Should the Detroit Pistons pursue Dillon Brooks in free agency?

The Detroit Pistons will be looking for a 3-and-D wing this offseason and we know of one who will for sure be on the market.

The Grizzlies made it clear that they would not be bringing back Dillon Brooks “under any circumstances” according to Shams Charania.

Brooks is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and a guy I wrote about as a possibility for the Detroit Pistons much earlier in the season, when he looked to be the heart and soul of the Grizzlies, a tough defender on the wing who could occasionally knock down a shot.

But A LOT has changed since then, namely that Brooks’ antics became a huge distraction for Memphis and he stunk in the playoffs after calling out Lebron James, a strategy that has never worked out in the past.

Brooks became an instant meme, a joke, and just about everyone got in on the action:

All of the people acting like Brooks will end up in China playing for the Shanghai Sharks probably need to pump the brakes a bit. The guy is still a very good wing defender and someone in the NBA will sign him, especially now that he will likely come at a steep discount.

But should that team be the Detroit Pistons?

Should the Detroit Pistons pursue Dillon Brooks in free agency?

Short answer, NO. Long answer, HELL NO.

I should first say that I think the Grizzlies did Brooks dirty here. There was no reason to make this announcement at all, and certainly no reason to add the “under any circumstances” which makes Brooks seem like a serial killer instead of a clown.

Memphis is trying to make him the scapegoat for their choke job, when he was just a product of their team culture. Let’s not forget that Brooks wasn’t the one in the strip club with his shirt off waiving a gun around. Anyway, I digress.

Talking copious trash as Brooks did only looks good if you win, and if you don’t, you just look foolish, which is exactly what happened to him and his team, which was brash, cocky and just plain ridiculous at times this season. The Grizzlies went from a well-liked small-market team to one everyone was just sick of hearing from, and Brooks is partially to blame.

Which is one reason the Detroit Pistons should go nowhere near him. The Pistons are a young team, just like Memphis (though the Grizzlies are younger and much more successful) and definitely don’t need the attention and distraction that a guy like Brooks brings.

He’s also just not that good. Sure, he’s an above-average defender, but he’s also a chucker who took nearly 14 shots per game even though he was hitting less than 40 percent of them. The wild thing is that he reportedly wanted a BIGGER role with Memphis and didn’t want to be reduced to a 3-and-D player.

A 3-and-D player who accepts and excels at his role is exactly what the Detroit Pistons need, so bringing a disgruntled player who wants more shots onto a young team makes no sense, especially when they just traded one away in Saddiq Bey.

So it’s NO, NO and NO when it comes to Dillon Brooks and the Detroit Pistons. He needs to go to a team with real veteran leadership, accept that he is a role player and have a long career. Or he can go to China and chuck as many shots as he wants while talking trash to Hu Jinqiu.