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Brooklyn Nets: The last reminders of a past life

By Joshua Balasa

Brooklyn Nets Gerald Green. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Brooklyn Nets Gerald Green. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Brooklyn Nets, New Jersey Nets
Brooklyn Nets MarShon Brooks (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

MarShon Brooks, Memphis Grizzlies

The New Jersey Nets picked up shooting guard MarShon Brooks from Providence, who had been taken by the Boston Celtics with the 20th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

At that point “Baby Kobe” could score with the best of them in college. He averaged 24.6 points in his four years with the Friars.

He was traded by the Celtics to the New Jersey for the rights to JaJuan Johnson and a future pick. Coincidentally, he would head to Boston in 2013 as part of the trade that Nets fans don’t like to talk about. 

But with the Nets, he scored with ease. He averaged 12.6 points in 56 games in New Jersey. He shot his way into All-Rookie second team honors and threw the pass in one of the most jaw-dropping alley-oops in league history. 

After the Nets’ acquisition of Joe Johnson in the summer of 2012, Brooks spent a lot of time on the bench, losing most of his time to veterans like Johnson and C.J. Watson.

While he was able to score on almost everyone in the league, he has always had problems on the defensive end, often having people question his effort.

Brooklyn Nets, New Jersey Nets
Brooklyn Nets MarShon Brooks (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

After being traded to the Celtics in 2013, he bounced around, spending time in Golden State and with the Lakers before finding himself re-evaluating his game.

While out of the league, Brooks kept busy playing internationally, mainly in China. He played three years with the Jiangsu Dragons, averaging 36.6 points on 51 percent shooting and 7 rebounds. That’s on par with the “Lonely God,”, Jimmer Fredette.

Since then, MarShon has had a renaissance. With Memphis, he has become a reliable off-the-bench scorer averaging 23.3 points and 3.7 assists per game on his 10-day contract last season. Granted that was seven games. But you should already know that Baby Kobe is going to score.

At 29, MarShon is far from done in the league. He is down to seven points a game, that should be expected. But with a surplus of good wing players on the Memphis roster, he is still finding his way to the hoop at only about 15 minutes per game.

The Nets will reunite with Brooks next week on Nov. 30, when the Grizzlies visit Brooklyn.