There were little expectations for MarShon Brooks in his return to the NBA. His play for the Memphis Grizzlies has far surpassed those expectations, and his new contract reflects that.
MarShon Brooks spent three consecutive seasons out of the NBA. The league had given up on him after he didn’t meet expectations in his second or third seasons, and he has spent his time since then playing basketball in China. But the Memphis Grizzlies wanted to give Brooks one last chance to prove he belonged in the league, so they gave him a 10-day contract.
Brooks outperformed that deal and then some.
He kicked things off with a 21-point outburst against the Portland Trail Blazers. For someone who hasn’t played in the NBA since 2014, 21 points were impressive enough, but he did it while making all five of his 3-point attempts as well.
He took the Grizzlies (and, more specifically, the Blazers) by storm in first game back and showed why teams believed in him back in 2011. In college, he showed a mean ability to be a natural scorer who could take anyone off the dribble. Against Portland, he did exactly that:
He hit four 3s of that variety in just the final quarter of the game against Portland, and he cemented his place in the Memphis rotation with his incredible opening performance.
It could have been a fluke. It could have been all adrenaline. It could have been just one hot game. Thankfully, the Grizzlies had nine more days on the 10-day contract to see if that performance was legitimate or not.
Game two for Brooks was in Utah, against the second-ranked defense in the league, but it was no problem for MarShon, who notched 24 points, two assists, and a +2 against a top seed in the Western Conference. Brooks proved that he could play against anyone and that his first game was not a fluke.
He’s played in four games for the Memphis Grizzlies since signing his 10-day contract, starting in one of them. In those four games, he scored 93 points, dished out 14 assists while only turning it over seven times, and has snagged six steals. He’s proved that he is an NBA player, and he did it while shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 60 percent from deep.
The culmination of big games from Brooks led Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace to lock him up for the rest of this reason as well as next season. The Grizz signed Brooks to a two-year guaranteed contract, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports:
Guard MarShon Brooks, Grizzlies agree to guaranteed two-year deal. Story: https://t.co/YPq4NxM8d9
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 6, 2018
The key for Brooks is that the contract is guaranteed next season as well, meaning he will be on the Memphis roster for the 2018-19 season as well.
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MarShon Brooks came in an earned it. He had a lot to prove after being exiled from the league for almost four full seasons, and you could see in his play that he wanted to stick in the NBA this time around. The Memphis Grizzlies — and Brooks — are hopeful that he can keep up this play for the rest of this season and into next year as the team looks to compete again.