Dillon Brooks a Raptor? It’s a long shot, but
Who doesn’t like a story about a man and his dog?
If Raptors boss Masai Ujiri wants to turn sentimental, he’ll give Mississauga’s Dillon Brooks a long, long look as the NBA draft approaches.
After all, when asked to rattle off all the good things that could come with playing close to home — family, friends, “put a smile on fans’ faces” — Brooks also brought up Zeus, the 32kilogram Rottweiler he finally got to hang out with the past couple of days.
“He’s only nine months, but he’s a soft, friendly dog for sure,” Brooks said after working out for the Raptors on Monday morning.
A “soft, friendly” rather large Rottweiler? Really?
“He definitely is,” the 21-year-old Brooks said. “We went to the dog park. He was getting bullied. He’s a little soft, he likes to lie around … he’s a loving dog.”
Okay, it’s a bit of stretch — more an impossibility, really — that Ujiri or his Raptors confidants would factor a pet into any kind of consideration, even if it would make for a nice story. They are more likely to be swayed by Brooks’ work ethic, his size and skill, and the fact he’s leaving the University of Oregon after a breakout year.
Those traits might tempt the Raptors to try to obtain a second-round draft pick to use on the six-foot-seven small forward.
“Dillon . . . brings so much passion to the table,” Toronto’s director of scouting Dan Tolzman said after the workout. “Whatever he doesn’t offer skill (or) talent wise, he makes up for just with his winning plays and outplaying his opponents. I think he has shown he can score and defend and do all the things you look for from energy-type guys.”
According to the guesswork that is draft projection at this point in the process, Brooks is looking like a midto-late second-round pick. Of course, those projections are often worth nothing, but with Toronto only having a late first-round pick in the June 22 draft at this point, it’s hard to imagine how they would get the product of Findlay Prep in Las Vegas.
Brooks, who toyed with the idea of entering the draft a year ago before returning to school, doesn’t put much stock in the mock drafts that pop up at this time of year.
“It doesn’t matter what spot you’re at. (It’s about) staying in the league and finding a way, your own way, for the best fit,” he said. “A good man (former NBA lottery pick, and Find- lay alumnus, Rashad Vaughn) told me that it’s easy to get to the league, it’s hard to stay in it. And I’ve been preaching that to myself and getting ready for the uphill battle.”
As he wends his way through the process, with four team workouts already done and likely a dozen or so more to come, Brooks is under no illusions. He displayed a strong work ethic at Oregon and made plays, but he knows there’s much more to be done against NBA skill than there was against collegians.
“Every team is looking for a twoway player — play both offence and defence at a high rate — and I want to be that player. Regardless of any negativity that comes my way, I’m ready for it.”