MarShon Brooks on Dwightmare, New Brooklyn Era

All Nets fans recall Dwightmare clearly. All the trade rumors, all the "sources", all the "deal should be done by next week" tweets. The process surely was not memorable for most fans, and neither was the ending. But let's go back to that for a moment.

Boone from Newsday interviewed MarShon Brooks, who is currently in Russia for a NBA Basketball Without Borders program. Brooks talked about the rumors, and how it affected him, being the rookie that he is.

"It was tough. It was my first time going through that, my first time going through trade rumors. But at the end of the day, I looked at myself in the mirror and I said, 'We are talking about Dwight Howard right now, so get out your feelings, young man.'

"Dwight Howard is Dwight Howard, so I got over it as time went on. But it was tough at first, seeing my name in so many different trade rumors. But I got over it. It's a business. This is what I signed up for, so this is what I get."

For a rookie, he seems to be a little more mature than the average NBA player. He, as well as Lopez, understands its all business, and it should not alter his game. It's highly possible that it did, since it was another obstacle that he was going through but one can tell he gets it.

They also talked about how Brooks would have to change his game this year with the new firepower King installed into this team.

"We have a lot of scorers this year," Brooks said. "Last year, I had to score in order for us to compete. This year, I'm just going to try to do anything possible just to win, you know? We've got guys who can score: Gerald [Wallace], D-Will. Brook Lopez, he's a walking 20 [points], 10 [rebounds] himself. My role is going to be to go out there and provide energy in any way necessary.

Hopefully that means less pump-fakes and more clean-looking shots for Brooks. The offensive load is no longer on him, and it should not be on him. But if it does, Brooks has an answer:

"If we are lacking in scoring on that given day, then yeah, I'll come out and be a little more aggressive. But with these guys, I think things are going to be so much easier and I'm just going to come out there and play my game. I am a scorer, but any way possible. Everybody is going to have to sacrifice this year. Any way I can help the team, I'm willing to do that."

MarShon Brooks opens up about dealing with trade rumors - Newsday