Would free agent wing Dillon Brooks make sense for the Indiana Pacers?
According to a report in The Athletic from Shams Charania, the Memphis Grizzlies have informed wing Dillon Brooks that he will not be brought back this summer. The 27-year old is in the final season of a three-year contract and will become a free agent on July 1.
Per Charania, the Grizzlies will not retain Brooks "under any circumstances" and informed him of that decision just after Memphis' season ended. They fell in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Brooks was in the media cycle often during that series. He made many headlines for some astonishing comments about the Lakers and LeBron James, including that he didn't respect anyone until they scored 40 points on him. He commented on James' age and said he poked bears.
After a few losses in the series, Brooks declined to speak to the media, and on one occasion, he left the arena entirely before any media opportunities. He was fined for such actions by the NBA.
Brooks averaged 10.5 points per game in the playoffs and shot just 31.2% from the field. His defense has always been more impressive than his offense, but he had a poor series even for his standards.
It is unclear exactly how much that best-of-seven influenced the Grizzlies decision to inform Brooks he would not return, but it is impossible to ignore it as a factor. Charania reported the series was a "breaking point" for the two parties.
While Brooks only averaged 10.5 points per game in this postseason, he nearly reached 26 points per game in his first playoff appearance. And while his shooting accuracy reached a nadir this season, it has been better in the past. It's possible the former second-round pick's game is declining, but he also may have had a down year.
He also is one of the best defenders in the NBA. There's a chance that Brooks' makes one of the NBA's All-Defensive teams, and Memphis had a significantly better defensive rating with the Canadian forward on the court than on the bench.
Those factors will all be important for any team to weigh this summer as the forward enters free agency. Can Brooks be better than he was this past season? Is there a better role for him on a different team? At the same time, though, teams will need to determine if there is any level of distraction that comes with Brooks' off-court style.
That risk assessment will be vital for all 29 non-Memphis teams. One of those teams is the Indiana Pacers, who are uniquely positioned with many assets and cap space this summer. They could be in play for many different free agents.
They also need forward depth and talented defenders. The entire team, as well as the coaching staff and front office, recognized the need for defensive growth at exit interviews in early April.
Brooks, at six-foot-seven-inches, can be a wing stopper, and every single team in the league needs that skillset. Indiana, who just finished 26th in defensive rating, could absolutely use someone like that.
He's also able to defend multiple positions without missing a beat, and that versatility could be valuable on a Pacers team that is somewhat a blank slate. At the forward spots, Brooks would be a helpful piece for the blue and gold on the less glamorous end of the floor.
Offensively, Brooks is a decent outside shooter but struggles inside the arc, and his self-creation skills are mediocre at best. When he gets all the way to the rim, he is a solid finisher, but that has happened less often as his career has progressed.
Charania reported that Brooks wants more than the three-and-D role he had with Memphis. While that is understandable, Brooks' best role may be one exactly like that. If the free agent could be convinced to take such a role every night with the Pacers, perhaps he would be an excellent fit. Anything beyond that is where the Canadian becomes more of a detriment on the offensive end.
So for the Pacers, the question becomes if Brooks' defensive prowess is worth his offensive inefficiencies. And if it is worth it, can the 27-year old be persuaded to play his ideal role? Even if all of those answers are "yes", there is still the question of whether or not Brooks will be an off-court story as he was in the postseason this year.
Ultimately, there are places in the NBA that Brooks would fit better than Memphis. Miami, for example, comes to mind. Indiana could be one of those places, but the team will have to answer some big questions before making a commitment.
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