Dillon Brooks likens young stars of Rockets to his old Grizzlies teammates - “Jalen Green is like Ja Morant"
Newly acquired forward Dillon Brooks shared his thoughts recently on the Houston Rockets roster. While speaking about the similarities between the Rockets and his former team, the Memphis Grizzlies, Brooks likened youngster Jalen Green to Ja Morant.
Brooks has been one of the more polarizing figures in the NBA in the last few seasons. As a player with a reputation for trash-talking without having a lot of influence to back it up, Brooks cut a sorry figure for himself last season.
Brooks made the executive decision to go at LA Lakers superstar LeBron James in the playoffs. The result of such an action saw the Grizzlies crash out of the playoffs in the first round itself. Needless to say, Brooks also felt the impact of the loss as the organization expressed their desire to move on from him.
While several analysts claimed that there was no real market for Brooks in the NBA, the forward will return on an $80 million deal with the Houston Rockets next season.
Having joined a young team, "DB" expressed that he saw a lot of similarities between the Rockets and the Grizzlies. In doing so, he also shared his thoughts on how similar Jalen Green and Ja Morant are.
He said:
"I feel like it's exactly the same team from 3-4 years ago. We kind of have the same type of players. Jalen is like Ja Morant. Jabari is like Jaren. Young guys that can expand their games to be the best in the league."
The comparison between the Rockets' youngsters and the Grizzlies' stars is interesting as it puts into perspective how talented the team is.
What does Dillon Brooks offer to the Houston Rockets?
The Houston Rockets have made some interesting additions in the offseason. The addition of Fred VanVleet has certainly been an improvement. However, Brooks' arrival raises some questions.
While he can offer a fair bit as a veteran with playoff experience and defensive upside, outside of this, there arguably isn't much he brings to the table.
In light of Houston selecting Amen Thompson in the draft, it is also likely that Brooks will see himself relegated to the bench.
Thus, it seems more plausible that Brooks has been brought on board as a veteran presence. However, considering that he has signed an $80 million deal, it certainly would be an overpay if that's all they're using him for.
Read: JJ Redick fires back at critics of Dillon Brooks - “Motherf***er just signed for $80 million”