According to latest reports, the Memphis Grizzlies are not interested in re-signing Dillon Brooks this summer and he should not be returning to Tennessee ‘under any circumstances.’
Apparently, the club isn’t too happy about all the bad press around their famous instigator, and plan to move on from the six-year veteran who has actually become the longest-tenured athlete on the Memphis roster.
Their decision has only solidified after the second-seeded franchise lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in their conference’s first-round of playoffs.
Grizzlies have informed Dillon Brooks he will not be brought back “under any circumstances,” per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/66ezbI51u7
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 2, 2023
Brooks not just shot just 31.2% of his field attempts this last series, he was extremely controversial as he called LeBron James “old”, adding nonesense like “I poke bears” and catching the wrong kind of attention.
“We’re going to take a different approach as it pertains to [trash talk] next season,” said Zach Kleiman, the team’s general manager during this Sunday’s exit interviews. “You’ll see a different approach from this team, but at the same time, confidence is important. … There’s a line there, certainly.”
When asked specifically about their guard, Kleiman preferred to talk about him some other time. “I’ll hit on DB another day. Nothing I can comment on for now with him going into free agency,” he said.
According to Brooks, the NBA and its fans have stamped over him a reputation of a “villain,” that he assures he doesn’t deserve. Nevertheless, the wing defender led the league with 18 technical fouls this campaign, and two individual one-game suspensions.
Earlier this season, he got suspended for striking Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell in the groin, which started a brawl between both players.
The player blames the administration for reducing his role in the team, affecting his performance
Throughout the season, the 27-year-old has averaged 14.3 points per game on 39.6% shooting this year. Brooks constantly complained within the organization that his role was reduce in the squad, and has caused a great frustration that subsequently affected his performances.
“I don’t think I lost any thing on the offensive end,” said Brooks, who averaged a career-high 18.4 points per game in 2021-22. “I was just there to three-and-D, shoot and play defense. I got way more to my game than that.”
“I think they can possibly be good,” Brooks said this weekend about his chances of returning. “I’m leaving that to my agent to handle that, and me, just focus on the summer and get better.”
The guard’s perception about his potential renegotiations with the franchise are somewhat positive for a reason, as not too long ago his coach was admiring his work on court. “I’m really proud of what Dillon Brooks has been doing,” trainer Taylor Jenkins said in late March.
“He’s been putting in a lot of work. It’s been definitely kind of a rollercoaster trying to figure out what his role is going to be,” he admitted.
Brooks, who is a second-round pick from the 2017 NBA Draft, averaged 14.5 points, 3.1 boards and 2.1 assists in 345 career games (318 starts) wearing the Grizzlies jersey.
