Memphis Grizzlies: 5 Moments That Defined The 2018-19 Season

The Brooks Debacle

The Memphis Grizzlies were 16-11 on Dec 14th and were in the middle of a game against the Miami Heat when some trade rumors start to come about. A three-team trade involving the Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards had reportedly been agreed upon.

The Grizzlies were looking to acquire Kelly Oubre from Washington with Wayne Selden and MarShon Brooks headed to Phoenix with Trevor Ariza being the main piece that the Wizards were acquiring.

This would’ve been an absolute steal for Memphis if they were able to get it done. Oubre is an exciting young wing who has a chance to become a very good player. The Grizzlies were in a slump recently and getting a guy like Oubre to come in and help turn things around would’ve been big for their season.

While that would’ve been an absolute steal for the Grizzlies we know this deal fell apart due to miscommunication issues. It has been reported that the Suns and Grizzlies were communicating through the Wizards front office which makes sense when you think about how things went wrong.

Memphis thought they were sending MarShon Brooks to Phoenix, while the Suns thought they were getting Dillon Brooks. It’s crazy that these two couldn’t communicate on which player was involved.

The casual NBA fan may not realize how good Dillon Brooks is, but people who have watched him play, know how good he has been. This would’ve been straight robbery for the Grizzlies, but at the end of the day, it failed to happen. The Wizards and Suns would form their own deal which included the majority of the same players.

Selden and both Brooks’ are professionals and they handled it well, but it’s just a tough spot for them to be put in. They were told they were traded, but then Chris Wallace was forced to come in and tell them they were actually going to be staying in Memphis for the time being.

Wayne Selden and MarShon Brooks wouldn’t be on the team much longer though as they would be traded to Chicago just a couple of weeks later. Selden has made an impact with the Bulls, but Brooks was waived before he played a game and he hasn’t yet signed on elsewhere.

Kelly Oubre would’ve been a big addition to this team going forward so obviously, this is a deal they would’ve liked to get done, but it shows their confidence in Dillon Brooks. He will come back ready to go next season when he is healthy. This was a crazy moment in the season which just shows some of the dysfunction that this front office was a part of.