“Dillon Brooks will be missed. I get the move, but what he brought to this team —the culture, the mentality, the identity under Ime Udoka — won’t be forgotten” wrote Houston Texans reporter Stressan earlier today. Dillon the Villain’s 2-year journey with the Houston Rockets concluded a few days ago after Kevin Durant was traded to the franchise. Now, the responsibility of dealing with the player, whose ‘bad-boy’ personality would make the 90s Detroit Pistons proud, falls on another coach. However, if a 3-decade-long radio host is to be believed, then Brooks might not be as much trouble to a team, its players, and its coaches as one would believe.

Or, won’t he be?

Earlier today, Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix host John Gambadoro revealed talking with an anonymous NBA coach. The same told him that “everyone hates Dillon Brooks until he plays for you. Said he is dead serious about the game and will do everything you want and need. Can guard 1-3 and sometimes 4”.

Brooks’s prowess allowed him to go up and defend renowned stars like recent NBA champion Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and even Anthony Davis. Gambadoro also claimed that the coach “Said he’s like Draymond and does better on good teams because he gets frustrated with losing and that’s when some of his foolishness comes out more”

The same reporter also raised Jalen Green on a pedestal. Gambadoro revealed that another reporter had told him that guarding the 23-year-old was amongst the hardest tasks he had to undergo. Therefore, one can forget just how much the other players were struggling when in front of Green. All of this highlights that while the Houston Rockets might have walked away with one of the most renowned veterans in modern NBA, the Suns also got a good batch of players from the trade agreement.

Unfortunately, not everything is peachy. Over the last few years, Jalen Green has proven to be someone who struggles on the defensive end. Even before the 2021 NBA draft, he was criticized over his limited playmaking IQ, something which has continued on till this point. As Gambodoro revealed, however, “I asked about his struggles defensively. – Said everyone is terrible defensively heck KD gets attacked and picked on”. The same anonymous coach “Also said Green has to make commitment to work and that the playoffs didn’t help him. But said he can absolutely play with Book and said overall the Suns did fine – got two players who can help them and a top 10 pick.”

Dillion Brooks’s ‘incidents’, which occur due to losing, are more of a negative for the Phoenix Suns right now than a positive. After all, the team won only 36 of their 82 games in the recently concluded NBA tournament. Despite the presence of stars like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, ending up as the 11th seed on the Western Conference Table indicates some deep issues, which cannot be solely fixed by trading away the team’s star player in exchange for Brooks and Green. Therefore, there is no guarantee that the Phoenix Suns can do far better, immediately, in the next season than they did in the recent one. All this can make Brooks frustrated, and an alleged liability for the team. Add that to Green’s difficulties on the defensive front, and one wonders whether the Phoenix Suns got a good bargain from the trade.

Concerns over the trade will be raised over the upcoming days. Especially when realizing that the Phoenix Suns could have gotten a much better deal in exchange for Kevin Durant, had the veteran been more open-minded.

Phoenix Suns’ insider reveals Minnesota Timberwolves’ offer for Kevin Durant after Rockets Trade

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro has certainly been dropping some major bombs after the Rockets-Suns trade. However, his biggest one in recent days is yet to be discussed. During a recent appearance on ‘The Kevin O’Connor Show’, the reporter revealed that the Minnesota Timberwolves, aka the franchise that was amongst Durant’s next potential destinations, had put together a strong offer. According to it, Durant would join Anthony Edwards and co and, in return, the Phoenix Suns would get Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVincenzo, one of their young players (either Terrence Shannon Jr. or Rob Dillingham), and their 2025 first-round pick (No. 17 in the upcoming NBA draft).

“This is what I believe the offer [from Minnesota] to be,” Gambadoro said on ‘The Kevin O’Connor Show’. “How much changed on Durant not wanting to go there—that we’re not 100% sure on.”

Kevin Durant was never too enthusiastic to head to the Minnesota Timberwolves. According to reports, his previous preferred destinations were the Houston Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Miami Heat. Shams Charania himself once reported that “I’m told Kevin Durant has no desire to be in Minnesota with the Timberwolves”. On top of that, last week, ‘The Athletic’ reporters Sam Amick and Jon Krawczynski revealed that “The Timberwolves do not want to make a seismic change to a roster that advanced to the Western Conference finals if Durant is not on board with the move”. This might have been the foundation over which the deal faltered.

From what we know now, we can conclude that Kevin Durant nixing Minnesota cost the Phoenix Suns. Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green can prove this belief wrong by changing the team for the better next season. Whether they will be able to do so, amidst their issues, will be interesting to see.