Dillon Brooks Rumors: 'Doubt' in NBA About Grizzlies' Desire for New Contract with SF
Dillon Brooks' time with the Memphis Grizzlies may come to an end this offseason.
According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, "there is also a growing doubt leaguewide about the Grizzlies' appetite to re-sign Brooks as he heads to free agency."
While Brooks became more of a household name among basketball fans by unsuccessfully trash talking LeBron James during the playoffs, he has developed into a solid secondary scoring option during his six seasons with the Grizzlies.
He averaged a career-best 18.4 points a night last season after posting 17.2 points per game the prior campaign. However, he took a step back during the 2022-23 campaign.
The Oregon product saw his points per game drop to 14.3 and his field-goal percentage go from 43.2 to 39.6. He still brought some value on the defensive side, but the efficiency numbers in particular were a concern for a team that needs better shooters who can take advantage of the spacing created by Ja Morant's drives.
And then the playoffs happened.
Brooks went back and forth with James during Game 2 of Memphis' first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, and he has never been someone to back away from a chance to be something of an agitator on the floor.
Yet it was his comments afterwards that turned the most heads when he told reporters, "I don't care. He's old. … I poke bears. I don't respect no one till they come and give me 40."
Los Angeles went on to win the series in six games, James was his typically dominant self and Brooks didn't even make it through the next game because he was ejected for a flagrant-2 foul he committed on the King.
As if that wasn't enough, the NBA announced it fined Brooks $25,000 because of his "failure to participate in team postgame media availability during the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs."
It was a lot of noise for a role player, and general manager Zach Kleiman didn't sound like someone itching to bring the 27-year-old back when he said, "There were definitely some self created distractions in the series and along the way. We are going to take a different approach (next season)."
He also added that he will "hit on Dillon another day," when asked specifically about the swingman.
That other day may end up with Brooks looking for another team.
