Dillon Brooks agrees to contract with new team in NBA free agency
Dillon Brooks has agreed to a four-year, $80 million deal with the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal, according to Wojnarowski, is front-loaded.
The former Oregon Duck spent the first six years of his NBA career with the Memphis Grizzlies. Now, he’ll start anew with the team that initially drafted him.
Free agent G Dillon Brooks has agreed on a four-year, $80 million contract with the Houston Rockets, his agent Mike George of @OneLegacySports tells ESPN. Rockets have now landed two targets in free agency — Fred VanVleet and Brooks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
Brooks was selected by the Houston Rockets in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft, but was dealt on draft night to the Grizzlies for a future second.
His first two NBA seasons were largely unremarkable, but he emerged as a reliable contributor during the 2019-20 campaign. He started 73 games, played 29 minutes a night, and averaged a career-best 16.2 points on 36% shooting from 3. He upped his scoring the following season to 17.2, then again a year later to 18.4.
Last season, Brooks took a step back but saw his on-court persona take on a new life. Brooks became the agitator for a Memphis team that quickly went from up-and-coming NBA darling to NBA villain. Brooks averaged 14.3 points a game and shot a career-low 39.6% from the field.
The Athletic reported earlier this summer that Memphis made contract extension offers to Brooks early in the 2022-23 season, but those were rejected. Once the Grizzlies’ season ended in disappointing fashion — a first-round loss to the 7-seed Lakers — Brooks was reportedly informed the team didn’t intend to bring him back “under any circumstances.”
Brooks was a lightning rod in Memphis. He’ll now hope to light a spark for a Rockets team that has endured three straight losing seasons.