Lakers News: After LA Series, Dillon Brooks Faces Uncertain Grizzlies Future

The Memphis small forward had a miserable 2023 playoff run.

Memphis Grizzlies small forward Dillon Brooks was anything but contrite in discussing his off-court shenanigans during his team's ill-fated first round series defeat against your underdog Los Angeles Lakers, who won in six games.

“No, that’s who I am,” Brooks said, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I don’t regret it. I’m a competitor. I compete.”

He didn't compete particularly well, after proclaiming LA All-Star small forward LeBron James was "old" and saying he didn't mind "poking the bear" in some misguided comments to the press. Brooks was also fined $25K today by the league after he skipped out three postgame media sessions following Grizzlies losses.

Brooks scored a career playoff-worst 10.5 points on .312/.238/.714 shooting in the six-game series, though he did play passable defense on James. 

Grizzlies team president Zach Kleiman was a bit wishy-washy in discussing Brooks' impending unrestricted free agency this summer today.

“I’ll hit on DB another day, nothing I can comment on for now with him going into free agency,” Kleiman said, per Jelani Scott of Sports Illustrated.

“There were definitely some self-created distractions in the series and along the way. We’re gonna take a different approach as it pertains to that next season,” Kleiman explained more broadly about the Grizzlies' behavior this season.

“You’ll see a different approach from this team but at the same time, confidence is important,” Kleiman noted about Memphis next season. “There’s nothing wrong with some level of trash-talking, we want a group that goes out there and competes… But there’s a line there, certainly and I don’t think that’s lost on anyone here.”

Did Dillon Brooks just smack-talk his way out of a contract with Memphis in that LA series? It sure sounds like it.

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