Former Memphis Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks may have landed himself a lucrative four-year, $86 million deal with the Houston Rockets this summer, but don’t let his lofty salary fool you — he’s one of the most overhyped players in the entire association.
At least, that’s what Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes believes, as he ranked the Ex-Grind City wing second on his list of overrated current talents.
"“Of the 65 players who attempted at least 900 shots last season, Brooks’ 49.4 true shooting percentage ranked dead last,” Hughes wrote.“There’s a strong case to be made that Brooks was the single most damaging offensive player in the league last season, and it’s not like he’s been much better in the past. He’s never once posted a true shooting percentage within spitting distance of the league average. That level of offensive ineffectiveness is hard to deal with at any position, but it’s particularly damaging on the wing, where most clubs expect to get relatively efficient scoring.”"
Dillon Brooks was ejected for this low blow on LeBron James pic.twitter.com/pCXLbCxaW8
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 23, 2023
Hughes would cap off his stance by highlighting Brooks’ on-court antics and overall “bear-poking that backfired so often over the last several years” as just some more reasons why he believes Houston’s financial commitment was, as his B/R cohort Greg Swartz previously labeled it, one of the worst long-term moves of the summer.
Despite landing the eighth-largest payday on the free agency market this year, the 27-year-old is coming off one of the worst statistical campaigns of his career.
Seeing 73 games of action in 2022-23, Dillon Brooks posted rather underwhelming averages of 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting a lackluster 39.5 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from distance.
In contrast to his uptick in trash-talking under the bright lights of the postseason, this level of production would only manage to decrease during their one-and-done matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers in round one, as he put up just 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.8 steals on 31.2 percent shooting from the field and 23.8 percent shooting from deep.
Though one could argue there are some negative effects as a result of his departure, particularly when it comes to wing depth and defensive versatility, as Grizzlies legend Zach Randolph recently suggested, the arrival of veteran Marcus Smart could be viewed as “like a match” to the departed Brooks’ abilities, thus theoretically mitigating any negative residuals from the forward’s exit.
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