Dillon Brooks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jimmy Butler Talks Pelvic Injury, Back-And-Forth With Brooks

April 29th, 2025 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing Game 3 of the Warriors‘ first-round series vs. Houston due to a pelvic contusion, Jimmy Butler was back on the floor for Game 4 on Monday and played a key role in Golden State’s narrow victory. Speaking to reporters after the game, the star forward admitted he was in “a lot of pain,” per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“Did you see me on that chase-down of Dillon Brooks?” Butler asked Anthony Slater of The Athletic, referencing a second-quarter play when he had to sprint after Brooks to stop the Rockets forward from finishing an easy break-away layup (video link).

Butler got there and committed a foul to prevent the basket, but his mobility looked compromised and he wasn’t running full-speed, as he acknowledged after the game.

As Slater relays, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters that Butler would “probably miss another week or two” as a result of his injury if this were the regular season, which Butler didn’t dispute. “But it’s the playoffs and he’s Jimmy Butler,” Kerr said. “This is what he does.”

“He played through the injury,” teammate Draymond Green added, per Youngmisuk. “Was beautiful. But what his presence does for this team is humongous. The first three quarters, he couldn’t move. Not sure how he started moving in the fourth quarter, but he never complained. He stuck with it.”

Butler, who finished with a team-high 27 points, also recorded six assists and five rebounds while getting to the free throw line 12 times. He came up big defensively too, soaring in to grab a crucial rebound off a missed shot by Alperen Sengun that would’ve given the Rockets the lead with five seconds left in the game (video link).

As Green observed, Butler seemed to get better as the game progressed, scoring 14 of his points in the fourth quarter and not spending any team on the bench during that final frame.

“Your body starts to warm up. You start to feel a little bit better. You gain confidence,” Butler explained. “People start talking to you. Then good things happen.”

Asked whether his reference to “people talking” to him was about Brooks, Butler confirmed as much. When a reporter asked a follow-up question about whether he and Brooks were having “fun” going back and forth at each other, Butler made it clear that wasn’t how he viewed it.

“No, we’re not having fun,” Butler said (Twitter video link). “Get me on the record with this: I don’t like Dillon Brooks. We’re never having fun. I’m a fierce competitor. He’s a fierce competitor. There ain’t nothing fun about that. … I don’t think anybody is trying to be friends with anybody on either team, that’s for sure.”

Rockets’ Udoka To Consider Lineup Change For Game 5

April 29th, 2025 at 7:57am CST by Luke Adams

With a second straight loss in Golden State on Monday, the Rockets fell behind 3-1 in their series vs. the Warriors and will head back home facing their first elimination game of the postseason on Wednesday.

Asked after Monday’s defeat whether he’ll roll with the same starting lineup he has used in the first four games of the series, head coach Ime Udoka told reporters, including Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), that he intends to “take a look at everything” for Game 5, adding that the starters’ poor start to the third quarter stood out in Game 4.

Houston’s starting five of Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Amen Thompson, and Alperen Sengun had been a +12 in 44 minutes of action through the first three games of the series, but was outscored by 13 points in 12 minutes on Monday. That included a 10-0 run by the Warriors at the start of the second half, which turned a seven-point Houston lead into a three-point deficit.

If Udoka does decide to make a change, it could involve Green, who was subbed out for Tari Eason just three minutes into the third quarter and has been ineffective against the Warriors’ defense for much of the series. Green went off for 38 points in Houston’s Game 2 win, but has made just 10-of-34 shots from the floor (29.4%) in the three losses and hasn’t reached double-digit points in any of those games. He attempted eight shots in a series-low 25 minutes on Monday.

Meanwhile, even though Sengun led the Rockets with 31 points, he missed 16 field goal attempts and three free throws as his shooting struggles from Game 3 carried over to Game 4. Converting at the foul line was an issue for the Rockets as a whole — they went to the line 31 times on the night, compared to 22 times for the Warriors, but made fewer free throws (19) than Golden State (20).

The Rockets’ 12 missed free throws represented the most in a single game by a team in this year’s playoffs, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN, which is likely one reason why Udoka spoke during his post-game media session about the need for “consistency.” Houston also committed 27 turnovers in the last two games, compared to 18 for the Warriors.

