It's the right move. If he's not getting time with the big club, get his some minutes with the Vipers. I have a feeling he's going to tear it up down there and will be back sometime in January. I've never even considered going to a Toros game in Austin. I might now. Though, they're not here until Jan 4th.
Aaron wasn't able to hit his shots in pre-season. If he hasn't been able to do it in practice,he needs playing time in the NBDL.
I sure do wish that the Rockets had cut Rafer in the offseason and just played James, Francis and Brooks.
Last night, Rafer did make 5 of 11 shots. It's too bad he can't at least shoot at that clip consistently. Actually, I doubt that sending him down will do him any good for the most part since he just never seems to get better with his shooting at all throughout his career.
article link Brooks to make Vipers debut today Todd Mavreles December 8, 2007 - 11:01PM The Monitor HIDALGO — Aaron Brooks, the Houston Rockets’ No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, makes his debut today with the NBA Development League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers when the Vipers play host to the Tulsa 66ers at 5 p.m. at Dodge Arena. The Vipers (5-1) haven’t played since their 107-103 victory over the 66ers last Sunday in Tulsa (2-2), which played late Saturday at Austin. But the Vipers made plenty of news off the court when it was learned Wednesday the Rockets were assigning Brooks to the team. A 6-foot, 161-pound point guard, Brooks was the 26th overall selection in the NBA draft. Stuck behind veteran point guards Rafer Alston, Mike James and Steve Francis for a Rockets team that has championship aspirations, Houston made Brooks the initial ’07 first-round draft pick to be assigned to the D-League. “He’s here to try to get some game time and work on his game just like (the rest of the Vipers) are,” Vipers coach Bob Hoffman said. “He’s a tremendous talent. I know he wants to come down here and get some minutes, but he also wants to help make us better.” Brooks only played four minutes with the Rockets this season, leading to his assignment to the Vipers. He joins Houston teammate Steve Novak, a 6-10 forward who has been with RGV since training camp. Oregon’s ninth all-time leading scorer with 1,511 points, Brooks is looking forward to playing heavy minutes with the Vipers. “There’s only so much you can do watching guys,” Brooks said. “You have to go out there and work on the stuff that you’ve been working on in drills. I’m looking forward to that.” Brooks will join C.J. Watson in the Vipers’ backcourt, making them arguably the D-League’s quickest guard tandem. Since they’re both point guards who like to score, it’ll be interesting to see how the playmaking duties are shared. Watson, for one, is not worried about making the adjustment to having Brooks as his running partner. In fact, he believes adding Brooks just makes it that much harder for teams to defend the Vipers. “Everyone is trying to win games and make everyone look good,” Watson said. “You win games, everyone looks good. You lose games, everyone looks bad. It’s really not about individuality. You want to win games for the team, then everyone will flourish individually. “We’re going to be the fastest thing. It’s going to be tough for opposing teams.” IN THE BONUS: Vipers forward/center Kevin Bookout is expected to play today. He was held out of contact drills all week after being poked in the eye during last week’s game at Tulsa. … Vipers President Abby Pierce said approximately 1,500 tickets remained for today’s game as of Saturday afternoon. … Idaho’s Luke Jackson was called up to the Miami Heat on Saturday, making him the third player from the D-League who has moved up to the NBA this season. … While Brooks and Novak are the Vipers’ NBA assignment players, Tulsa also has a pair of NBA players on its roster. The Milwaukee Bucks sent guard Ramon Sessions to the 66ers prior to the season, and the Mavericks recently assigned forward Nick Fazekas to the team. Todd Mavreles covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4451.
