Whoa.
We knew that Dillon Brooks embraced his role as a villain on an ultra-tough Memphis Grizzlies team, that his physical play and smack-talking were part of his value as an NBA player.
But maybe no one knew that it would lead up to this moment: Shams Charania reports that the Grizzlies won’t bring Brooks back “under any circumstances.” That means not even a minimum contract will be offered.
There are reasons to worry about Brooks on a roster … but he’s still a double-digit scorer with the kind of toughness a team might want.
So … what happened? Let’s delve into some possible reasons why:
1
He's a terrible shooter
Let’s start here. Our Bryan Kalbrosky looked into this earlier this year and found, using various statistical methodologies, that Brooks is attempting some bad shots:
According to the database, 73.6 percent of Brooks’ shots are considered bad possessions so far this season while only 16.2 percent are graded out as good possessions.
To put that in perspective: Among the 219 players who have finished at least 250 offensive possessions, only two (Detroit’s Killian Hayes and Oklahoma City’s Tre Mann) currently have a higher frequency of finishes defined as bad possessions.
Not great.
Dillon Brooks 2023 Playoff Shooting
24 of 77, 31.2%*
*Worst FG% and Points Per Shot among 65 players with at least 50 postseason FGA https://t.co/mXgBIWzGID
— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) April 29, 2023
Dillon Brooks' shooting numbers in the #grizzlies' last two playoff series (Lakers 2023, Warriors 2022):
3 for 15
4 for 11
3 for 13 (ejected)
5 for 14
5 for 13
11 for 28
5 for 13
5 for 19
DNP (suspended)
0 for 3 (ejected)
3 for 13 pic.twitter.com/CFlVj1hPcd— Fastbreak Breakfast (@fastbreakbreak) April 27, 2023
2
His physical altercations have gotten him the "dirty" label
He’s earned a ton of techs in his career and stepped over the line a number of times. It might have been one cheap shot too many here.
3
Too much smack talk?
Did calling LeBron “old” become a distraction or light a fire under James? Again, this is all adding up, it’s not just one possible problem here.
4
The Grizzlies might have needed someone to blame after Ja Morant's 2022-23
Wasn’t a huge part of this season Morant’s off-court drama that led to a suspension? So is this the Grizzlies placing more blame on Brooks while protecting their superstar? Possibly.
Ja was flashing guns in the club, beating up teenagers and got into an altercation with a shoe store employee and the Grizzlies welcomed him back
Dillon Brooks was just really annoying and they told him to gtfo lmao
lesson: you can never be more annoying than you are talented
— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) May 2, 2023
