Last season, Dillon Brooks was accused of poking the bear for his comments on LeBron James. He doesn't seem to have learned his lesson. Brooks' Houston Rockets will face the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
When speaking to the media following a Tuesday practice session, Brooks once again risked poking the bear.
"I'm ready to lock him up," Brooks said. "He's been shooting the ball well. He's been playing well. So, I'm just there to make him tired. Make him get into that fourth quarter early."
Dillons Brooks says he’s ready to lock LeBron James up
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 7, 2023
( @BinkleyHoops) pic.twitter.com/qbu5ptBXvd
Brooks has earned a reputation as a villain in the NBA. He's one of the most polarizing players in the league. His outspoken nature and combative playing style can irritate his opponents and teammates alike. Brooks' antics last season saw the Memphis Grizzlies move on from him after his contract expired. He's now playing under Ime Udoka and embracing a defensive role for the Rockets.
James is once again enjoying an elite start to the season, and he destroyed Brooks in their matchups during the playoffs last season. LeBron is still a top-10 talent in the NBA. It's doubtful that Brooks can limit his impact throughout a 48-minute contest. James has too much size, skill and experience to be contained by a defensive role player.
However, it should be noted that Brooks is thriving in Houston. He's averaging 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists, shooting 59.3% from the field and 56.5% from three-point range. He is heading into the contest against the Lakers full of confidence. Yet, his offensive production isn't what's going to slow LeBron down. Brooks will need to play elite-level defense to make good on his words. Otherwise, he will once again be reminded not to goad one of the greatest players in league history.
Brooks isn't a bad player. He just makes bad decisions when overvaluing his skill set and potential impact.
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The Golden State Warriors are yet to reach a resolution with Jonathan Kuminga this summer, and they seem to be biding their time for a superstar, should he be made available. The Golden State Warriors are yet to make any sort of move this offseason, despite being linked to both Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton. Priority number one seems to be figuring out the Jonathan Kuminga situation. He is a restricted free agent, and the Warriors have extended a qualifying offer, keeping him on the books for another season unless he is moved in a sign-and-trade, which seems to be a very real possibility. Kuminga and the Warriors seem to be on the outs, with both parties preferring him to play elsewhere this season, although it could benefit both of them for him to sign a longer deal with Golden State. Warriors would prefer to sign Kuminga to longer deal If Kuminga returns to Golden State on the one-year qualifying offer, he will make $7.9 million next season before becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. As a free agent, he should be able to sign a lucrative deal next summer, but that means spending another year in Golden State, which he doesn’t want to do. On top of that, if he gets injured this season, there is no guarantee that his next contract will be maximized, so there is some risk involved. It seems counter-intuitive for him to sign a big deal with the Warriors, although committing–on paper at least–to the Dubs long term could work out for him. If he signs a new deal, he has to wait three months before being traded, although he will likely have more suitors than he would if he was simply playing on a one-year rental contract. For both the Warriors and Kuminga, signing him for three or four years not only would make him more guaranteed money, but it makes him easier to move. With Kuminga signed to a whole new contract, the Warriors can set their sights on a prized trade target. Kuminga could be centerpiece of Giannis Antetokounmpo trade Giannis Antetokounmpo has yet to demand a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks, but if the Doc Rivers-led team falls flat, even with Myles Turner in town, it stands to reason that the Bucks will have to have a difficult talk next summer. A fourth first-round exit in a row in 2026 would likely spell the end of the Giannis era in Milwaukee, and the Warriors, as well as the rest of the league, are gearing up to add him. With Kuminga signed to a longer deal, the Warriors can include him as a key part of a possible trade package. “There’s another reason why the Warriors don’t want to give Kuminga away for less than his full trade value: Like every other smart team, they’re trying to maintain every asset they’ve got so they’re ready once and if the Giannis Antetokounmpo market heats up,” wrote The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami. “If you’re looking to build a trade around a young player who could step right into a barren roster and give a transitioning team a burst of energy … well, I think the Warriors might have a candidate to bring up if Milwaukee ever asks. That is, if the Warriors and Kuminga can agree on a solid deal this summer.” It will take a lot more than Kuminga to land Antetokounmpo, although the Warriors could toss in Moses Moody, who was extended last summer, as well as up to three first-round picks and multiple pick swaps, possibly enough to get a deal done for a new franchise centerpiece to build around.
Juraj Slafkovsky is one of the most promising players in the NHL, but now he has been called out by David Pastrnak, who stated he lacks humility. After being picked No. 1 overall in 2022 NHL Draft, expectations were high in Montreal for young star Juraj Slafkovsky, and thus far, he's shown glimpses of being the elite level player many expected when he entered the National Hockey League. However, there are still some major steps to go, and in a recent interview, Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak pointed out perhaps one area where the 21-year old may need to improve moving forward. When asked about Slafkovsky and his potential, Pastrnak gave nothing but a glowing review of the young Canadiens star, but he did note that he believes Slafkovsky needs more humility. 'He's still a young player who is gaining experience in the NHL every year. This season it was already clear that he gave the team more than before...He just needs a little more humility, he should set an example for the young ones.' On the ice, there's no doubting that Slafkovsky has the presence, the size and the talent to be a true star, posting 101 total points over the past two seasons, but for whatever reason, it appears as though Pastrnak believes he needs to improve off the ice before he can take a major leap in Montreal. Ultimately, the talent is still there for Slafkovsky, and at 21-years old, he'll continue to learn off the ice, and if he can go anywhere close to living up to the potential that he's shown in his first three years at the NHL level, there's no doubt that he can be a big time star and help lead the Canadiens to significant post-season success.
