Never one to beat around the bush, Shaq thinks Dillon Brooks – who played this year with the Memphis Grizzlies may or may not have a future in the NBA.
As for the Grizz, the team has already announced they would not be re-signing Brooks “under any circumstances.” So he’s definitely done in Memphis. The only question is, what now?
On this week’s edition of his “The Big Podcast With Shaq,” O’Neal was absolutely blunt with his feelings about Brooks and his future in the NBA.
Shaq: “He didn’t play well enough to be acting like that. So now, he’s either gonna be out of the league, or he gonna have to ‘check yourself before you wreck yourself.’ Who’s gonna sign him? He’s not athletic, he ain’t jumping out the gym, and his jumper ain’t like that.” In other words, not at all impressed with his performance this season.
The big man says Dillon was ‘all talk’ and ‘no game’ in the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers. Dillon didn’t do the team any favors with some harsh words aimed at the Lakers and LeBron James in particular.
Those headlines may have been part of the fuel for L.A. winning three out of the next four games to close out the series. For that series, Brooks only averaged 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. He hit 31.2 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from three. Certainly not great numbers.
So Brooks is definitely out with the Grizzlies. The question is, can he play somewhere else in the Association next season? He’s only 27 years old, so he could certainly come back somewhere.
Still, it’s not only Shaq who says Brooks has got to make some upgrades to his game, and he probably wants to tone down the bad-boy antics on the court. Some are saying Brooks has the potential to become a younger version of Patrick Beverley—a player who had potential, but wasn’t worth the headaches.
Click here for the full podcast episode.
Meanwhile, over on the “First Things First” podcast, host and NBA analyst Chris Broussard had a different opinion. He said Brooks could still enjoy a bit of a role as a villain, just not quite so in-your-face.
Broussard: “Brooks needs to come down and be more like a Matt Barnes. Where you talk, you’re tough, you don’t back down, you take up any challenge, but you don’t start stuff. Matt Barnes would just respond if you call him out, ‘Yeah, I’m tough. I’ll play with it.’ And that’s what Brooks has to do, don’t start stuff. You can still be a guy.”
Brooks could still be a valuable piece for a team, just not the Grizz. He’s got the full off-season to do a little meditation and figure out his role in the game, wherever that may end up being.
