Mavs Were 'Seriously' in Contention to Sign Dillon Brooks Before Rockets Contract

The Dallas Mavericks have been busy this offseason after finishing with a 38-44 regular season and failing to qualify for the play-in tournament. With the need for win-now talent, the Mavs entered free agency with a few key targets in mind.

Among the names the Mavs had pursued includes Dillon Brooks, who was bound for a new team after the Memphis Grizzlies opted to move on. As one of the NBA's top point-of-attack defenders, Brooks commanded real interest.

According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, the Mavs were "seriously in the mix" to land Brooks in free agency. The Milwaukee Bucks were also mentioned as being a team that kept a close eye on Brooks' situation.

"To my knowledge, the Dallas Mavericks were said to be seriously in the mix for Brooks’ services," Iko wrote.

After creating enough room for the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception, the most they could have offered in the first year of a contract was $12.4 million — substantially less than what he will earn from the four-year, $86 million contract he signed to join the Rockets.

The Rockets also signed Fred VanVleet to a substantial contract in an effort to produce a more competitive season in 2023-24. With no shortage of recently drafted top prospects like Amen Thompson, Jalen Green, and Jabari Smith Jr., in addition to adding intriguing options with non-top-10 picks, Houston hopes having more veterans around will help going forward.

Last season, Brooks averaged 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 73 games. He struggled to find his footing in the playoffs and made headlines for trash talking LeBron James in what proved to be an early playoff exit.

The Mavs remain optimistic about the outlook for Olivier-Maxence Prosper to make a positive impact as his rookie campaign progresses. It naturally will take time for any prospect to adjust to the NBA level, but he's shown intriguing potential as an on-ball defender at 6-foot-8.

Grant Afseth is a Dallas Mavericks reporter for DallasBasketball.com and an NBA reporter for NBA Analysis Network. He previously covered the Indiana Pacers and NBA for CNHI's Kokomo Tribune and various NBA teams for USA TODAY Sports Media Group. Follow him on Twitter (@grantafseth), Facebook (@grantgafseth), and YouTube (@grantafseth).

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