Dillon Brooks’ Memphis Grizzlies were eliminated from the first-round of the NBA playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers this past week.
Despite boasting the second-best record in the Western Conference, Memphis was ousted from the postseason by the No. 7 seed with relative ease.
Adding insult to injury, Brooks emerged from the series as something of a sad figure. He talked a lot of smack about LeBron James and the Lakers in the lead-up, only to be sent home early for his troubles. His walk of shame from the arena following that elimination Game 6 was especially brutal.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, the unrestricted free agent’s future is very much in doubt now.
Per NBA insider Marc Stein, “there is also a growing doubt leaguewide about the Grizzlies’ appetite to re-sign Brooks as he heads to free agency.”
Yikes.
It is one thing to play the villain role in the NBA. Many do it, including Draymond Green and Patrick Beverley. But generally those guys are beloved enough by their teams to justify the hate they receive from the outside.
Clearly that isn’t true for Brooks. Despite him averaging 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in the regular season, the Grizzlies don’t seem all that enthralled with his impact on their ballclub. Not even defensively, where Brooks seems to fancy himself a Marcus Smart-like force.
Brooks, for what it’s worth, doesn’t seem like he wants to shift gears.
Dillon Brooks did not rule out coming back. But he said he’s not going to change his approach to talking. And he was critical of his role: “I felt like, with all this criticism, I could have gave a lot more. And I wasn’t given enough.”
— Geoff Calkins (@geoff_calkins) April 30, 2023
It will be interesting to see where Brooks goes from here.
If the Grizzlies truly don’t want him, who will?
Brittany’s Met Gala dress speaks for itself. https://t.co/bBsBkIkU7B
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 2, 2023
Brooks is a very specific type of player that fills a very particular void – and it is not one that many teams possess.
Where will Brooks ultimately be playing come the 2023-24 NBA season? Time will tell.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
