Former NBA player Stephen Jackson was not a fan of how the Memphis Grizzlies handled the Dillon Brooks saga.
News broke Tuesday that the Grizzlies would not be bringing Brooks — an unrestricted free agent in the summer — back next season “under any circumstances” following their first-round exit to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Brooks notably made headlines during the series antagonizing LeBron James by calling him old and stating he doesn’t respect players until they score 40 points on him.
While James didn’t score 40 during the series, he certainly played a big role in the Lakers dumping the Grizzlies out in just five games.
The Memphis news that followed soon after their playoff exit resulted in plenty of memes and ridicule for Brooks and as far as Jackson is concerned, the Canadian did nothing that other players haven’t done in the past — including himself.
“For me, I think it’s bulls**t,” Jackson said on the I AM ATHLETE podcast (via SI). “Yeah [Brooks] has got a chip on his shoulder. Yeah he said some things. But he ain’t the first player to do that. Ron Artest did it. I did it. Draymond [Green] does it. I don’t understand, I guess he poked the wrong bear.”
Jackson is not the first to criticize the Grizzlies either.
While there’s nothing wrong in moving on from a player, the leak that Brooks would not be brought back under any circumstances not only attacks him personally, but could potentially sabotage his contract talks with other teams.
And it’s not the first time Jackson has seen a player being demeaned by their own team.
“I don’t agree with that s**t,” Jackson continued. “I don’t agree with them coming out and saying that s**t. Baltimore did the same s**t with Lamar Jackson … tried to come out and demean him so nobody else would sign him. I’ve been in those shoes when people try to demean your character and say these certain things about you that don’t understand that this guy just like playing the game a certain type of way.
“Is he the most talented player? No. But he competes. He’s in the NBA for a reason. Y’all signed him, y’all brought him there for a reason. But don’t demean him now because he said some things or he might’ve ruffled y’all’s feathers.”
It’ll certainly be interesting to see what transpires for Brooks in the summer.
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