Aaron Brooks shines in Chinese basketball
Mar 9, 2012, 10:52 PM | Updated: 10:55 pm
The Suns traded Goran Dragic and a first-round draft pick
to get Aaron Brooks to help make a playoff push last year,
which didn’t happen.
But Brooks hasn’t had much time to improve and grow closer
with the Suns because he’s still on the other side of the
world in China playing basketball.
TNT ran
a special report Thursday night about Brooks and
how he’s doing over in China.
Brooks left for the Chinese Basketball Association when
the NBA lockout was in a standstill and signed with the
Guangdong Southern Tigers for the season. The Tigers have
won the past four CBA championships and are headed toward
the finals again this year, and Brooks has to stay for the
duration of the season.
But when the star point guard of the Tigers returns home,
there will only be a month left of the NBA season. His
rights still belong to the Suns, but if Phoenix decides to
re-sign him for the remainder of the season, he would
become an unrestricted free agent in July. If the Suns
don’t sign Brooks, he will become a restricted free agent
in July, but because he did not finish the season with the
Suns, they will lose the sign-and-trade rights.
It’s something the franchise will have to consider with
him averaging 9.6 points and 18.9 minutes per game in the
2010 season with the Suns.
He could be back sooner than a month if the Tigers don’t
repeat, but what seems to be the only concern for the last
NBA player in China is to win a championship with his
current team.
