Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks may not be a popular figure among LeBron James and Los Angeles Lakers fans, but Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale believes the team should pursue him. Favale listed three trade targets for each NBA team, and Brooks was ranked second for the Lakers behind Herb Jones.
“Upgrading the defense remains the principal priority. The Lakers must be careful how they go about it. They have a roster teeming with one-way players. Any defense-first bodies they go after shouldn’t be threats to undermine the scoring attack.
“Herb Jones or Dillon Brooks would outfit this team with the type of stopper who can propel it to a deeper playoff push. Both are also shaky spacers who will cost first-round goodies. Neither should torpedo the offense, but the Lakers aren’t a high-volume or particularly efficient three-point-shooting squad. They have to consider that variable.”
The Lakers were atrocious defensively in December. Their 122.4 defensive rating for the month ranked 29th in the NBA. It seems fairly clear that the only way to make a significant improvement would be a trade. Jones and Brooks will definitely strengthen them on that end.
To go with the defensive prowess, Brooks is also in the midst of the best offensive season of his career. The 29-year-old is averaging 21.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game in 2025-26, while shooting 46.0% from the field and 34.2% from beyond the arc.
Now, Brooks is indeed not hitting threes at a great clip. His offensive production will also go down if he plays next to James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves, but he can still be a big positive for this Lakers team.
Brooks plays with the kind of energy and effort that the Lakers lack. He is willing to do the dirty work and has a mean streak to him as well.
Brooks is an instigator on the court, and James has first-hand experience of his antics. These two have gone at each other plenty of times since the Lakers took on the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2023 playoffs. Brooks, who was with the Grizzlies at the time, had poked the bear that is James and paid the price.
The Lakers blew out the Grizzlies by 40 points in Game 6 to knock them out, and Brooks was left with egg on his face. That hasn’t stopped him from going after James, though.
Tensions between them rose to the surface when the Lakers took on the Suns on Dec. 14. Brooks and James had been getting a bit physical with each other during the game, and the latter lost his cool when the former slapped the ball at him on one occasion. A fuming James had to be held back as he strongly voiced his frustration. Leaked audio later revealed how heated the trash talk between them was.
Brooks then fired shots at James during his media session at Suns practice. There is some bad blood here, but you’d imagine they’d be able to put their differences aside if they were to become teammates. Both James and Brooks want to win, and they would unite for that common goal.
It won’t be easy to get Brooks out of Phoenix, though. The Suns have no real need to trade him away, especially with them being 20-14 on the season. This isn’t a team that’s going into the trade deadline as a seller.
The Lakers also only have one tradeable first-round pick (2031 or 2032) this season. Would that pick and players on expiring contracts like Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent be enough for the Suns to part with Brooks? It seems unlikely.
As for the third target that Favale mentioned, it was Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III. He thinks the Lakers need a better backup for Deandre Ayton than Jaxson Hayes. There is an injury risk involved here, but Williams shouldn’t cost them too much in terms of assets.
It will be interesting to see what the Lakers end up doing. If they don’t make any notable moves, another early playoff exit could be on the cards.
