Why Cavaliers signing Dillon Brooks might be crazy enough to work
Signing Dillon Brooks will work because of the Cavaliers’ maturity
The Memphis Grizzlies don’t have a lot of maturity in the building. Their best player had to be sent away from the team earlier this season for his inability to stop threatening people. After trading away Danny Green, no one on the roster boasts championship experience, unless you count Tyus Jones winning an NCAA title at Duke.
The vocal leader of the team? That would be Dillon Brooks, who clearly isn’t telling himself to calm down. When head coach Taylor Jenkins is asked about his team’s tendency to run their mouths, he gives a cop-out answer about “swagger” because he doesn’t have the ability to hold his team accountable.
The Cavaliers have a completely different culture. The stars are bought in, playing hard and deferring to their teammates. Ricky Rubio is the quintessential veteran that everyone else on the team listens to. J.B. Bickerstaff clearly has the respect of his locker room. This is a team that fights for one another and is prioritizing the right things.
Brooks stepping into this situation suddenly would find accountability and leadership. Donovan Mitchell will tell him when he is out of line. Rubio will try to guide him to achieve his goals without the sidetracks.
Fiery trash-talking players can still be a part of winning teams; they just need the infrastructure around them. Draymond Green has Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr and Bob Meyers, not to mention a host of veteran role players who have come through. Jimmy Butler has Udonis Haslem, Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley. Patrick Beverley, Ron Artest, Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett – all have won at differing levels when on the right team.
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It’s very possible that the Cavaliers could be that team. They don’t have the ability to overpay Brooks; all they can offer is the Full Mid-Level Exception. Brooks will want more than that, but if he is too toxic and his market doesn’t pan out then he might just be what the Cavaliers need – and just maybe, what Dillon Brooks needs too.