The Memphis Grizzlies have no plans to bring Dillon Brooks back to the team when he hits free agency this summer, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.
Brooks, from Mississauga, Ont., was offered an extension last year but turned it down. The Grizzlies have since decided that he won’t be in their future plans, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the team nor Brooks released details publicly.
The Athletic first reported the Grizzlies’ decision, and it was subsequently confirmed by ESPN.
Brooks just completed a three-year contract that paid him US$35 million. He led the NBA with 18 technical fouls this season, earning a pair of one-game suspensions for surpassing the league threshold for technicals.
He also was fined $35,000 for shoving a camera person on the sideline while chasing a loose ball in Miami in March, which he apologized for later. He was suspended a game in February for hitting Donovan Mitchell in the groin in February, costing him $78,621 in pay, according to Spotrac.com.
The NBA fined Brooks on Sunday $25,000 for not talking to the media after some of Memphis’ losses in its first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA says Brooks violated league rules for “media interview access."
That included Brooks bolting the Memphis locker room after the Game 6 series-clinching loss before reporters were allowed inside. That 40-point loss was the biggest in franchise history for Memphis, which came in as the West's No. 2 seed for a second straight season.
Grizzlies general manger Zach Kleiman was asked about Brooks' future with Memphis on Sunday. Memphis acquired the six-foot-six Brooks, who was the 45th pick overall out of Oregon, in a draft-night trade from Houston in 2017. Brooks had started 318 of 345 regular-season games in his career.
"I'll hit on DB another day, but nothing I could comment on for now with him going into free agency,” Kleiman said then.
AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this story.
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Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press
