Dillon Brooks a 'Great Breakout Candidate' for Rockets After Contract, NBA Exec Says

Although he's been established in the NBA for the last several seasons, Dillon Brooks is still being viewed as a potential breakout candidate this campaign by several league executives, according to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.

HoopsHype polled 25 NBA executives over who their favorite breakout candidate was and Brooks received 3.2 percent of the vote coming off an impressive run at the FIBA World Cup with Canada.

"Dillon Brooks is a great breakout candidate because the narrative around him got so out of control last year," an NBA executive told Scotto. "As we saw in the World Cup, he's an elite defensive player who is a good offensive player. He doesn't have to change at all, but now that he's a name that's on the radar, people will suddenly realize what he really is."

Following a final season with the Memphis Grizzlies in which he made All-Defensive Second Team while averaging 18.4 points per game, Brooks signed a big four-year, $86 million guaranteed contract in a sign-and-trade with Houston.

He was part of a big offseason for the Rockets and is expected to bring not only veteran leadership but an increased defensive tenacity for coach Ime Udoka and Houston's young, talented squad.

"Ime Udoka wanted him," ESPN's Tim McMahon said on a recent episode of "The Lowe Post" podcast. He valued him. He's in Houston in large part because of that. It's on Ime Udoka to deal with that and get the best version of Dillon Brooks that also creates the best possible scenario for these young guys to grow"

The signing of Brooks looked even better following the sixth-year forward's performance at the World Cup, where he was rated as the tournament's sixth-best player, per HoopHype's Global Rating

He averaged 15.1 points per game to go along with 2.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals as Canada finished in third-place. Brooks' big moment came in the bronze medal game against the United States in which he dropped 39 points, four rebounds, five assists, a steal and two blocks in the win.