Would Impending Free Agent Dillon Brooks Fit on the Jazz?

The player who may currently be one of, if not the most disliked man in the entire association will be hitting the free agent market this summer. According to a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Brooks will be going into next season on any team but the Memphis Grizzlies.

After spending the first six seasons of his career with the Grizzlies, the 27-year-old wing will be looking for a new home this summer. He's coming fresh off of a season averaging 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. A season where he not only shot some underwhelming shooting splits of 39/32/77, but also led the league in techs at an astounding 18 fouls.

The Memphis Grizzlies have informed pending free agent Dillon Brooks that he will not be brought back under any circumstances, league sources say.

Full story and details at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/CRztYTgYi7
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 2, 2023

Brooks will enter this free agency with one of the most interesting situations in the entire class. Some will make a case for him considering him still worthy of being a starting-caliber player providing some solid scoring ability. Others will tell you he's an inefficient, overrated wing that likes to talk more than actually playing.

In the case of a team with some free agency and cap flexibility like the Utah Jazz, it's very possible we see the front office try to make a push for him. The Jazz are currently projected the 4th-most practical cap space in the league with $41 million, so it's very contractually feasable.

With players such as Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker entering free agency with pending player options, there could soon be a need for more wing depth in Utah. Dillon Brooks could realistically find a starting role with the Jazz depending on how exactly this offseason unfolds.

However, even with an acquision being possible, there's still the question of if Brooks would actually make the Jazz a better team. The answer is up for debate.

When you look deeper into his statistics from this season, they don't do Brooks much justice. He averaged the least amount of points since his sophomore season, his field goal percentage was a career low, and his PER and defensive rating were among the worst we've seen from him.

Considering this past season with both his less-than-stellar play and continuous antics that overshadowed the entire team, it's hard to want to dish out big money to Brooks. However, he still managed to average over 16 points per game with better overall efficiency in the three years prior, and that's just another aspect to what makes his market value so tricky to evaluate.

A Dillon Brooks signing for any team would be an unofficial ticket to be considered one of the few "villains" of the NBA. Unless the front office was looking for the team to form a similar identity to what the Grizzlies have generated, or even get some negative press, signing Brooks would have more potential negative outcomes than positive ones.

NBA Free Agency won't be officially hitting until later this summer in July, so we still have a couple months ahead to see if there's any rumblings connecting the Jazz and Brooks.

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