Dillon Brooks cashed in on a huge payday with the Houston Rockets, but many are left wondering “what if” he and the Los Angeles Lakers had found a way to get a deal done.
According to Bleacher Report’s Francisco Rosa, before signing with Houston, the former Memphis Grizzlies forward had met with plenty of other teams, including the Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks in free agency. While the Lakers obviously wanted Brooks for his defensive ability and fiery competitive nature, the two sides couldn’t find a “smooth pathway” to a contract.
When initially looking at this, many assumed it was because the Lakers might’ve been cautious about adding a controversial player like Brooks to a team that just righted its ship en route to a Western Conference finals appearance.
Lakers Couldn’t Afford Brooks
But it seems that the issue was more financial, because when looking at the massive contract Brooks signed with Houston it seems that the Lakers would have had to match or give a ballpark-range deal to Brooks in a sign-and-trade with Memphis.
Brooks, who signed a four-year, $86 million deal with the Rockets, would have complemented the Lakers well as a defensive-minded wing, but the Lakers were already figuring out how to afford retaining current Lakers such as Austin Reeves, Jared Vanderbilt, and Rui Hachimura.
On top of that, they also wanted to add more depth and talent at the guard position, signing Gabe Vincent and re-signing D’Angelo Russell. They simply could not afford to pay Brooks like that and still retain a lot of their core players along with him.
This move for the Lakers to try to sign Brooks is also very shocking due to the nature of Brooks and LeBron James’ contentious encounters during the season and playoffs, such as when Brooks was chirping in Bron’s ear and calling him old during their playoff matchup in the first round, which saw the Lakers dispatch the Grizzlies in six games.
Many scapegoated Brooks for Memphis’ loss after he goaded LeBron on the court with his trash talk and then wasn’t able to back it up as the Grizzlies were torn to shreds. Brooks also shot poorly from the field during this playoff matchup as well, and many of the fans and the Grizzlies organization began to look at Brooks as more of a liability than an asset. So for the Lakers to bring Brooks over would’ve been an interesting move, to say the least.
While the Mavericks’ reasoning for not landing the six-year veteran from Oregon isn’t clear yet, they might have just been outbid by Houston, who was willing to pay Brooks way more than what a lot of fans and media thought he was worth.
Some Thought Brooks Would Be Out The League
When Brooks’ tenure in Memphis came to an end many were questioning where he’d land, while some were expecting him to be out of the NBA in short order. So when he signed a deal with Houston that could potentially see him earn up to $90 million with incentives, many were shocked. Houston also gave out a massive contract to former Raptor Fred Vanvleet, signaling that they’re all in on building around Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr.
But adding a few talented veterans who could also serve as mentors to their young core, which also features Summer League MVP Cam Whitmore and rookie Amen Thompson, was the direction they decided to go in, as opposed to being aggressive in reuniting James Harden with Houston to try to win now.
But for now it’s safe to say that things worked out for all sides, as Brooks was rewarded with a huge payday after many people thrashed him in the media, and the Lakers were able to manage their money while retaining their young core around LeBron and Anthony Davis.
The only thing that’s left for Brooks now is to make the Lakers regret not finding a pathway to a contract by proving to Houston that he’s worth every penny they gave him.
