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After deadline deal, Aaron Brooks gets chance to shine
Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer
CLICK HERE FOR MORE ANALYSIS OF THE TRADE - AND CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF KYLE LOWRY DISCUSSING THE DEAL WHICH BROUGHT HIM TO HOUSTON
Houston - Make no mistake: The Rockets are thrilled to have added Kyle Lowry and Brian Cook to the team. But the deal struck just moments before the trade deadline also speaks volumes about a player already on the Rockets’ roster.
By sending Rafer Alston to Orlando, the club clearly, if silently, stated its confidence in second-year point guard Aaron Brooks. He now will be given an opportunity to grab hold of the starting spot and make it his own, and after spending a 20-month apprenticeship of sorts behind Alston, the lightning-quick Brooks says he’s ready for the challenge.
“I’m excited for this opportunity,” says Brooks. “It’s a big step for me and a big step for this team. Luckily we’ve got a good point guard coming in in Kyle Lowry who’s a true pro, so I’m going to go out there, work hard and have fun.
“I think one thing that’s helped me out a lot is just [learning from Alston’s] preparation for the game. Every game, he knew what the opponent was going to do; he knew all the plays, he would take film home before the games and watch it, so his preparation was amazing. I took that from him and playing against him everyday in practice made me a lot better player.”
Brooks knows there are sure to be ups and downs during his attempt to seize the reins of the Rockets’ offense, and there are no doubt plenty of people who question his ability to do so. But Shane Battier has a word of warning for the doubters.
“My first thought of the trade was that it reminded me of a situation a few years back, when a very similar player to Aaron – and Kyle for that matter- was handed the keys to the offense and there was an uproar with everybody saying, ‘We’re handing the keys to the offense to this undersized point guard who’s really quick and a great scorer, but he can’t play defense, he can’t run a team.’ Well, I think you’d be pretty hard-pressed to find many people in San Antonio who question Gregg Popovich’s thinking now.”
Battier, of course, is referring to the Spurs’ sensational Tony Parker. True, Brooks has a long way to go before claiming residence in that sort of rarified air; he has to improve his decision-making on offense and certain match-ups defensively will be a persistent challenge due to his small stature. But the match-up problems go both ways, as Battier is quick to point out.
“Aaron is so quick, you can’t really stay in front of him too easily. So, yeah, he has some issues with size and posting guards, and that’s an issue we have to address as a team. But what he brings, other teams can’t prepare for. So who has the advantage? Time will tell. But we like Aaron and feel really good about our chances.
“We feel confident and by no means are we throwing in the towel. The same people that say we’re throwing in the towel are the same people who roasted Rafer Alston saying we’d never win with him.”
And should Brooks stumble along the way, the team now boasts another promising young point guard who’s more than ready to help pick up the slack.
“I’m a basketball player so I’m going to do whatever it takes to try to win the game,” says the newly-acquired Lowry. “Whatever the coaches need me to do, I’ll do it: Take charges, set up the offense, shoot – I’m going to do whatever it takes to win.
“Aaron’s been having a great season so far and he’s a very exciting point guard; he does everything. I’m just excited to get out there, help him out and team up to have a good solid point guard rotation.”
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