With Dillon Brooks, there’s way too much uncertainty for Cavs
By Dan Gilinsky
Dillon Brooks’ on-floor antics can’t be ignored, either
Dillon Brooks was ejected from Game 3 of that Lakers series for hitting LeBron James in the groin, was ejected in a 2022 playoff game, and then suspended a game, and in the regular season, he was given three one-game suspensions. One of those came when he and Donovan Mitchell got into it after Brooks hit Mitchell in the groin in early February.
In March, Brooks was also fined $35,000 for unsportsmanlike shoving of a camera person near the sideline in a game versus the Miami Heat while he was going after a loose ball.
Furthermore, when you factor in how Brooks led the NBA in technicals this season, and has always been a player who fouls a lot, often unnecessarily, that has to cause more hesitation about him as a possible target.
He led the NBA in personal fouls in the 2020-21 season and has averaged 4.2 per-36 minutes lifetime; some of those are aggressive fouls you’ll live with, but far too much, they’ve been silly ones. And of course as we mentioned, his offensive woes and horrid shot selection have to be in mind there, all the more so.
The Cavs would be better served pursuing other free agent wing targets such as Kelly Oubre Jr., Joe Ingles and the underappreciated Troy Brown Jr., and/or trade targets along the lines of Royce O’Neale or Buddy Hield, by comparison.
Plus, even with the aforementioned Deveney report, it is still not simple to forecast if Brooks would be attainable via Cleveland’s roughly $12.2 million Mid-Level Exception, let alone if it’d be worth potentially a multi-year deal.
Next. 3 budget wing free agents Cleveland Cavaliers could sign. dark
From the Cavs’ perspective, allocating essentially all or nearly all of that MLE wouldn’t be wise, either.