The Phoenix Suns don't have to make a decision on the future of Dillon Brooks this offseason if they don't want to, but it is a major issue that is coming.
The Canadian international about to enter the final year of his current deal, with early indicators that the Suns may have concerns about bringing him back on a large deal after that.
Brooks will always have value even if Suns overpay to keep him in Phoenix
From the perspective of Brooks, you can understand why his next contract is so important to him. At 30-years-old his next deal is likely to be his last truly big one, and the Suns understandably don't want to be on the hook for that if his productivity falls off a cliff.
Quite why they traded Kevin Durant for him and Jalen Green if they weren't going to keep at least one of them is anybody's guess however, with Green also the subject of trade rumors. Factor in the uncertain future of center Mark Williams, and the front office really did make a pair of deals last summer without thinking about the long-term implications.
Back to Brooks and his recent stunt with the "Unethical Hoops" board game (seriously, go check that out if you haven't) is exactly why the Suns should want him to stick around no matter what.
That is literally one big joke at the expense of his international teammate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, which is the kind of attitude you want to have on your roster.
There's a reason the Suns were much more competitive than anticipated this season, and a large part of that was down to Brooks. He was also the team's best player in their postseason series sweep at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Beneath all that he's actually a chill guy, who has no hate in his heart but who is just a fierce competitior. Can you honestly tell us that, regardless of the contract size, another organization in need of a cultural reset would not talk themselves into Brooks?
So while the number will be higher than Phoenix would like and it will also hurt their ability to put a winner around Devin Booker, is the price not worth it to have Brooks in town? A guy who will give his all, loves to rub opponents up the wrong way and just turned in the best season of his career.
That is actually the exactly kind of second or third option you want, while we have seen in this league teams continually trade for expensive players to fix previous mistakes.
It is a scary thought to commit so much money to Brooks in the near future, but if the Suns can survive trading for Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic, they can survive anything.
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