Kirk Cousins might be relegated to the job of backup quarterback, but he is showing veteran leadership to his Atlanta Falcons teammates. Following Sunday's practice, Cousins pulled aside rookie defensive end James Pearce to encourage the first-round pick after his fourth practice in the league at Flowery Branch, Georgia. "QB Kirk Cousins pulled aside Pearce after practice to compliment him on a pass batted down," wrote Marc Raimondi of ESPN. Cousins reportedly had a solid day of practice on Sunday, going 7-of-12 passing against the first-team unit. If Cousins wants out of Atlanta, he's not showing it at practice. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback is competing on the field and being a good teammate around the facility. Cousins' actions on the field backed up what Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot praised Cousins for before the team's practice on Sunday. “Outside, it's a lot more of a deal than it is in the building,” Fontenot said to the media about the idea of friction between the Falcons and Cousins, per video from D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “He shows up, he does his job, just like anybody ... We've gotta build the best 70-man roster so we can go win games. "That's what we're focused on, and Kirk, just like all the other players, is focused on coming in here and doing their job. That's what he's been doing." Fontenot didn't dismiss the idea that Atlanta would trade Cousins before the season. He said the Falcons will do whatever it takes to make the team better, but stressed that Cousins has been a professional throughout the process of being replaced by Michael Penix Jr., a first-round pick from the 2024 draft. “In terms of making moves, whether it's trades or acquiring players, we're always looking at those factors," Fontenot said. "We're gonna do whatever we can do to make this team the best it can possibly be. But he's been a great professional, and he's handled himself well.” Cousins is coming to work in a manner that will make another owner want to take a chance on the veteran quarterback. That could be one of his best-selling points before he plays in his 13th season in the league.
The most intriguing baseball player not currently in the major leagues might be New York Yankees prospect Spencer Jones. That's not only because of the impressive numbers he has put up in Triple-A, but also because of his perceived value in trade talks ahead of Thursday's MLB trade deadline. That trade speculation, and the Yankees' reported expectations for what that trade value is, might be doing him more harm than good when it comes to his future in the big leagues. With the Yankees in need of significant help to make another World Series run, Jones is one of the prospects that has been speculated as a potential trade chip. But according to baseball insider Jon Heyman, the Yankees are only willing to trade him for one type of player: a Paul Skenes type. Since Skenes is not likely to move, and since the handful of players on that level are also unlikely to move, it probably means that Jones is going to remain with the Yankees organization. It's a long-winded way of saying he is almost untouchable in trade talks. That, frankly, seems to be an absurd position for the Yankees to take, assuming it is their position. Not because Jones isn't a good prospect, but because they might be setting an unrealistic expectation for the type of player he is or can become. He is far from a sure thing or a can't-miss prospect. His power is prodigious, and in 19 games since his promotion to Triple-A, he has already hit 13 home runs with a 1.407 OPS. Those numbers jump off the page at you and make him the type of player a team and front office (and fans) can dream on. It's exciting, and it's encouraging in an era where power and home runs are one of the first things teams look for with hitters. But there is something else in Jones' game that also jumps off the page, and it is far less encouraging. It is the strikeouts. As in, he strikes out ... a lot. A concerning amount. For his career (entering play on Sunday), he had already struck out 469 times in 1,310 minor league at-bats. That is a strikeout rate over 35%. His Double-A strikeout rate was an even more concerning 40.22% over the past two-and-a-half seasons. It reached as high as 42% during the 2024 season. While that number has come down a bit since his promotion to Triple-A, it's such a small sample size of games and at-bats that it's hard to know if it's a real improvement or just a random hot streak. While strikeouts have become far more accepted in the major leagues in this era, especially for power hitters, there still has to be some concern and tempered expectations for a guy who misses the ball that much in the minors. The opposing arms and the quality of pitches he sees are only going to get tougher as he takes the next step into the major leagues. There is also the fact he is 24 years old and has only played 19 games above Double-A ball. Not to mention the fact the Yankees — the team that would know him better than anybody — do not seem to be in a rush to promote him to the big league club. If the Yankees really thought that highly of him and really believed in him being a difference-maker, he might already be an option for them. There are red flags here. This is not to say that Jones won't be good. It is also not suggesting that the Yankees should trade him for just anybody. It is simply saying he shouldn't be an almost untouchable trade asset for a team trying to win a World Series right now. He's an intriguing prospect with big flaws that could ultimately hold him back.
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