LeBron James praises Dillon Brooks as 'worthy' of Rockets deal

HOUSTON -- Dillon Brooks might have parlayed a heel turn during the Memphis Grizzlies-Los Angeles Lakers playoff series into a pretty payday with the Houston Rockets this summer, but his postseason nemesis, LeBron James, says Brooks earned every penny.

"I think every player that is awarded with a contract is awarded for a reason, and they're worthy of the contract that they get," James said Wednesday when asked whether Brooks might have boosted his market value by casting himself as the Lakers star's foil.

"So I think in his case, he was worthy of the contract he got. He's put in the work since he came out of Oregon, and that's what Houston found value in and he's here. So no, I think it has nothing to do with that."

Brooks signed a four-year, $80 million deal to join a revamped Houston team that also added coach Ime Udoka and veteran guard Fred VanVleet to join a young, talented core of Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun.

Brooks infamously called James "old" during the Grizzlies' first-round bout with the Lakers and ended up looking awful as both an analyst and a contributor, averaging 10.5 points on 31.2% shooting (23.8% from 3-point range) with 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in six games. James, meanwhile, averaged 22.2 points on 48.6% shooting with 11.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists while leading the seventh-seeded Lakers to the upset over the second-seeded Grizzlies.

Brooks welcomed the matchup when asked about James and the Lakers on Tuesday -- and didn't cast any aspersions this time around.

"Ready to lock him up," Brooks said. "He's shooting the ball well. He's been playing well. So I'm just there to make him tired, make him get into that fourth quarter early."

James said he wouldn't reflect too much on the playoff history with Brooks going into Wednesday night. Los Angeles has other problems after losing the first two games of its four-game road trip and falling to 0-4 away from Crypto.com Arena this season.

"I think just the competition alone," James said. "It's always great to go out and compete, so he's one of those guys who likes to compete along with a lot of other guys in our league.

"But I don't really dwell in the past too much. ... Over the years, I kind of leave that in the past and find a way to [think about]: 'How can we get our first road win?' That's what my mindset is, for sure."