Aaron Brooks: A Winding Career Path
Trades And Injury
Interestingly enough, the trade that allowed Brooks a chance to become the starting point guard in Houston also led to him losing that same role. When the Rockets shipped out Rafer Alston in a three-team trade, they did so to get point guard Kyle Lowry from the Memphis Grizzlies.
In Jonathan Abrams lengthy piece on the career of Kyle Lowry, there is an interesting statement that applies to the way Houston’s front office viewed Brooks at the time of the trade.
From Grantland,
"The Rockets only had to give up Rafer Alston to receive Lowry and Brian Cook in a three-team deal that also included the Orlando Magic. The deal delighted Houston’s front office, who believed they had given up very little to secure a point guard who could lead the team for years to come."
The purpose of trading Alston was not to give Brooks the starting role because they believed he was their point guard of the future, but to acquire Lowry. It was Lowry who was viewed by management as the point guard that would lead the Rockets. Brooks was the placeholder who probably performed better than expected.
So well in fact, that Lowry couldn’t just be given the starting role.
Brooks began the 2010-11 season as the starter. Then, in the fifth game of the season, this happened:
After that injury, Lowry started every game he was available for the rest of the season, per Basketball-Reference.com. Brooks played off the bench for the Rockets until they traded him to the Phoenix Suns for Goran Dragic and a first-rounder. In 25 games with the Suns, Brooks started only five.
The Lockout
As it relates to his NBA career, this is the point where the wheels started to look like they might come off. The 2011-12 NBA season began in a lockout because of disputes over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and team owners. During the lockout, some NBA players left to play overseas.
Many signed contracts that would enable them to return to the NBA once the lockout ended. Unfortunately for Aaron Brooks, his Chinese team made the playoffs and he was unable to return to the NBA during the 2011-12 season.
He played well in China and was a Chinese Basketball Association All-Star. His team made it to the Championship, but lost to Stephon Marbury‘s team. In an interview with Bulls writer Sam Smith, Brooks spoke about some of the missteps of his time playing in China.
From Sam Smith for NBA.com,
“I got fat,” Brooks said about life in China. “I wasn’t eating right over there. I didn’t know what to eat over there. I was eating hot dogs and McDonald’s. Just not adjusting, not being in the right situation. I don’t want to talk about that, but I probably just went to the wrong situation.”
When Brooks came back to the NBA for the 2012-13 season, he signed with the Sacramento Kings. He started 20 games for the Kings and played in 46 before being waived. He then signed with the Rockets for the remainder of the season and appeared in seven games before the end of the season.
Brooks began the 2013-14 season with the Rockets, playing 16.7 minutes per game in 43 games before being traded to the Denver Nuggets at the deadline for small forward Jordan Hamilton—who is currently out of the NBA. Brooks finally got extended minutes with the Nuggets playing 29 minutes per game in 29 contests, starting 12.
The Nuggets missed the playoffs and Brooks parted ways.
After winning the Most Improved Award, Brooks played in Houston, Phoenix, China, Sacramento, back in Houston, and Denver, all within the span of four seasons. At this point the word “journeyman” could be used to describe Brooks’ career. He hasn’t had a consistent role in the NBA since 2011.
This season, that has changed.
Next: In Chicago