NBA Rumors: Dillon Brooks Will Have 'Some Interest' in FA After Grizzlies Exit Buzz

As he prepares to be a free agent for the first time in his career, Dillon Brooks is going to be on the radar for some NBA teams this offseason.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the 27-year-old is generating "some interest" around the NBA.

Charania reported on Tuesday that the Memphis Grizzlies informed Brooks they won't be bringing him back "under any circumstances" during his end-of-season exit meeting with club officials.

Even though Grizzlies officials told Brooks they wouldn't bring him back, Charania noted there was a "mutual feeling" from both sides that they needed a fresh start.

The end of Brooks' tenure in Memphis comes after he put himself into headlines for his actions during the team's first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Following the Grizzlies' Game 2 win, Brooks called LeBron James "old" and said he doesn't respect anyone until they score 40 points against him.

"He's not at the same level as he was when he was in Cleveland and winning championships in Miami," Brooks added. "I wish I got to see that. I mean, it would have been a harder, harder task (to guard him)."

In Game 3, Brooks was ejected early in the third quarter after hitting James in the groin. He was fined $25,000 by the NBA for not speaking with the media after the Grizzlies' losses in Games 3, 4 and 6.

"The media making me a villain, the fans making me a villain and then that just creates a whole different persona on me," Brooks told reporters on April 23. "So now you think I intended to hit LeBron James in the nuts. I'm playing basketball. I'm a basketball player. So if I intended—and that's whatever is in the flagrant-2 category—if you think I did that, that means you think I'm that type of person."

It bears watching how Brooks' market might be impacted by his offensive struggles over the past two seasons, including the playoff loss to the Lakers. He is shooting 32.1 percent from three-point range since the start of the 2021-22 season.

Over his first four NBA seasons, Brooks was a respectable 35.3 percent shooter from behind the arc. He's also one of the league's best wing defenders, which should help him attract free-agent suitors despite his playoff woes.

The Houston Rockets drafted Brooks in the second round in 2017, but they traded him on draft night to the Grizzlies for a future second-round pick.

The Grizzlies made Brooks a starter early in his rookie campaign. He had a promising debut season, averaging 11.0 points while shooting 35.6 percent from three-point range in 82 appearances.

Despite averaging more than 14 points per game in each of the past four seasons, Brooks isn't an efficient scorer. He's shooting 41.1 percent overall in 245 regular-season games since the start of 2019-20.

As long as teams interested in Brooks aren't counting on him to be one of their top three scoring options, he can still provide value because of his impact on defense.