LeBron James plays on with Los Angeles Lakers as Memphis shows Dillon Brooks the door
Akron native LeBron James seemingly got in the last word on Dillon Brooks when the Los Angeles Lakers ushered the Memphis Grizzlies of out the playoffs last week.
Brooks, who referred to James as “old” or “tired” at various points during the playoffs, found himself in the NBA’s version of the unemployment line Tuesday after the Grizzlies informed him during his season-ending exit interview that he would not be returning to the team after six seasons.
Unlike you little 🤬I'm a grown ass man
Big shoes to fill 🤬, grown ass pants
Prolly hustled with your pops, go ask your parents
Its apparent you're staring at a legend
Who, put a few little 🤬in the they place before
Trying to eat without saying they grace before! 🤫👑— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 29, 2023
Ouch.
The Grizzlies are the only team Brooks has ever played for and it would seem that his back-and-forth with James along with his unprofessional behavior and not being available for postgame interviews (which cost him $25,000) did him in. Brooks also got into a scuffle with the Cavs in February, getting a one-game suspension for an on-court incident initiated by Brooks when he rolled over Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell's ankle and swung his hand back, hitting Mitchell directly in the groin.
The writing may have been on the wall Sunday for Brooks when Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman declined to address the player's future with the team.
More: What Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman said about Dillon Brooks' future, team offseason plans
“I think there were certainly self-created distractions we were navigating in this series,” he said. “As we're looking forward and thinking about what comes next, those are all things that we're going to keep in mind from a competitive standpoint.”
Looking forward apparently began Tuesday and the distraction? Umm...poking the bear?
In other words: you still don’t tug on Superman’s cape.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Did LeBron James trash talk cost Memphis Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks?