The Phoenix Suns ended the Kevin Durant trade saga before the draft, sending the 36-year-old to the Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the draft, and five second-round picks. It expanded to a historic seven-team deal. Now that the dust has cleared, it's time to look at one of the players the Suns received in the deal.
Brooks is one of the most polarizing players in the league. He called LeBron James "old" during the 2023 playoffs before the Lakers eliminated the Grizzlies. LeBron is old in terms of still being in the NBA, but regardless of what Brooks thought, you don't poke a bear if that bear is LeBron.
Brooks loves being a villain with his trash talk and aggressiveness, seeking ways to mess with the mind of his opponent. Sometimes it works in his favor, but a lot of times, it doesn't.
The 29-year-old will bring that energy to Phoenix. He's the kind of player you despise when your team plays against his, but when he's on your team, it's fun to watch him aggravate his opponent. What isn't fun, though, is when Brooks doesn't back his talk up with his play. It's what got him into trouble with calling out LeBron.
What value will Dillon Brooks bring to the Suns?
Brooks is a good defender. Is he an elite defender? No, but should he help boost a defense that was one of the worst in the league last season? Yes. The keyword there is boost. Brooks won't fix the Suns' defensive woes, but at least he prides himself on what he does on that end of the court.
One of the things that frustrated fans from Brooks' first NBA stop, Memphis, was his shot selection. Spoiler alert: It wasn't good.
Brooks' shot selection is part of what prompted the Grizzlies to trade him. Memphis tried to find a trade partner for a couple of years before he landed in Houston as part of a sign-and-trade in 2023. He thought he was worthy of being a top offensive option for the Grizzlies. His shot selection, coupled with his on and off-the-court antics, didn't make his departure from Memphis all that sad for fans.
His shot selection improved with the Rockets. Brooks' true-shooting percentage in 2023-24 was a career-high 54.9%, and in 2024-25, he set a new career-best at 55.5%. The numbers prove his shot selection wasn't what it was in Memphis, but there were still times when Rockets fans wondered why Brooks took that shot.
Brooks averaged 11.9 field-goal attempts per game this past season, fourth-most on the team. Houston was (and still is) an elite defensive team, but it didn't have an elite shot creator. The Rockets do now.
It's worth wondering what kind of player Brooks will be in Phoenix. He went from a top team in the conference to one that missed the Play-In Tournament altogether this past season. Green likes to shoot the ball (he averaged 17.5 field-goal attempts last season), and so does Devin Booker, who is the star of the show.
Perhaps being on a worse team will prompt Brooks to return to his old ways of chucking up shots and getting caught up in meaningless drama. Suns fans can only hope that won't be the case.