After years of striking out in the NBA draft, the Memphis Grizzlies may have finally found a quality NBA player in Dillon Brooks.
The Memphis Grizzlies are notorious for their draft failures. Since drafting Mike Conley with the 4th overall pick in 2007, the team has had a nose for either drafting busts (i.e. Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Adams, Tony Wroten, etc.) or guys who play well for other teams (Kevin Love, DeMarre Carroll, etc.). This is largely due to the Grizzlies refusing to put an emphasis on rookie development.
However, in the 2017 NBA Draft, the pick-less Grizzlies made moves to trade for the draft rights of Ivan Rabb and Dillon Brooks. When doing this, the team may have finally found a guy to help lead the team into the future.
Dillon Brooks has been the unequivocal rookie of the year so far in the 2017-2018 season for the Memphis Grizzlies. This is not a decision that was difficult to come to. Many pegged Brooks as a possible steal in the draft early in the summer. While at the University of Oregon, Brooks displayed a nose for the ball. He projected as a pesky defender, but limited offensively.
Take a look, though, at some of the skill that Brooks displayed in his very first NBA game.
He flashed an ability to cut to the basket, as well as a respectable shot.
He also quickly moved into the starting lineup. While he has cooled off a little bit, he’s still averaging a respectable 7.8 points per game while shooting 38 percent from three. By doing all of this, Brooks has done what very few Grizzlies before him were able to do: become a part of the rotation, not only in his first season, but in his debut.
Part of Brooks’ selection here does have to do with his role compared to the other rookies on the team. Ivan Rabb has flashed signs of low-post dominance, but he has spent almost all of his time with the Memphis Hustle. The Kobi Simmons experiment is only at its beginning stages. However, this year wasn’t about giving the rookies playing time. The Grizzlies began this season with playoff aspirations, and clearly felt that Dillon Brooks was able to contribute positively to that.
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How to sustain
Moving forward, the Memphis Grizzlies simply need to let Brooks continue to grow. Anybody who follows the NBA knows that teams tend to begin their struggles in late January/early February.
No matter how good Dillon Brooks has looked so far, he’s still a rookie, which means he’s still navigating NBA life. Look for him to regress a bit further; however, as long as Brooks continues to play hard, he should absolutely have a spot in the rotation. That should be plenty enough to sustain him for the remainder of the season.