Dillon Brooks of the Phoenix Suns is someone who loves to play the role, to borrow a term from professional wrestling, of the heel. He enjoys being the villain as much as anyone in the NBA these days, and his favorite target is LeBron James, a player he has taken numerous verbal shots at.
But he clearly isn’t above taking verbal jabs at other members of the Los Angeles Lakers. When content creator Ray asked him who he thinks the dumbest player in the league is, he named Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt.
“I’m going to throw a shot. I can’t even lie. This guy doesn’t even like me, to be honest with you, but who cares. Jarred Vanderbilt,” Brooks said. “On the Lakers… They call him Vando. Lefty… He’s like a rebounder, can’t shoot, defense… I just think he’s got way more potential he’s not untapping.”
Vanderbilt may not be the dumbest player in the NBA, but he also isn’t a Rhodes scholar when it comes to his basketball IQ. He is very limited offensively, yet despite his inability to score at the basket when challenged, he will still attempt to convert layups and dunks and miss them or get them blocked instead of pass the ball out to a teammate.
However, Vanderbilt does provide some value to the Lakers in other areas. He is a versatile, energetic and effective defender, and he can grab rebounds in bunches. Although he doesn’t do so often, he can also handle the ball in transition.
This season, he averaged 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.4 minutes a game while shooting 47.1% from the field and 29.3% from 3-point range. He is often pretty much unplayable in a playoff setting because of his glaring lack of offensive skills.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Dillon Brooks: Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt is NBA’s dumbest player
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
