Dillon Brooks is seeking a contract worth more than the $12.4M MLE.
The Memphis Grizzlies reportedly grew so tired of Dillon Brooks’ antics that they won’t bring the 3-and-D swingman back at any price.
That doesn’t mean Brooks has given up on landing a big contract elsewhere.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported Brooks will seek a contract worth more than the $12.4 million non-taxpayers’ midlevel exception. Brooks made an average of $11.7 million over his previous contract with the Grizzlies, so it would make some level of sense that he’d want a raise.
Because of the new CBA, teams are looking even further in advance when making contract decisions. While Brooks may feel he is worth more than the MLE, teams will have to weigh the balance between his impact, and the potential roster building limitations a bigger deal could cause.
If Brooks were only interested in maximizing his pay day, as opposed to joining a contender, then his path to a bigger contract would be more direct. Even then, teams with cap space could be hesitant to offer him multiple years at his desired annual salary, because this new CBA has already shown the league-wide urgency to move some of these long-term deals.
His reputation as an irritant backfired in a major way during Memphis’ first-round loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, as LeBron James seemingly found joy in toying with the boisterous Brooks. Meanwhile, Brooks failed to back up his tough talk, shooting a disastrous 31.2 percent from the floor during the series.
Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman criticized the team for what he called “self-created distractions” during his press conference after Memphis was eliminated from the playoffs.
