Cavaliers’ James hurts shoulder in loss

Dillon Brooks will be a free agent this offseason and his future with the Memphis Grizzlies is uncertain considering his liabilities on offense and the fact they sought out upgrades at small forward at the deadline. Brooks is a very effective defensive player, but he doesn’t space the floor at the wing in a way to maximize the Memphis offense and has questionable shot selection.

The Grizzlies pursued trades at the deadline for Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.

“They tried to upgrade at the trade deadline,” said Tim MacMahon on the Brian Windhorst Podcast. “They threw four picks at the Nets trying to get Mikal Bridges. They really weren’t able to get the Raptors in serious conversations, but they would have given up a few picks to get OG Anuoby. They’ve tried to move on from Dillon Brooks already.

“I don’t know if Dillon Brooks is on this team after this series. We’ll see if the Grizzlies can comeback and win it. I certainly don’t know if he’s on this team after free agency this summer, but the problem is if he’s not, who’s guarding all the best players? All the stars on the other teams?”

MacMahon suggests the Grizzlies could reengage the Nets on a trade for Dorian Finney-Smith, who could be a more feasible trade target.

“If they’re letting Dillon Brooks, they absolutely have to get a really, really, really good defensive wing player. They can let him go in free agency, they just have to figure out how to replace me. Trust me, they’ve put a lot of thought into that.”