“Guys are down, but they understand that the game we played well — the one game out of four (Game 2) – we had a blowout win and other games, it’s been a one-possession game, or we’ve had a fourth quarter lead and not played well,” Udoka said. “Consistency wins in this series, and we’ve talked about that from Day 1. We have to be more consistent across the board.”

The Rockets’ players echoed their head coach’s message after the game, with Sengun expressing a need to be more “disciplined” and VanVleet noting that the Rockets have to keep their composure and execute in crunch time.

“These (last two) games suck,” VanVleet said, per Wright. “We had two (games) that could have went our way. This is the playoffs. The margin of error is so slim they can go either way. And you learn that it comes down to possessions. Possessions are so important.”

Western Notes: Brooks, Thompson, Green, Kuminga, Pelicans, Grizzlies

April 25th, 2025 at 10:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets forward Dillon Brooks took exception to the idea that teammate Amen Thompson could be viewed as a dirty player for the play that injured Warriors star Jimmy Butler in Game 2 of the Houston/Golden State series. Asked about the subject on Friday, Brooks suggested that Butler’s teammate Draymond Green was more to blame, as Kristie Rieken of The Associated Press relays.

“I think the dirty player is Draymond, giving him a little push as regular basketball players do,” Brooks said. “And Jimmy’s fighting in the air for a rebound and stuff happens. Amen’s not a dirty player. He has (nothing) to do with being a dirty player.”

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after Game 2 that he and the Warriors “didn’t think there was anything wrong with the play,” suggesting that it was unfortunate but unintentional. Kerr and his players didn’t think much of Brooks’ claim about Green, given the reputation that the Rockets forward has earned himself over the years.

“Dillon said that? Interesting,” Kerr replied when informed of Brooks’ remarks.

“It’s a little ironic, isn’t it?” Moses Moody said of Brooks’ comments, per ESPN.

We have more from around the Western Conference:

If Butler is forced to miss Game 3 as a result of his pelvic injury, will the Warriors lean on Jonathan Kuminga as his primary replacement? Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle weighs that question, given that Kuminga had been out of the rotation for three games and made just 4-of-12 shots from the field in his return to action on Wednesday. Anthony Slater of The Athletic also touches on that topic in a story with Kelly Iko of The Athletic that explores the keys to the series going forward.
In addition to the front office members reported earlier this week to be departing the Pelicans amid a basketball operations shake-up, veteran scout Chico Averbuck, who has been with the team since 2020, is leaving the organization, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Averbuck had strong ties to former head of basketball operations David Griffin, Scotto notes, having also worked with Griffin in Cleveland.
The Grizzlies were left searching for answers after blowing a 29-point first half lead and losing Game 3 to Oklahoma City on Thursday. Scotty Pippen Jr. said the game – which also included a Ja Morant hip injury – was “definitely frustrating,” while Santi Aldama, asked if it was the worst loss he has ever experienced, replied, “It would be hard to find another one like this.” William Guillory of The Athletic has the full story, with more quotes.

And-Ones: Luka Trade Offers, Coaches, Lithuania, Howard

April 9th, 2025 at 8:50am CST by Rory Maher

In an article for ESPN.com (Insider link), Bobby Marks examines what the other 28 NBA teams could hypothetically have offered the Mavericks for Luka Doncic, who was sent to the Lakers in February in arguably the most stunning trade in NBA history.

Marks’ exercise comes with a couple of caveats. The first is that a Doncic trade may have fallen apart had every team been able to make a bid for the superstar guard, which is why Dallas was so determined to keep its talks with Los Angeles quiet. The second is that the hypothetical offers are based on each team’s financial restrictions as of February 1, the day before the trade.

Which teams could have offered the Mavericks the most compelling combinations of win-now players and draft assets? According to Marks, the Cavaliers (Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, 2031 unprotected first-round pick) and Rockets (Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith, Reed Sheppard, unprotected first-round picks in 2025 and 2027 via Phoenix) could have put the best packages together for Doncic (Cleveland would have been required to take back Maxi Kleber as well for salary-matching purposes, Marks notes).

