Russell Westbrook is a future Hall of Famer. There is no doubt that the ‘Brodie’ will go down as one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game. His triple-doubles record is unmatched and his overall impact on the game of basketball cannot be understated. The same cannot be said for Dillon Brooks.
Sure in the past few years of Russell Westbrook’s career after his stint in Washington, his play has downgraded and his shooting splits have fallen off of a cliff, but he’s still got the same energy and fire he played with during his time in Oklahoma, If there’s one thing you know with Westbrook it’s that he wants to win and will give his all out on the court.
Enter Dillon Brooks. A 6 foot 6 small forward who went viral for his at first spectacular defense, and then mundane antics against LeBron James. Brooks spent a lot of the regular season and playoffs giving interviews about how he thought he thought he was the best player in the league and understandably turned a lot of fans away from his game.
That’s why post the first 2 days of free agency the NBA world is left reeling in shock after recent events.
Dillon Brooks’ new contract fails to convince NBA fans
To put it into context, Brooks after being dishonorably discharged by the Memphis Grizzlies, has just signed a 4 year $80 million contract with the Houston Rockets. Memphis opted to not resign Brooks as they regarded him as more of a locker-room distraction than a defensive leader, which is what he portrays himself to be.
Free agent G Dillon Brooks has agreed on a four-year, $80 million contract with the Houston Rockets, his agent Mike George of @OneLegacySports tells ESPN. Rockets have now landed two targets in free agency — Fred VanVleet and Brooks. pic.twitter.com/dJHLWvwFjX
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
While most fans would be appalled at this contract, as a “fringe role player” receiving $20 million a year is quite an unusual occurrence, it could simply be because the Rockets have huge cap space and wanted to lock up Brooks without fear of losing him to a contender team.
Dillon Brooks:
$𝟴𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟰 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀Russell Westbrook:
$𝟳,𝟴𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀Discuss. pic.twitter.com/x4Q0kK2WzW
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) July 2, 2023
Still, the price seems absurd and when compared to former MVP Russell Westbrook’s $4 million a year, NBA fans seem both flabbergasted and disgusted.
Dillon Brooks gets 4 years for 80 million y Westbrook 2 years for 8M. The NBA is crazy.
— KRAMPUS (@jimenezxl) July 1, 2023
The fans are left speechless after this insane free agency, due to the consensus that Russell Westbrook contributes and has contributed more to a team’s winning than Dillon Brooks. It seems Brooks may contribute the opposite as the Grizzlies faced their downfall to the Lakers after Brooks so-called “poked the bear” that is LeBron James.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to which teams are paying for the players. If Westbrook chose to sign with the Rockets, he definitely would have received a sizable check, but he chose to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers as he wants to play for a contender and chase a championship, not stack more money on a $200 million net worth.
