4 radioactive free agents the Cavaliers could sign at a discount

Radioactive Free Agent No. 2: Dillon Brooks, Memphis Grizzlies

For NBA teams with the Full Mid-Level Exception available this offseason who need to find a starting small forward, their options are limited to just one or two players. One of those players is Dillon Brooks, who would likely be commanding more money than that if it wasn’t for his self-destructive tendencies on the court and at the microphone.

Brooks is one of the league’s better perimeter defenders, with the speed and agility to check point guards but the length and strength to take on combo forwards. Only a few players in the league could have stayed in front of Kyrie Irving and then switched onto Kevin Durant without missing a beat (RIP Brooklyn Nets), and Brooks is undeniably one of those players.

Yet he also has never adjusted well to going from the No. 1 option in college to a third or fourth option in the NBA, and his shot selection and overdeveloped confidence in his own jump shot have shot the Memphis Grizzlies in the foot. Add in his propensity to go too far in his physicality on the court and cause injuries, plus the fact that he runs his mouth constantly for a player who hasn’t proven anything in the NBA Playoffs yet in his career, and he’s a problem the Memphis Grizzlies are washing their hands of this offseason.

If Brooks is available for the MLE, the Cavaliers have to think it through. He’ll have a better and more mature infrastructure in Cleveland and he would come in being told exactly where in the hierarchy he stands. It’s certainly not an easy decision, but where else are they getting such a player?