marshon brooks scouting report (Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)
The Golden State Warriors added not one, but two new shooting guards via a trade with the Boston Celtics Wednesday afternoon. While Jordan Crawford will likely take over the backup point guard duties, MarShon Brooks is a little more of a question mark after spending most of the 2013-14 season on the Celtic bench or in the D-League.
Watching him in limited garbage minutes Brooks, a skilled offensive player, looked the part of a scoring guard. He has solid size at 6’5″ and a massive 7’1″ wingspan to go with good athleticism, but settled far too often for difficult mid-range jump shots.
The former Providence guard has yet to expand his range beyond the NBA three-point line, and has often forced one-on-one match-ups that aren’t in the best interests of the team.
Still, in short bursts, he showed promise. He often looked like a player who should be more involved, but regularly struggled when asked to play within a team concept.
He was not efficient nor did he create or even play well with others, and his decision-making was questionable.
His defense lacked in both IQ and effort, as he often got caught out of position or unaware. Coaches might think they can take Brooks to the next level, but Brooks has not improved much since entering the league in 2011.
One could logically conclude that he was a throw-in in the deal with the Warriors and Miami Heat to save the Celtics just a bit more money.
Brooks’s best comparison in the NBA is probably Nick Young, minus Young’s shooting range, which is the reason he’s bounced between the NBA and the D-League so much since being drafted 25th overall.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress wrote in an early scouting report on Brooks:
I watched him play extensively this season in person and on tape and I wonder if he’s going to be able to get away with some of the things that he did at Providence, the way he monopolizes the ball, his shot selection, the tunnel-vision he shows, the bad body language, the lack of enthusiasm for playing defense. But I felt the same way about Nick Young, I felt the same way about Jordan Crawford, these guys end up having NBA careers. Whether they’re the most efficient players, whether they end up helping their team win games, that’s up for debate.
Whether he’s a garbage-time scorer or a valuable contributor off the bench for the Warriors remains to be seen.
Kevin Cronan of SqueezeTheOrange.com, which had its own report on the trade, offered these insights:
MarShon Brooks (alternatively Mar$hon Brooks) had a promising rookie year (he was even drafted by the Celtics originally) and even finished 2nd Team All-Rookie. But when he came over in the Brooklyn trade, his role was a bit unclear. How exactly would the Celtics use him? On a team that started with five shooting guards, Brooks simply got lost in the rotation and only played scarce minutes. Ironically, I picked him to play over Crawford in my season preview.
.
Brooks is best known as a scorer and averaged 12.6 ppg in his rookie season. His season highlight this year came during a week long stint with Boston’s D-League affiliate in which he averaged 27.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 35 minutes per game. He is certainly capable of contributing in the NBA, so he’s not exactly a throw in. Much like Crawford, he’s a heat-check guy who can shoot you back into games. I’d keep an eye on him during his stay in Golden State.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said in a press conference before yesterday’s game against the Denver Nuggets that struggling players “do well in certain situations and not in others, depending on opportunity, depending on system, depending on fit.
“We think (Brooks) is a talented player. He’s shown he can play in the NBA. He’s another guy that can create his own shot. At one point, he was starting for Brooklyn and New Jersey.
“Again, (Brooks is) a little bit of a punch off the bench. He’s a player that’s on last year’s deal, which gives us a good chance to evaluate him and see what he can do for us. Our coach is very fair in giving players opportunity,” Myers added, “If he gets an opportunity and embraces it, does well, I think he’ll see some minutes.”
Even without Toney Douglas, there will not be too many minutes for the third-year shooting guard.
[NOTE: Poor Man’s Commish and Kevin Cronan contributed to this report.Kevin hails from Boston, the greatest city in Massachusetts. He is an avid pickup player and isn’t at all bitter about never playing college basketball, so don’t even both bringing it up. You can find more of his work at Squeeze the Orange and Celtics Talk.]
Follow @brownieNBA
Follow @poormanscommish
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
