NBA Trade Rumors: Could Houston Rocket Aaron Brooks Be On His Way Out?
Dynamite scorer.
Most improved player of the 2009-2010 season.
Lights out threat from three-point range.
All of these things can be used to describe Aaron Brooks, the Rockets' projected starter at point guard this year.
After a slowly building improvement in his first two years in the league, Brooks was thrust into the starting point guard role for a full season for the first time in his brief career last year. Simply put, the results were encouraging to Rockets fans all around.
Without Yao Ming in the middle, Brooks was forced to carry the offense and did so admirably, scoring nearly 20 points a game while leading the league in three point makes.
So why might he be traded? Conventional wisdom would seem to state that giving up on such a promising young star would be a mistake for a franchise looking for their next "face of the team."
However, the Rockets have a general manager who would not be described as "conventional." A math geek among hoards of "old basketball men," Morey does not think the same way that a typical general manager does. While it may seem like the Rockets are too analytical in their approach, Morey has proven to have a stellar track record.
Instead of the typical things that average general managers value so deeply like assists, points, and rebounds, Morey looks deeper at the numbers, and a deeper look paints a far less rosy picture for Brooks.
As a team, the Rockets actually performed better with him off the court than with him on the court, his propensity for statistically the least efficient shots in the game, long two pointers (he hoisted up three such shots a game according to hoopdata.com) dragged down his shooting percentage, and he often pounded the ball leading to late shot-clock shots which he shot very poorly.
Additionally, Brooks' complete inability to enter the ball into Yao Ming in the post is tremendously troublesome as the Rockets look to reintegrate Yao back into the offense.
In fact, the Rockets actually have a point guard who does all of the "little things" that Morey loves—Kyle Lowry—who could certainly give the Rockets good reason to send Brooks packing and put him in the starting role.
It is often said that the backup quarterback is the most popular man in town, and in this case—with the point guard—Kyle Lowry lovers may have a case. Statistically, while he is nowhere near the scorer that Brooks is, Lowry proved to be the far superior player. He handled the ball better, was a significantly better passer, and played some of the best defense in the league from the point guard position.
In contrast to Brooks' negative net plus-minus on-court vs. off-court numbers, Lowry led the team in net plus-minus for the year. All the little things Lowry does well like passing and defense not only benefit him but benefit his teammates and the team in general. With a new fat contract in hand, it could be time to hand the reins over to Lowry.
Daryl Morey is all about maximizing assets. When assets (or in this case players) are at their peak value, it makes sense to move them for assets which could appreciate in value over the next few years.
Coming off a year where he was given almost unlimited latitude when it came to the offense, it is unlikely that Brooks will ever replicate the numbers he put up last year and thus his value will likely go down. Additionally, in the last year of his rookie contract paying him next to nothing, his value is certainly higher than it will be following an off-season where someone will likely give him a contract in the range of $8 million a year.
Is it really worth putting $13 to 14 million into a position without an elite player there? The Rockets would have to really, really like the Brooks-Lowry tandem to pay that much, especially with Sergio Llull potentially joining the team next year.
Could Brooks be the final piece in the Rockets long-pursued trade for an elite player? Perhaps not, but don't expect Daryl Morey to hold out to keep him if he has the opportunity to get a great player.
