at a one year deal anywhere else because no other team would risk him acting up again and not being able to immediately dump him.

Then the Rockets gave him 4/86 out of nowhere.

 

Im pretty sure Udoka has his own reputation in mind with this job too. He himself is the 8th highest paid coach in the NBA and I would like to believe that he's better than Stephen Silas in allowing players to dictate terms and conditions - or at least that is what I was sold on. If Brooks runs free then Udoka should be fired.

 

You have no idea what you’re talking about.

 

I get what you're saying, but I just don't know how he could pull it off with such little leverage. Is he going to send Brooks home for 4 years if he doesn't go along? He can't be traded, if you bench him, you just inserted a cancer into the locker room.

I don't know. It's the reason I hate the deal so much.

 

Stone is a master of self preservation. Im sure Udoka was given free reign and that it would come with the axe if they fail, but at the same time if Udoka creates a contending team via his own talent evals and vision then he may end up taking Stones job eventually.

 

I think Brooks is as much a locker room cancer as KPJ is. I think its a sensationalist stance when people dont like the player and thats fine. Honestly you might be overthinking how much pull Brooks will have and how little leverage Udoka has. It really should be as simple as Udoka telling him "chill the fk out on all the transition 3's" or whatever issue presents itself. Apart from being the villain to opposing teams Brooks hasnt shown to be any sort of disruptor to his coach or locker room besides the unwanted attention from scandalous events on the court. I can live with it because this team is p***y soft and could use some grit. This kind of reminds me of the Ron Artest signing - I was not on board with it until I was maybe some of you guys will soften up once you see how many different ways Brooks impacts games besides what is on the boxscore.

 

https://ziller.substack.com/p/an-affirmative-but-not-positive-case

Spoiler

Here’s the case for Brooks:

Defense matters

Houston’s defensive rank the past three seasons (oldest to most recent): 27th, 29th, 29th. Brooks made second team All-Defense last season. There is some reason to believe Brooks is a little overrated on defense — his work is demonstrative and loud, so it gets more attention than better defenders who are more cerebral and smooth. But even if he is overrated, he’s still good on that end. He can guard three positions, and Houston desperately needs help defending at all three positions. Udoka, who was a cerebral three-and-D player in his day, will absolutely value Brooks’ best instincts on that end, and give him lots and lots of minutes to set the tone on that end.

Defensive improvement is attainable on the market

Related to this, the easiest path to massive improvement for a bottom-of-the-table team is to get better on defense. Acquiring high-level defenders is much easier than acquiring high-level offensive players. The Grizzlies were able to pry 2022 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart from the Celtics. The Rockets were able to sign second-team All-Defender Brooks. Both have offensive limitations, and neither was exactly free or even cheap. But given the alternative — needing to acquire a high-end offensive player, no matter their limitations — it’s an easier path.

The Rockets had salary cap space to spend down. There were desperate few players on the market who could really rev up their offense, and of those candidates they’d already inked up VanVleet. (There is an active debate on FVV’s actual offensive impact. My position is that he is a floor-raiser at worst, and the Rockets’ floor was exceptionally low.) Brooks was one of the top candidates to fuel a defensive rise for Houston, and they got him.

Brooks’ usage rate isn’t that crazy

Brooks, a bad shooter, shoots less than you think. He kind of went wild there for a couple seasons, and had some memorable bad nights in recent high-profile playoff series. But he dropped his usage rate below 22% last season despite stretches without Ja Morant, and he consistently features very low turnover rates.

He probably steps in as the worst shooter in the Houston rotation, assuming some second-year growth for Jabari Smith Jr. But figuring that he’ll play lots of minutes with FVV and Jalen Green, and that Udoka will not be shy about MFing Brooks if he’s getting too trigger-happy, it should be okay. You’d prefer Brooks to have the conscience or self-awareness to shoot even less than he does, but if that were the case he’d be more in demand, and perhaps Houston couldn’t have signed him.

The one red flag here is that JSJ needs to get lots of reps on offense, and you want rookie Amen Thompson to have the ball a lot, and Brooks will detract from that compared to a less shot-happy wing. But overall there should be enough ball to go around. Brooks isn’t prime Westbrook or Harden in terms of usage.

The contract doesn’t matter … for now

Brooks’ massive contract doesn’t really matter until 2025-26. This year and next, no one expects the Rockets to compete at the highest levels. They just need to not be completing embarrassing.

Green’s second contract kicks in for the 2025-26 season. He can ink an extension as early as next July. An extension for Smith would theoretically kick in for the 2026-27 season, the final year on Brooks’ deal. Kevin Porter Jr., the player who actually stands to lose the most relevance from FVV and Brooks’ arrival, is non-guaranteed beyond the 2023-24 season. The Rockets will be able to make a decision on VanVleet’s 2025-26 contract in that preceding summer (unless they extend him a year from now, should things go well).

Concern about downside risk deep into the future is what keeps NBA front office executives and fans up at night. Concerns about process — for example, who the hell were the Rockets bidding against?! and did they have to lose three young prospects in the machinations?!!! — make fans and analysts itch. But every decision comes at a cost. The Rockets are betting that adding Brooks will help raise the floor of this team in the immediate term. The cost is the risk in the longer term. The upside (such as it is, and I understand why many people are skeptical there is any upside here) requires the downside.

For me, the cost is still way too high here, given everything. I don’t understand raffling off K.J. Martin as a part of the grand contraption instead of finding a separate deal for him. I think adding VanVleet, Udoka, Uncle Jeff and Thompson (not to mention Cam Whitmore), plus another year of seasoning for Green and Smith, would have given the Rockets a boost out of the cellar. I think that cap space spent on Brooks could have been useful in the trade market given that some team that expects to be good will actually be bad and need to cut salary. I’m a little worried about an emboldened Dillon Brooks on a team without a true superstar.

I would not be making this bet on Brooks. But I see the logic in it, and for the sake of Rockets fans that have been put through pure misery for three seasons, I hope it works out.

 

Most of my thoughts exactly.... thank you for sharing @J.R.

 

What makes you say that he was a net positive? All of the metrics say that he’s a massive negative on the court, because no amount of defense can overcome the damage he brings on offense. I kinda equate it to if yordan also had to pitch an inning in every game he played. His 1000 ops would not come close to overcoming the 2-3 runs a game he would give up pitching.

 

Based on your analogy, the Astros wouldn't win 62% of their games like Memphis did, so it's pretty flawed. And, in any event, Brooks had an overall positive +/- stat. Not to mention the aspects that can't be accurately measured -- for instance, given how well Brooks played on defense, JJJ could play more of a roaming defensive role, which allowed him to play much better on D. I expect something similar may happen with Jabari.

 

So you just think all the metrics are wrong/inaccurate about him? Fair enough, i guess we’ll see

 

I said it once and I'll say it again.

Dillon Brooks contract is 30th amongst wings and placed in the middle of Duncan Robinson, Norman Powell, THJ and Joe Harris.

Hate the guy all you want, he was paid market value. In 3 years, this contract will be a bargain.

Brooks earned second-team all defense and was rewarded after 4 years in the league.

 

Your not wrong. Bruce Brown & Jermi Grant both got more money per year. Brooks is a better defender than both players.