The Phoenix Suns were made fun of for making the Kevin Durant trade they did this offseason, but it turned out very well in the end. Although Jalen Green has barely seen action, his eventual return will make an already frisky team even better.
Dillon Brooks has finally found a franchise that embraces him.
That makes Dillon Brooks the current x-factor of the trade that has fallen. He acted like the Suns’ second-best player behind Devin Booker all season long — and while Grayson Allen may have something to say about that — that was true at times.
This has been Brooks’ problem throughout his career in the league, but it’s being embraced in Phoenix and everyone wins. He tried to be the tough guy on the Memphis Grizzlies, but all that led to was an embarrassingly one-sided feud with LeBron James.
When LeBron destroyed Dillon Brooks 😭 pic.twitter.com/sow3mzpXH0 https://t.co/aaxcKIvjCz
— Lakers Empire (@LakersEmpire) November 13, 2025
That was also Ja Morant’s team and although Brooks did have a role as an enforcer, he sometimes tried to be so much more than that offensively. It didn’t work out, which led to him landing with the Houston Rockets. To be fair, he toned down the theatrical elements there a bit.
This led to him being an underrated offensive player who could shoot over 40 percent from deep and was the emotional leader for a young group. But still prone to taking over the ball, which was a problem as rising stars like Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson needed the ball.
Onto The Valley for the 29-year-old, and this time the fit is just right. It also helps that Brooks has been able to refine his approach, although as we saw when we were given a technical foul earlier this season when he wasn’t even fit to play, the guy is still there.
Like Draymond Green with the Golden State Warriors, it’s about finding that line and crossing it only sparingly. Brooks is also much better at knowing when to take over offensively, and Devin Booker deserves credit for the way he did that.
There is no world in which Brooks should be taking more shots than Booker, and yet that happened earlier in the campaign. He’s currently making 17 field goals per night, more than five more attempts than his career high (11.9). That’s the second highest on the roster, which again is acceptable.
But that’s only because Allen remains out injured, and the pair should get closer (Allen is third with 13.3 attempts) when he’s back on the field. The Suns have guys like Collin Gillespie and Mark Williams who have greatly exceeded expectations this season.
But they also needed someone who wouldn’t mind stepping into Green’s position next to Booker, and Brooks answered the call. The fact that he probably would have tried that anyway even if Green was healthy could have been a problem, but right now it’s all the Valley needs.
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