Getty Image / Justin Ford
This year’s NBA playoffs couldn’t have gone much worse for Dillon Brooks.
His Memphis Grizzlies entered the postseason as the Western Conference’s 2nd seed and a favorite over the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
They ended up being eliminated by the Lakers in 6 games.
To make it worse for Brooks, he was widely blamed for the Lakers’ dominance after he made the ill-advised decision to trash talk LeBron James during the series.
After the elimination, Brooks entered free agency and Grizzlies reportedly didn’t want him back, leaving fans wondering where exactly he’d end up this offseason.
Today, Brooks found his next team.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Brooks has agreed to a 4-year deal worth $80 million with the Houston Rockets.
Free agent G Dillon Brooks has agreed on a four-year, $80 million contract with the Houston Rockets, his agent Mike George of @OneLegacySports tells ESPN. Rockets have now landed two targets in free agency — Fred VanVleet and Brooks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
It’s a pretty big gamble from the Houston Rockets.
Not only are they going to be paying $20 million per year to a guy that shot 39.6% from the field last season, but they’re also bringing Dillon Brooks into a locker room filled with young talent.
That was the situation in Memphis and we saw how that worked out for the Grizzlies.
Maybe Brooks has learned from his experience there after the Grizzlies were completely uninterested in bringing him back after he hit free agency.
If he hasn’t, there will at least be one big difference between his time with the Rockets and the ending of his time with the Grizzlies.
Dillon Brooks probably won’t be getting the chance to talk trash to LeBron James in the playoffs any time soon as he joins a franchise that hasn’t even come close to the postseason in the last 3 years.