Ranking: The Top 24 small forwards for the 2023-24 season

A very poor playoff showing and a touch of scapegoatism, as well as a potential overpay by the Houston Rockets this summer (four years, $86 million), have led Dillon Brooks to be entering his first year with a new team as his time with the Grizzlies is now over. Brooks did experience success with Memphis, turning into one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA while being a decent scorer at times, but his inefficiency, especially in 2022-23, was becoming hard to ignore. Among players with at least 500 field-goal attempts last season, Brooks had the NBA’s third-worst true shooting percentage (49.4 percent), ahead of only Killian Hayes and Tre Mann. Additionally, Memphis was outscored by 10.4 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs when Brooks was on the floor, in part leading to the team’s first-round demise. Still, overall, Brooks was a positive-impact player during his time with the Grizzlies. In fact, over the past three regular seasons, Memphis was actually 4.8 points per 100 possessions better with Brooks in the game, so the somewhat expensive signing by Houston makes sense. It’ll just be interesting to note how Brooks behaves on offense on a team with less established weapons than the Grizzlies had. Will he become an even bigger shot-chucker? Or will his shot selection and efficiency improve?

2022-23 stats: 14.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 0.9 spg, 39.6 FG% in 73 games
2023-24 salary: $22,627,671 (projected 64th overall in salary)

For more on Dillon Brooks, including a scouting report and accolades, click here.