Dillon Brooks's contract with the Phoenix Suns earns a C+ CVI — roughly what you'd expect for this level of production and salary. Dillon's production is solid — comfortably above the league-average small forward threshold. His $21.1M average annual value ranks as mid-tier money for the small forward market. The production lines up closely with the price tag, which is essentially paying fair market value. At 30, Dillon is in his prime productive window — exactly when teams want their highest-paid players performing at their peak. The 2-year deal keeps the commitment short, giving the team financial flexibility to move on if performance drops.
Performance Analysis
B-
#25 of 119 Small Forwards
FCA+
Dillon Brooks earns a B- Performance grade this season — a quality starter-level small forward putting up solid numbers for the Phoenix Suns. He's averaging 20.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists through 548 games — carrying a significant offensive load. Dillon's strongest area is PPG at 20.2, which compares favorably to the small forward median of 15.0. The biggest area for growth is APG at 1.8 (small forward median: 4.0). Among 119 NBA small forwards graded this season, Dillon ranks 25th. Dillon is a reliable contributor who the Phoenix Suns can count on game to game.
The public narrative around Dillon Brooks right now is genuinely ugly, and the C- sentiment grade reflects a player whose reputation has taken a serious hit at the worst possible moment — with the Suns' playoff run having just ended in a Thunder sweep. The core driver of this backlash is a story that writes itself: his isolation-heavy offensive approach drew public criticism from his own teammate Devin Booker ahead of a playoff game, and the media pile-on that followed reframed him not as the disruptive defensive agitator who earned All-Defensive Second Team recognition in 2023, but as a liability in high-stakes basketball. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's pointed trolling of Brooks after the sweep has since become the defining image of this postseason for Suns fans, cementing a narrative that Brooks was outmatched and outclassed on the biggest stage. What makes this particularly complicated is that his B- performance grade tells a different story from the sentiment — averaging 20.2 points over 56 games this season is legitimate above-average production, and the gap between his on-court numbers and his public standing is now glaring. The $21.1M AAV on his contract is the accelerant here, because that salary demands a two-way impact player who elevates a playoff roster, and the Thunder series exposed real doubts about whether Brooks delivers that value when it counts most. Betting models were publicly fading him during the postseason, analysts were writing him off before tip-off, and the extension conversation now looming over the Suns' front office has turned him into a financial flashpoint heading into the offseason. Brooks enters this summer needing a complete perception reset, and the current narrative offers him very little runway to work with.
