Pacers Showing Interest in Marshon Brooks

Apr 2, 2014; Sacramento, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard MarShon Brooks (2) drives in against Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) during the second quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Indiana Pacers are now dealing with the after effects of the Paul George injury, and they are scouring the free agent list looking for players that could potentially help them. According to a report from Sams Charania of RealGM.com, the Pacers are expressing interest in free agent wing Marshon Brooks. This would be an extremely interesting fit for the Pacers, especially due to the potential that Brooks has if he can reach his full talent.

Coming out of college, there were a lot of comparisons between Brooks and Kobe Bryant. Those comparisons haven’t turned out to be nearly correct, but Brooks does have the potential to be a very dangerous offensive weapon for the team that can figure out how to keep him motivated and working hard. He has split his three NBA seasons with four different teams, but has been unable to find consistent minutes anywhere.

Last season in 18 games with the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooks averaged 6.4 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. The Pacers are desperately searching for more offensive firepower with their best scorer going down for the season, and Brooks has shown that he can be a capable scorer with the necessary playing time. There is a lot of work for him to do before he becomes a legitimate scorer on a playoff contender, but he isn’t too far away from that level.

Frank Vogel has had trouble handling pure scorers in the past, which does make this move somewhat concerning if Larry Bird does end up making it happen. Brooks is the type of player that needs the green light to be able to play his best, but he is capable of making things happen. If Vogel is able to loosen his grip a little bit and allow his offense to be more of a free, then Brooks could very well come in and make a difference.

Overall, it will be interesting to see what the Pacers end up doing to help recover from George’s injury. There obviously isn’t any one player that can replace what George was going to do this season for the Pacers, but there are some pieces out in free agency that have the chance to help with the process. Bird may be looking to make a trade for a better player, but as of right now Brooks appears to be their best target as far as pure scoring ability.