There has been tension between LeBron James and Dillon Brooks for years, and this season has kept it very visible as the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns have faced off three times already.
Brooks has no issue playing the bad guy against LeBron. If you are a LeBron fan, he is annoying, loud, and exhausting to deal with. But zoom out a little and you realize teams usually benefit from having someone exactly like that, and the Lakers are no different.
And this would not be new. The Lakers have already tried it with Lance Stephenson and Patrick Beverley, two players who constantly annoyed LeBron but competed with intensity and emotion. Brooks feels like a natural extension of that profile, and Bleacher Report’s Dan FaVale believes the Lakers should target him.
“Upgrading the defense remains the principal priority. The Lakers must be careful how they go about it. They have a roster teeming with one-way players. Any defense-first bodies they go after shouldn’t be threats to undermine the scoring attack.
Herb Jones or Dillon Brooks would outfit this team with the type of stopper who can propel it to a deeper playoff push. Both are also shaky spacers who will cost first-round goodies. Neither should torpedo the offense, but the Lakers aren’t a high volume or particularly efficient three-point-shooting squad. They have to consider that variable.”
