BROWNSVILLE, TX -- While visiting the Rio Grande Valley for a basketball camp, former Phoenix Suns point guard Aaron Brooks tells ACTION 4 SPORTS the Houston Rockets "have the edge" in signing him as a free agent.
Brooks, who played three games with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers D-League franchise back in December of 2007, was in Brownsville for a basketball camp at the behest of some of the Vipers front office, whom he's stayed in touch with over the years. The 5-year pro out of the University of Oregon was drafted by the Rockets with the 26th pick of the 2007 NBA draft, and stayed with Houston until traded to Phoenix in January of 2011.
Brooks tells ACTION 4 SPORTS that soon after the Suns withdrew their qualifying offer on Sunday, making him a free agent, he met with Rockets head coach Kevin McHale, and that meeting was productive. "He's a straightforward guy," Brooks commented of McHale, "And his system is the same as the one I've been running, up and down the floor."
"Even though the coaching staff has changed (since I left the Rockets), there are still some guys with the organization that I'm friends with, and I'd say that definitely gives Houston the edge."
While Brooks' NBA rights belonged to Phoenix last season, he signed to play in China during the lockout in 2011, and was unable to garner a release from his contract. Brooks spent the season with the Guangdong Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, where he lost in the championship series to the Beijing ducks.
Brooks is helping to instruct campers at this week's "Run The Walk" camp, run by Brownsville St. Joseph boys basketball coach (and former Vipers assistant) Gonzalo Garza. The camp runs through Tuesday afternoon at UT-Brownsville's Garza Gymnasium.
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