The Athletic: Dillon Brooks will give the rebuilding Suns toughness, energy - and perhaps an edge

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PHOENIX — The technical fouls. The trash-talking. The scuffling. The obvious question to those who have coached Dillon Brooks deals with all that. As in, have you ever asked him to tone it down?

David McClure coached Brooks for four seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies. Asked this, he brought up working in the video room earlier in his career with the San Antonio Spurs. One night, he was among those invited to dinner with then-coach Gregg Popovich. The Spurs in those years were methodical and structured. Everyone except Manu Ginobili. He was a little more “chaotic,” McClure said, recalling the dinner.

Pop said that night: “I have to kind of let Manu be Manu. I have to give him a little bit more leeway than the rest of the players because a muzzled Manu isn’t special.”

Keith Smart coached Brooks during his rookie season in Memphis, long before Brooks had established himself. Still, the edge and toughness were there. Smart kept up with Brooks through the years, watching his games and texting him observations and reminders. Asked if he’s ever told Brooks to chill, Smart brought up something former Georgetown coach John Thompson once told him.

“Keith,” Thompson said, “you can always calm down a fool, but you can never raise a dead man.”

Translation: “You can always tell a player to calm down some,” Smart said, “but when you have to constantly tell a player — Come on, man. Play hard. Compete — you’re going to run out of time.”

Entering his ninth season, Brooks is among the headliners of the Phoenix Suns’ summer reboot, acquired with athletic guard Jalen Green and others in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Rockets for superstar Kevin Durant. Phoenix’s intent was to get bigger, younger and more athletic. But the Suns also wanted to get tougher, especially on defense. Those who have worked with Brooks insist few are better.

This may take time. Not for Brooks, but for Phoenix fans. Throughout their history, the Suns have had elite scorers, gifted passers and decent defenders. They have not had many irritators, guys who lived to get inside an opponent’s head. Dennis Awtrey (1970s), Maurice Lucas (1980s) and Danny Ainge (1990s) all could annoy or intimidate, but not at this level.

Over the last three regular seasons, Brooks, 29, has earned a league-high 49 technical fouls. Last season he was T’d up for barking at officials, sticking up for teammates, taunting, pushing, flopping and hanging on the rim. In March, he was ejected in Phoenix after a dust-up with Durant. In a first-round playoff matchup against Golden State, he beefed with Jimmy Butler and was accused of targeting Stephen Curry’s sore thumb.

At a brief media session during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Brooks described his style as “no bull—,” adding he doesn’t back down from anybody or any situation. He said he couldn’t wait for Suns fans to cheer next season after his first technical foul, which shows the power of a uniform change. As The Boston Globe wrote in 1986, “villainy is in the eye of the beholder.”

“It’s not a bad reputation to have,” said former NBA guard Nick Van Exel, who coached Brooks in Memphis, where Brooks spent his first six seasons before spending the last two in Houston. “A lot of guys go through their whole career and nobody knows anything about them. You know Dillon Brooks because of his tenacity on defense. You know when he’s on the court. He has a presence.”

The Athletic talked with seven NBA coaches who have worked with Brooks. What amazed many is that Brooks — who has earned just one All-Defense nod (second team in 2023) — isn’t more respected as a defender, especially because of his versatility. McClure recalled a short Memphis stretch during which the 6-foot-6 Brooks defended then-Washington wing Bradley Beal, Portland guard Damian Lillard and New Orleans forward Zion Williamson. Memphis had others who matched up better against the bulldozer-like Williamson, but Brooks told the coaching staff: “I want him.”

During Blake Ahearn’s four years in Memphis, the most common question he got from outsiders dealt with Ja Morant, the rising superstar. The second: What’s Dillon Brooks like?

Ahearn recalled his first season as an assistant coach. It was the 2020-21 season, and Memphis was locked in a Play-In Tournament battle with Golden State. The winner secured the Western Conference’s eighth seed, the loser was eliminated. At one point in the contest, then-Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins subbed out Brooks for a quick breather.

Ahearn had done the scout for Golden State, and he was nervous. He knew how quickly Curry could catch fire. He needed Brooks on the floor.

“Are you ready?” Ahearn asked him on the bench.

“Dude, just give me like one minute and I’m good,” Brooks said, according to Ahearn.

Ahearn let 30 seconds pass. “Are you …”

Brooks didn’t wait for the entire question. He got up and walked to the scorer’s table. Brooks played 45 minutes that night. Memphis won in overtime.

“If you’re giving a scout, you could ask Dillon about the best player,” Ahearn said. “You could also ask him about the 13th player — Dillon will be able to give you a full scouting report on everybody. His attention to detail and how he prepares in order to guard guys is special. … I just respect the heck out of him that night-in and night-out he wants that matchup, and he’s not going to back down from it.”

Former Memphis assistant Brad Jones said Brooks is outstanding on the ball, but what separates him is focus. Luka Doncic could score on him on four consecutive possessions, and on the fifth, Brooks would be just as determined as the first. While some coaches might panic and make defensive changes, the Memphis staff knew it could stick with its coverage because Brooks eventually would figure it out.

“One of the best things I think you can say about him is he plays 82 games and he comes out every night like it’s the last game he’s going to play,” Jones said.

Brooks brought the same commitment and energy to practice. Memphis often scheduled practice at 11:30 a.m. and had time slots available so players could get treatment or hit the weight room. Usually, the rookies and younger players took the earlier times to let the vets come in later. Brooks, however, grabbed the early slots so he could get in more work.

There were outbursts. Former Memphis assistant Scoonie Penn recalled Brooks delivering a hard foul during a lackadaisical practice. Words were exchanged. Brooks yelled at video staffers who were officiating — and practice changed.

“What he did was, he raised the level of competition,” Penn said. “He got angry … but at the same time it lifted everybody up. Because, obviously, it’s a long season. You have times when it’s up and down. It might be dead. You need that extra. Dillon brings that extra.”

Adam Mazarei was around Brooks for only his first two seasons in Memphis, but he said not much has changed. From the start, Brooks was an NBA second-round draft pick who carried himself like a lottery pick. Ultra-competitive. Uber-confident. Put in the work. Trust his game. And look where it’s gotten him.

“Phoenix is getting a dude,” Mazarei said. “His toughness, his edge, his confidence. He’s a guy you want on your team, no question about it.”

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Doug Haller is a senior writer based in Arizona. He previously worked 13 years at The Arizona Republic, where he covered three Final Fours and four football national championship games. He is a five-time winner of the Arizona Sportswriter of the Year award. Follow Doug on Twitter @DougHaller

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