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

In a story that was released before the Nuggets fired Michael Malone, Zach Harper of The Athletic listed four other head coaches who could be on the hot seat, with Mike Budenholzer of the Suns considered the most likely to be dismissed.
Confirming a report from BasketNews.com, Linas Kleiza said on his podcast (YouTube link) that Domantas Sabonis is unlikely to compete in this summer’s EuroBasket due to personal reasons (hat tip to EuroHoops.net). Kleiza, a former NBA player who is now general manager of the Lithuanian national team, also said that Jonas Valaniunas and Matas Buzelis are expected to compete in this year’s tournament.
Georgia businessman Calvin Darden Jr. was recently sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for cheating former NBA star Dwight Howard out of $7MM in a phony scheme to purchase the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, reports Philip Marcelo of The Associated Press. Darden was also convicted of stealing $1MM from former NBA forward Chandler Parsons in a separate scam. Darden was found guilty in October of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering charges.

Dillon Brooks Receives 16th Technical, Suspended One Game

April 3rd, 2025 at 2:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

April 3: The NBA put out a press release (Twitter link) confirming that Brooks will be suspended for one game without pay. He will serve the suspension tomorrow against the Thunder, as noted below.

April 2: Rockets forward Dillon Brooks has been hit with his 16th technical foul of the 2024/25 season after kicking Jazz guard Collin Sexton during Wednesday’s game between Houston and Utah, per Bleacher Report (Twitter video link).

By league rule, Brooks’ 16th technical will result in a one-game suspension for the veteran swingman, Bleacher Report notes, unless the NBA rescinds the call.

Sexton was defending Brooks as the Rockets wing pivoted into the post. Brooks leapt up and dropped the ball in what looked like an effort to sell a foul call against Sexton, but in so doing appeared to kick Sexton in a sensitive area.

Houston can ill afford to lose Brooks at all, as the club strives to hold on to its No. 2 overall seed in a very crowded Western Conference playoff picture.

At 49-27, the Rockets are currently just two games ahead of the No. 3 Nuggets, and 2.5 games in front of the No. 4 Lakers. The 44-31 Warriors and 44-32 Grizzlies aren’t far behind, either. With six games left in the Rockets’ season, the young team still has to work to do to secure its playoff seed.

When he isn’t caught fouling the opposition, the 29-year-old Brooks is a highly valuable piece on both sides of the ball. Through 72 games this year, the 2023 All-Defensive Teamer is averaging 13.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.8 steals per night, with a .422/.395/.824 shooting line.

Assuming Brooks’ 16th technical isn’t rescinded, he’d serve his suspension on Friday vs. Oklahoma City. If he accumulates two more techs before the end of the regular season, that would result in another one-game ban.

And-Ones: P. Gasol, Head Coaches, Tanking, Incentives

April 1st, 2025 at 10:33am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA star Pau Gasol is gaining momentum to become the CEO of the NBA’s proposed European league, according to a report from Eurohoops. Citing Gasol’s “strong links” to both the NBA and European basketball, a league source tells Eurohoops that the idea of the Spaniard taking on the CEO role for the new league has “universal approval” among the NBA’s governors.

A six-time All-Star and two-time champion in the NBA, Gasol played for FC Barcelona at the start and the end of his professional career, winning Spanish League championships in 1999, 2001, and 2021. He also compiled a lengthy list of accomplishments in international tournaments, winning three Olympic medals (two silvers, one bronze), a World Cup title, and three EuroBasket championships with Spain’s national team.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The Grizzlies and Kings currently employ interim head coaches and will be looking to name a permanent coach after the season. Tim Bontemps of ESPN breaks down the pros and cons of the jobs in Memphis and Sacramento, while Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report considers which other head coaches might be on the hot seat this spring, including Willie Green of the Pelicans and Chauncey Billups of the Trail Blazers.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic is the latest NBA writer to propose suggestions for how the league could address its tanking problem. Vorkunov’s ideas include having the lottery determine the top eight picks (instead of four), further flattening the lottery odds, and automatically assigning the two worst teams the fourth and fifth overall picks.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks highlights some incentive clauses in player contracts to keep an eye on during the season’s final two weeks, including Rockets forward Dillon Brooks ($1MM) and Timberwolves forward Julius Randle ($1.4MM) getting bonuses for their teams making the playoffs. Magic forward Jonathan Isaac must appear in at least four of Orlando’s final six games to reach the 70-game threshold, which would assure him of a $2.6MM bonus, Marks notes.

