I guess this will be the new standard line for the Brooks haters whenever he has a good game from here on out.
Ignoring the claim that Brooks "led" the team to that postseason success, I think that in a vacumn, Brooks is a somewhat better player than Dragic. But you don't play in a vacumn. And Brooks, having problems with the bench, seeking a big payday at the end of this year, and generally playing behind Lowry, is not as good as the Dragic we have now. So in general, I like the trade, as we gave up some talent in return for actually stabilizing the roster and actually getting something for Brooks instead of risking him losing him to RFA or paying him way more than he deserves.
I only use "led" because he was the starting PG. The PG is often the guy who "leads" his team. Brooks was also one of the most instrumental players for us in the post-season, so it's not that much of a stretch. In the post you quoted, I said that the Rockets would be better this year without Brooks because his attitude was affecting both his and the team's play. I don't dispute that. You listed a lot of reasons on why he was traded -- I don't dispute those either. You can like this trade all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that we got a downgrade in talent. It does makes us a better team for the 20 something games left this year though.
thats the thing it probably was a downgrade in talent but a downgrade in talent isnt necessarily a bad thing (more often than not though it is) think of it this way your playing poker and hold an A, K, Q, J and there are only two possible card you can receive an A (Aaron) or a 10 (Dragic). When compared to one another the A will always be a better card than the 10 but in the hand that you have the 10 will give you a much better winning hand. A lot of times its not always about accumulating the most talent on one team (otherwise the Mavericks would have won a championship already) its about how that talent can work with each other and produce results. Brooks is the better player right now but I think Dragic can become a better player than he is now and will run the second unit far better than Brooks did. Right now it looks like that Dragic is making the 2nd unit better than what it was in the past 2 months already. Aaron played a really good game, I dont get why its a huge deal, he is a good player he just didnt show it in Houston this season. It makes it even more frustrating to fans that he is playing well but the fact that he started playing so well all of a sudden in Phoenix doesnt mean that Phoenix is doing something right and that Houston did something wrong. It most likely means its Aaron that is doing something different considering that it took what 1-2 games all of a sudden for him to go back to how he is capable of playing? It could be a lot of thing we dont know but a simple change of scenery, most likely just a new locker room probably helped his confidence more than anything else. Aaron Brooks played really well and the Suns lost at this point I just care about the second part: the suns lost. i hope the same happens tomorrow against the Rockets
So it makes us better in the present and the future. That pick will could help us move up in the draft or acquire a player via trade. Don't forget the $$$ aspect of it. I like what Dragic contributes at his salary.
So many haters just wish dude the best and move on. At one time he played his heart out and brought great memorable moments with the Rockets. I'm glad he was moved but because he just didn't fit.
It's fair analogy when looked at from this season: the Rockets are going all-in this hand (making the playoffs) and the Jack gives them a better chance to do. But this isn't a situation where we play a hand and everyone gets new cards. If you're thinking about it in Morey's "collect as many assets as you can get to deal for a superstar plan," our asset bank just got slightly depleted. This would be my #1 factor as to why he'll improve his game there this year. I haven't really followed him closely to see how he's doing -- I generally don't care about players once they leave the Rockets (Mcgrady, Shane, AB, etc.) I don't understand how you can assume it makes us better in the future. Maybe Aaron Brooks would have turned it around next year? Maybe he would have returned to the AB we know he is? Who knows -- the only thing we know for certain is that AB is more talented than Dragic and that Dragic makes us a slightly better team for the last 20 games because he accepts his role better than AB ever did. Let's wait and see on what the draft pick does. Right now it's looking like Dragic + Nolan Smith for Brooks. But that's assuming that everyone's draft stock will stay the same (it won't) and that nobody expected to enter pulls out (they will). As for the money, I'll be the first to admit I'm more of a basketball guy than money guy. I hate financial decisions and I think sometimes people give them too much weight in their trade proposals. That said, I think Aaron Brooks would have had a hard time breaking the bank this summer when he had such a sub-par year. It could have been a situation where we could have locked him into a good value contract. I guess we'll find out this summer regardless.
We are talking about 1 successful year at 20-5, regardless of Lowry having the better net results off the bench that year. Let's talk about the lack of understanding what type of talent Dragic has, for the simple fact that he has backed up a 2-time MVP his entire career. He has not had the opportunities that Brooks has had, so It is extremely ignorant to call Brooks a more "talented" player. Brooks is a talented player that took his job from "Out Of The League" Rafer Alston, Dragic is a talented player that has had success backing up arguably the best pg in the last 20 years. No, it is not a fact that we downgraded in talent, even If you want to compare Aaron Brooks at his peak to Goran Dragic, because we have not yet seen the results of what a Dragic led team can accomplish. If you tried to compare the two now, It is pretty easy to see the difference that Dragic has made to our team. 20-6-4 per 36 so far... (And let's not forget Dragic's ridiculous playoff performance history) Has there ever been a non-defending, non-distibuting PG to play on a championship team?
1. Perhaps he believes that Dragic can be a better player, because he can defend, distribute & score, all at once. Maybe because he is young, has shown serious potential thus far in his career at the highest level, not to mention he has backed up the 2 time MVP for years which can only help in his development. 2. He could have returned to the shot jacker that does not get his teammates involved, nor play any semblance of defense? Color me unimpressed. Do you really think that would have worked with the infinitely better and more efficient Kevin Martin? Do you really think it will work with any team that wants to be successful? A tiny, shot first PG that can't finish at the rim, play defense, nor get his teammates involved? 3. False. We do not know that for sure because we have not seen Dragic in the same situations. We have seen him nearly drop 30 in a quarter in a playoff game, though. Aside from spectacular performances, he has backed up Nash for years. What is he supposed to do?
1. Dragic is a better defender/rebounder than Brooks, but outside of that I don't know what else he can do better. He can't shoot better, can't score better, and his A/T ratio is really similar to Brooks (more assists, more turnovers) Have you actually watched him play? He's a decent PG, but far from the natural PG you're trying to make him out to be. He's erratic at times and doesn't seem to know how to control the tempo, which probably leads to his turnovers. For comparison sake, his per 36 turnover numbers are comparable to Spanoulis. 2. Do I think he would have worked with Kevin Martin? Um, yep. He worked fine with him last year and Martin wasn't even shooting well. Aaron Brooks got better every year until this year when injuries/attitude made him hit a wall. Do you suddenly think the two years before were a fluke and the sub 40% shooting AB is the real one? Give me a break. 3. I think it's funny that you keep referencing Dragic's playoff performance. "Aside from spectacular playoff performances.." 15 mpg 7.6 ppg 2.3 assist per game 43% FG 32.5% 3PT 74.2% FT That's spectacular! You're right, he did score 23 points in a quarter ONCE to finish with 26 points for the game. Other than that game, he really wasn't doing much. But sure, keep remembering a 26 point game and forget about the time Brooks dropped 34 points in the playoffs to beat the Lakers in the first game without Yao. The grass is always greener on the other side! I don't even know why I'm arguing this point. If Dragic is better or has more potential than Aaron Brooks, why would Phoenix swap Dragic for Brooks? Why would they give us a 1st rounder just to make that swap? Why would a cash-strapped team make that deal when Brooks is about to be a RFA and in line for a bump in salary? In the end, larsv8 summed it up nicely: selling low sucks. Hopefully the draft pick makes up for it.
Because he was going through a slump that was very similar to what Brooks was going through in Houston. They gave up the 1st round pick because of what Brooks has done in the past. Not that I think Dragic is the better PG or anything.
