Dillon Brooks has been a revelation for the Phoenix Suns this season. With him playing at a high level individually, elevating his teammates, and helping change the culture in The Valley for the better, everyone around the league wishes they had their own version of Brooks. And ironically, as the Memphis Grizzlies and Ja Morant seem to be headed for a breakup, no one feels more vindicated about the situation than Dillon.
It wasn't so long ago the public perception of Brooks was quite different from what it is right now. Less than three years ago was when Dillon was essentially scapegoated as the reason for the Grizzlies' loss in the playoffs, before he was ultimately tossed aside by Memphis.
In a Thursday article from ESPN, Tim MacMahon wrote: "Memphis made no attempt to retain Brooks in free agency, in part, sources said, because the front office was concerned that his incessant trash talk and inflammatory antics had become a bad influence on the team's young core. Brooks, a second-round pick in 2017 who emerged as a leader during the young Grizzlies' rise, had become emblematic of a cocky team that didn't back up its bold talk."
That may have been how the Grizzlies felt at the time, but you can be certain they wish they had him back on their side right about now, even if they'll never publicly admit it. It's no surprise why Memphis began to lose a step and lose their edge once their heart and soul left the locker room.
Dillon Brooks is being vindicated every day
Dillon wasn't a fan of how the whole situation went down, but it did inspire him to work harder and show that he was who he said he was. "I'm doing what I do and somehow the scapegoat was me," he said. "I just felt like I got the short end of the stick, but it motivated me to be better."
Perhaps the most telling part of this saga is in how Brooks' departure from Houston came, compared to the end of his time in Memphis. "[Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone] was telling me the whole time that they didn't want to have my name in [the trade]," Brooks said. "They wanted to keep me to build more and more to that franchise. But overall, when you got a guy like Kevin Durant, you cannot pass up on it. And they're doing well. They haven't fell off -- like Memphis did."
Whew. That last line says it all. Dillon is painfully aware of how things have unfolded for that franchise ever since he left, and he has to be feeling a huge amount of validation. Brooks knew all along that he was what made the Grizzlies tick, and seeing this result proves he was right every step of the way.
The short-sightedness from Memphis's end has now been completely exposed. And meanwhile, Dillon "the villain" Brooks has been fully and completely vindicated. He took himself from his lowest career moment and completely changed his own trajectory. That says volumes about who he is, and it should make Suns fans love him that much more.