Grizzlies moving on from controversial pending free agent

Brooks arguably took over as public enemy No. 1 in the NBA last year, with his scores of flagrant fouls, technicals and controversial comments (or lack thereof). The Grizzlies have apparently had enough of the antics from the 27-year-old.

Brooks has been in the top 10 in personal fouls during four of his six seasons thus far (all spent with Memphis) and paced the entire NBA in back-to-back seasons from 2019 to 2021. Starting with last May's suspension during a playoff series against the Golden State Warriors after he injured Gary Payton II and including three more suspensions within a seven-week span this winter, Brooks has now racked up four suspensions (all within the last year).

The former Oregon Duck also saw most of his numbers dip compared to last regular season across his 73 games, as his 14.3 points per game were his lowest in four years (despite averaging a career-high 30.3 minutes per contest) and his 39.6% field goal percentage was the worst of his career. Brooks was even worse in the team's six-game first-round playoff exit against the Los Angeles Lakers, posting 10.5 points per game on just 31.2% shooting.

"In the span of the Grizzlies’ series loss in six games (to the Lakers), he called LeBron James, the Lakers’ best player and a four-time NBA champion, 'old,' 'tired,' and suggested he was not as good as he used to be," Shams Charania of The Athletic wrote. "Brooks punched James in the groin area in Game 3, earning an ejection. He missed a defensive assignment to help on James on the game-tying basket in Game 4, and then gave up a critical basket to James in overtime of that loss. Brooks also chose not to speak to the media after three of the losses in the series, resulting in a $25,000 fine by the NBA."

Still a few years shy of 30, Brooks can still bring a lot to a contending team and will likely be given another chance. He may just need to work on cleaning up his act first.