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The Phoenix Suns have been floated as a potential landing spot for a controversial $38 million forward.
An NBA general manager told Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports that he could see Dillon Brooks being a fit for the Suns next season. The Memphis Grizzlies swingman becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
“Phoenix, they will be looking for role players,” the general manager said. “And Brooks could be a starter there.”
Brooks has career averages of 14.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He has made over $38 million in his NBA career. The Oregon product put up 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 2022-23 for the Grizzlies while shooting 39.6% from the field, 32.6% from beyond the arc and 77.9% from the free-throw line.
Memphis lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs and Brooks didn’t play well. The 27-year-old averaged just 10.5 points while shooting 31.2% from the floor and 23.8% from 3. The Lakers beat the Grizzlies in six games.
Report: The Grizzlies Won’t Re-Sign Dillon Brooks
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Grizzlies won’t re-sign Brooks this offseason once free agency starts “under any circumstances.”
“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 called Lakers superstar LeBron James “old” after the Grizzlies won Game 2 in Memphis. He got ejected in Game 3 after hitting James in the groin and was fined $25,000 by the NBA for not speaking to the media after Games 3 and 4.
“Brooks’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers was considered to be a breaking point,” Charania reported. “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.”
Bleacher Report Thinks the Suns Should Sign Dillon Brooks
Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report wrote on May 2 that Brooks is a player the Suns could use next season.
“The Suns have their four building blocks in place with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton. The rest of their roster…well, let’s just say it leaves a lot to be desired,” Conway wrote. “Going to Phoenix could provide Brooks the best of all worlds, a starting role combined with veteran leadership that frankly won’t put up with his nonsense. Brooks would be an instant improvement over Josh Okogie, who has essentially provided nothing on either end of the floor as Phoenix dropped to 0-2 against the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Suns are a borderline certainty to unload most of their current bench rotation, which was depleted as part of the midseason trade for Durant. The cap figures for Phoenix’s four stars will make it impossible to offer anything more than the taxpayer mid-level, but Brooks isn’t in a strong negotiating position. This is a chance for a starting role on a title contender. And, not for nothing, a potential way to get back at the Grizzlies for kicking him to the curb.”
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