Dillon Brooks Remains Hungry After Signing Extension

Dillon Brooks signed a three-year, fully guaranteed $73MM extension a week ago. The Suns forward told the Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin that it was a product of his work ethic.

“That always keeps my engine going, and I’ve seen around the NBA, when I was coming up, that sometimes the money makes you content and just makes you sit in your spot,” Brooks said. “You’re good and you don’t need to get better, but I’ve learned over the years as well is that the NBA just keeps getting better with the young talent. If you take a year off from how you got to your money, then someone else is coming to come take it.”

Brooks had a career year as a scorer last season, his first with the club after coming over from the Rockets in the Kevin Durant trade. He averaged 20.2 points on 17.1 shots per game, both career highs, and helped establish a tough-minded mindset for a team looking to reestablish its culture following Durant’s departure.

Brooks’ extension runs through the 2029/30 season. Brooks will be eligible to be moved at the February 11 trade deadline if the team decides to go that route.

He’s more from Rankin’s interview with Brooks:

• Brooks wants to improve his perimeter shooting and distributing skills. He made 34.4% of his 3-point attempts last season. “I lacked, I didn’t really lack, I shot it OK, the 3-ball,” he said. “I want to add a separation 3-point shot to keep the defense honest. Get a little higher and tighter on me so I can get to the paint and get to the shots I really like. Passing. BG (GM Brian Gregory) told me I got to work on passing. I’ve been working on that.”
• He’s excited about the offseason additions of Miles Bridges and Luke Kennard. “We added some shooting, some spacing with both of those guys, and then some athleticism as well,” he said. “We can interchange lineups. Miles helps that, acquiring him, we get a little bit more youthful. I’m excited. Can’t wait to start. I’ve been cooped up in Toronto, but I can’t wait to start getting it going again.”
• He had no desire to hit the free agent market next offseason after an enjoyable first season with Phoenix. “It was good,” Brooks said of the extension talks. “Great, long conversations. I think (Gregory and CEO Josh Bartelstein), you know, planned out something that is going to be for the long term and I wanted to be here for a long term. So, whatever it was, I was going to accept it and be a Phoenix Sun.”