Marshon Brooks > Jujuan Johnson

[TripleOT]

Being from Providence, I know a lot about Brooks.  The guy is going to be a good scorer in the NBA for a long time.  He's got a ton of athleticism, good size, great work ethic, and has shown in college that he can put up big numbers effectively.

Brooks also can't play defense, can't play off the ball, can't pass the ball, has horrible decision making, can't dribble, and has horrible balance.

I am not saying he CAN'T play in the NBA, but just looking at his point totals without looking at the rest of his game is folly.

You seem to be sure about all the things that Brooks can't do by watching four games?  Most rookie SG can't do most of those things as rookies, either. 

There's one thing he can do - score.  I believe he's leading all rookies with 15.2 PPG after 4 games and is 7th in the entire league in scoring per 48min. In a very small sample, Brooks has shown he can fill it up.   

Very few SGs come into the league NBA ready to play quality defense.  Brooks looks like the typical rookie SG defensively - willing but clueless.   I think Brooks has all the tools (quickness, athletic ability, wingspan) to be a plus defender.  It will depend on 1) whether his team stressed that he becomes one and 2) whether he works to become one. 

Unfortunately, for SGs on rookie contracts, the best way to get paid after your rookie deal is up is to stress offense. It really doesn't matter all that much to the Nets that Brooks develops into a plus defender the next few years.  They need him to become a 20 ppg scorer first.

So the Nets needs him to be a big scorer, and Brooks will make an insane amount of money in a few seasons if he becomes a 20 ppg scorer, so I won't be surprised that Brooks will stress offense at the expense of defense.

As far as becoming a complete ballplayer as a SG, I don't know if that's in the cards for Brooks.  Time will tell, but this kid has improved exponentially every season as a college player.  I won't be shocked if he's an all around player some day besides being a big scorer.