Getty Lakers' Austin Reaves and Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves blasted Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks for talking trash to LeBron James.
Brooks called James “old” after the Grizzlies won Game 2 against the Lakers in the first round and said he likes to “poke bears.” Los Angeles wound up eliminating Memphis in six games, with James averaging 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the series and Brooks putting up only 10.5 points per game.
“For him to say that to someone whose main goal is to win, and who is arguably the greatest player ever, I thought it was very, like, laughable,” Reaves told Sam Amick of The Athletic. “I took it as, ‘You can’t be serious. You look like a fool.’ But hey, people talk. … It wasn’t really spoken on amongst the group, but it was really just kind of a known thing. We’re gonna do what we’ve got to do to handle business.”
Brooks had a rough series versus the Lakers. He shot only 31.2% from the field and 23.8% from beyond the arc and was ejected in Game 3 after hitting James in the groin area. The Oregon product was also fined $25,000 by the NBA for not speaking to the media after the Grizzlies lost Games 3 and 4.
During his end-of-the-season press conference, Brooks said he didn’t regret challenging James. However, it appears the Grizzlies got tired of Brooks’ antics.
Dillon Brooks Will Not Be Back With the Grizzlies Under Any Circumstances
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Grizzlies will not re-sign Brooks under any circumstances. The swingman becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason and Memphis is ready to move on from him.
“The Memphis Grizzlies have informed pending unrestricted free agent Dillon Brooks that he will not be brought back under any circumstances, league sources tell The Athletic,” Charania reported on May 2. “After his tumultuous end to the season, Brooks was told about the Grizzlies’ decision to move on in exit meetings with team officials in recent days, those sources said. Memphis and Brooks discussed in exit meetings that it’s best for both sides to have a fresh start, sources added.
“Brooks’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers was considered to be a breaking point. In the span of the Grizzlies’ series loss in six games, he called LeBron James, the Lakers’ best player and a four-time NBA champion, ‘old,’ ‘tired,’ and suggested he was not as good as he used to be. Brooks punched James in the groin area in Game 3, earning an ejection. He missed a defensive assignment to help on James on the game-tying basket in Game 4, and then gave up a critical basket to James in overtime of that loss. Brooks also chose not to speak to the media after three of the losses in the series, resulting in a $25,000 fine by the NBA.”
Brooks has career averages of 14.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
Dillon Brooks to the Lakers?
Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report wrote on May 2 that Brooks is a player the Lakers could use next season since the 27-year-old is a “strong defender.”
James has played with Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and Stanley Johnson, three players he’s gotten into it with before becoming teammates with them. With that said, it’s possible LeBron could put aside his disgust for Brooks and play with him on the Lakers.
“Admittedly, the Lakers are here in part because it’s the funniest possible outcome. Brooks coming hat in hand to James’ doorstep for a job would put him on a long list of foes-turned-friends, joining Lance Stephenson and Stanley Johnson, among others. But it’s also a potentially strong basketball fit,” Conway wrote. “James is, as Brooks put it, old. He’ll turn 39 in December and be playing in his 21st NBA season. The guy limping through these playoffs is not the one who averaged nearly 34 points per game in January. King James may have the longest prime of any player in NBA history, but he’s still Father Time’s son—the dip in play will only continue. Brooks is a strong defender who can help out on the perimeter, combining with Rui Hachimura (presuming he’s re-signed) and Jarred Vanderbilt to lessen the load for James on that end of the floor.”