NBA Trade Rumors: 5 Reasons It Would Be a Big Mistake To Trade Aaron Brooks
Aaron Brooks has had some problems in Houston lately.
Starting off with an ankle injury that kept him sidelined longer than expected, you could tell Brooks was frustrated.
When he got back into action, Brooks was not himself.
He obviously has his differences with head coach Rick Adelman, showing it in public just a few games ago.
Brooks pulled a big no-no move by walking off the court after Adelman took him out of the game with over six minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Although that might not have been a very smart move by Brooks (getting him suspended one game), he was obviously trying to send a message. For the Rockets sake, executives in the front office need to take notice of what exactly Brooks was trying to say.
Here are five reasons why the Rockets would be making a huge mistake by trading Brooks, and what they should do instead.
5. Trade Yao, Shane Battier, Or Jordan Hill
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Trading Yao, Battier, or Jordan Hill makes the most sense for Houston.
Teams are very interested in acquiring Yao, because of his injury exception rule the Rockets received. NBA teams are looking to get Yao just for the financial relief, so why not do it?
Get a quality big or wing in return, and end Yao's dragged out time in Houston.
The Rockets recently announced they weren't going to resign veteran wing Shane Battier. If they aren't going to resign him, why not trade him?
Go for a youthful player with less than two years experience in the league, and hope for your next better version of Shane Battier.
Last, trade Jordan Hill before the rest of the NBA figures out why this kid hasn't put it together. If you watch Hill, he makes some "wow" plays. In the same possession, he will make a "what?" play, leaving you wondering what he was thinking.
Hill has been given the chance to get quality minutes, but doesn't do much with them. He has the ability to disappear from games, a very bad trait in the NBA.
Make a move Houston, just don't trade Aaron Brooks.
4. Wait For Brooks To Get Healthy
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While Brooks is playing, he's nowhere near healthy.
After injuring his ankle earlier in the season, you can tell he isn't playing like he was last year.
Brooks doesn't have the explosive ability or quickness he showed the basketball world last season. He can't cut like he is used to, run around as freely, or play defense at a level he normally does.
The ankle injury was reported as a sprain. But when is the last time you have seen someone miss six weeks with an ankle sprain?
This was a serious injury and the Rockets may have mistreated him.
Brooks has never had major injuries or had the “injury prone” label to his name, so saying he is not durable is an invalid excuse.
Remember, this is the same player who won the Most Improved Player of the Year Award just last year.
Nobody knows how long Brooks ankle will take to properly heal. But, the bad decision here would be to keep letting him play if his ankle isn’t up to the challenge.
This one is on the Rockets medical staff, and boy do they have some decisions to make.
3. Build Around Brooks, Scola, and Martin
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Now let’s get this straight. The combination of Brooks, Scola, and Martin is nowhere near any of the other “Big Threes” in the NBA.
But, believe it or not, they aren’t that far off.
These three guys have burst onto the national scene in big ways the last few years.
Brooks won the Most Improved Player in the NBA award last year.
Martin and Scola, could very well be up for that same award this year.
Brooks proved his worth last year, by posting 19.6 points and 5.3 assists per game. The most impressive thing Brooks did though was his three point shooting, leading the NBA in three point field goals made.
Scola has taken a big step forward this year for the Rockets.
He has seen his points per game average grow every year in the league, finally up to 19.4 a game this year. His rebounds have stayed in the neighborhood of eight a game for the last few years, proving consistency.
If the Rockets could get a true center in their lineup, Scola’s rebounds and overall production would definitely rise.
Kevin Martin might be the front runner for Most Improved Player of the Year award this year.
He currently averages 23.5 points per night, making him a perennial threat to score at any time. Surprisingly, Martin does his scoring on a very efficient 44.2% shooting.
Build around these three Houston, then fill in the appropriate pieces around them.
2. Fire Rick Adelman
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Rockets fans will probably disagree, but it's time for Adelman to go.
The Adelman led Rockets peaked in his first two years with him as head coach, in ’08 and ’09.
Last season, and this one, have been filled with mediocrity.
It just appears that Adelman cannot coach this team unless Yao Ming is healthy and playing down low.
With Yao Mings career in jeopardy, Adelman needs to go the same route.
Even with big time break out players the last two years (Brooks last year and Martin this year), the Rockets can’t seem to get it done.
Watching the Rockets play, it does not seem like Brooks is the only one who can't see eye to eye with Adelman.
The head coach is constantly flipping around the playing time in the front court, leaving no stability. Not only does the team lose stability and consistency, but young guys like Patrick Patterson and Jordan Hill can lose their confidence very easily.
Sorry Rick, but your time in Houston needs to be over. If not, the Rockets will continue to hover around the 7-10 spots in the Western Conference for the next few years.
1. Kyle Lowry As Your Franchise Point Guard? No Way
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This is a no-brainer.
Kyle Lowry is a good point guard, don't get that mistaken.
But this kid is nowhere near ready to lead an NBA franchise, especially in the loaded West.
When experts say "it's a point guards league,” unfortunately they aren’t referring to Kyle Lowry.
He can make a great backup and possibly sixth man, but that’s about it.
Lowry has all the qualities you want in a backup point guard. Solid defender, good at driving the ball, can shoot decent, and plays really hard.
But, those are backup qualities not starter attributes.
Sorry Houston, but if you deal Brooks, Lowry is all you got.
Not to rip on him, but have you seen his body? He looks like he just played fullback in the NFL and then decided to play pro basketball.
There isn't many point guards in the NBA who have extremely successful careers with a stocky body build like that.
Don’t make a huge mistake Houston, stick with Aaron Brooks.
