Dillon Brooks – Source: Justin Ford / Getty
After a season full of making trouble and calling LeBron James “old”, the Grizzlies have reportedly informed Dillon Brooks that he will not be returning next season.
Brooks spent the 2022-2023 NBA season garnering more attention than ever, not for his on-court basketball skills but for his trash talk.
If you thought Patrick Beverly was the most annoying player in the league, a new contender emerged this season via the Memphis Grizzlies star. He most famously caused quite the commotion when he had a flare-up with Shannon Sharpe and in February, he was ejected after an altercation with Donovan Mitchell. Those antics may have gotten a pass, but his “old” comments about LeBron James took the sports world by storm.
Brooks made disparaging comments about James’ age and added, “I poke bears.”
His comments came back to haunt him however as the Lakers went on to defeat the Grizzlies and James embarrassed Brooks in the process.
Now, the Memphis leadership has reportedly made a decision on his future and is ultimately parting ways with the player. NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that Memphis has informed Brooks that he will not return to the team “under any circumstances.”
“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.
The report has seemingly been backed up by ESPN which noted that Brooks had disappointing series — “shooting just 31.2% from the floor”, and recalled Grizzlies general manager Zack Kleiman’s recent comments about trash talk.
“We’re going to take a different approach as it pertains to [trash talk] next season,” said Kleiman on Sunday during the team’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.”
“I’ll hit on DB [Dillon Brooks] another day. Nothing I can comment on for now with him going into free agency.”
This is yet another example of why it’s just not smart to poke the bear.