Southwest Notes: Morant, VanVleet, Rockets, Brown, Martin

March 3rd, 2025 at 11:21am CST by Rory Maher

Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been fined $25K by the NBA for throwing a game ball into the spectator stands at the end of the third quarter of Friday’s one-point loss to New York, the league announced in a press release.

Morant made some poor off-court decisions earlier in his career, which resulted in a pair of suspensions (including a 25-gamer) in 2023. However, he has largely stayed out of trouble since — this is the first time he has been publicly fined in 2024/25, though he has been docked $24K for accruing 11 technical fouls this season, per Spotrac.

A two-time All-Star, Morant missed Saturday’s loss to San Antonio due to right shoulder soreness and is questionable for Monday’s game vs. Atlanta with the same injury designation, according to the NBA’s official injury report.

Here’s more from the Southwest:

Saturday’s loss to Sacramento marked Fred VanVleet‘s first game back with the Rockets following a month-long absence due to a right ankle strain. Unfortunately, he aggravated the ankle on the first play of the game when he stepped on a referee’s foot, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle. The veteran guard stayed in the game and wound up playing 35 minutes, but his effectiveness was limited, as he finished with just three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 35 minutes (he also chipped in five rebounds, five assists and three steals). “I’ve been sitting long enough,” VanVleet said. “I had the training staff look at it, make sure it was nothing super serious, talked with coach a little bit. Obviously he noticed I wasn’t moving the best, so I was just trusting him at that point. If he decided to pull me I would’ve came out, but I wasn’t gonna take myself out the game. I’ll never do that.”
As Lerner relays in another story, VanVleet has been ruled out of Monday’s contest at Oklahoma City. Five other Rockets — Steven Adams (sore left ankle), Dillon Brooks (right knee contusion), Tari Eason (left leg injury management), Alperen Sengun (sore lower back) and Amen Thompson (right shoulder soreness) — are questionable for Monday’s game, which is the front end of a back-to-back.
After playing a limited role in his first three games with the Mavericks, center Moses Brown provided a major lift in the final two contests of his 10-day contract, including recording 20 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 31 minutes during a victory over Charlotte last week. Brown’s contract expired Saturday night and the Mavs can’t re-sign him or anyone else until April 10 due to their hard cap situation. “He was great,” head coach Jason Kidd said of Brown, per Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. “Moses gave us a spark, gave us a big (presence) at the rim. We needed someone at the rim, and he did a really good job for us. He’ll probably get another 10-day from someone. And give him credit for coming out as a pro and helping us find a way to win.”
Caleb Martin has yet to make his Mavericks debut after being acquired at the trade deadline, but he has been able to go through contract practices in recent days and sounds close to returning from the right hip strain that has kept him out on the shelf since January 10, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. “He’s doing extremely well,” Kidd said of Martin. “There are a lot of positive things around him right now. He’s trending in the right direction. Hopefully here in the next couple of days, we have some really good news. His rehab sessions have been going really good and he hasn’t had any setbacks. With the playing that he’s had here, hopefully he’s back sooner than later.”

Dillon Brooks Fined $25K By NBA

January 29th, 2025 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets forward Dillon Brooks was fined $25K by the NBA for using profane language during a live post-game interview, the league announced on Wednesday in a press release (Twitter link).

Brooks joined teammate Amen Thompson for an on-court interview with Space City Home Network on Monday after Thompson made a game-winning shot to beat the defending champion Celtics.

“I knew that motherf—er was going in!” Brooks yelled as Thompson responded to a question about that last-second shot (Twitter video link via Jackson Gatlin of Locked on Rockets).

Brooks is earning approximately $22.3MM this season in the second year of a four-year contract with the Rockets. This is the first time he’s been fined by the league this season, outside of the small fines automatically assessed for technical fouls.

And-Ones: Team Canada, DSJ, 2025 Draft, Kendrick

December 21st, 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Canadian players are still dealing with the disappointment of not winning a medal at this year’s Summer Olympics, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Featuring a roster loaded with NBA talent, Team Canada had a chance to reach a milestone for the nation’s basketball program. Instead, they left Paris empty-handed with the realization that the next opportunity is four long years away.

“It’s different once it’s over and you realize that you’re not going to be in that position, not have a chance for four more years,” RJ Barrett said. “Like, that’s a rough part about it, especially when we felt like we had a team that had a great mix. I think we had young guys, but not rookies, you know, and we had guys in their prime or close to their prime, and we had some vets that are still at a good stage in their career. We had the experience, and we had the talent, we got we had the coach. We felt like that was our time, but I think experience, and those type of tournaments is huge.”

The Canadians looked like a legitimate threat to capture the gold after going undefeated in pool play against Greece, Australia and Spain, who were all viewed as medal contenders. But their hopes ended quickly with an 82-73 loss to France in the quarterfinal round. Grange notes that Canada was able to control Victor Wembanyama, holding him to seven points on 2-of-10 shooting with Dillon Brooks guarding him for much of the game, but Guerschon Yabusele and Mathias Lessort led the hosts to victory by combining for 35 points.

“Every year, I get a chance to win an NBA championship,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said, “(but it’s only) every four years I get a chance to try to win the Olympics, you know?”

There’s more from around the basketball world:

When Dennis Smith Jr. entered the G League player pool, he was expecting to be claimed by the Spurs‘ affiliate, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer write in a Substack column (subscription required). Instead, he wound up with the Bucks‘ affiliate, making his future in the G League less certain, sources tell The Stein Line. Real Madrid reportedly has interest if Smith wants to play in the EuroLeague.
Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are making an impact at Rutgers, but the NBA executives and draft experts who talked to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com believe Duke’s Cooper Flagg remains very likely to be the top pick in 2025.
Frank Kendrick, who was part of a championship team with the Warriors during his only NBA season, died this week at age 74, the team announced (via Twitter). Kendrick also won an NIT title at Purdue and was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

International Notes: Martin, Washington, Fitts, Brooks

July 31st, 2024 at 1:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA first-round pick Jarell Martin has agreed to sign a one-year contract with the Adelaide 36ers of Australia’s National Basketball League, reports Olgun Uluc of ESPN.com.

The No. 25 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Martin appeared in 184 total NBA regular season games for the Grizzlies and Magic from 2015-19, but hasn’t been on an NBA roster since being cut by the Cavaliers ahead of the 2019/20 season.

The former LSU forward has played in several non-NBA leagues during the past few seasons, spending time with the Sydney Kings from 2020-22, followed by a season apiece with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel and Galatasaray in Turkey. Martin, 30, won championships in Australia in 2022 and Israel in 2023.

Here are a few more notes from around the international basketball world:

Free agent guard Duane Washington is on track to sign with Partizan Belgrade in Serbia, according to a report from Mozzart Sport (hat tip to Sportando). Washington confirmed that report in a post on his Instagram account. The 24-year-old, who played his college ball at Ohio State, appeared in 79 NBA regular season games for Indiana and Phoenix from 2021-23 and finished the 2023/24 season on a two-way contract with the Knicks, though he didn’t play at all for New York.
Former NBA forward Malik Fitts, who played for the Clipers, Jazz, and Celtics from 2020-22, has signed with SIG Strasbourg, according to an announcement from the French team. Fitts signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Wizards prior to the 2023/24 season and subsequently spent time with the Capital City Go-Go before being traded to the Cleveland Charge last December.
Long viewed as an adversarial NBA player, Canadian forward Dillon Brooks is embracing his role as an international villain in this year’s Olympics, as he tells Sam Amick of The Athletic. “Everywhere I go. Germany, France, Spain, no matter where. It’s always the same thing,” Brooks said. “… On the street, they want to take pictures, be close to the villain, take pictures with the villain. But in the game, it’s what they say in the media, what they say on social media is (to) boo him and it gets people (fired up). It is what it is. But I love playing like that. I love playing against the crowd, but at the end of the day when I’m playing good, the only thing they can do is cheer.”