Rockets agree to 4-year, $80 million deal with Dillon Brooks

Free agent wing Dillon Brooks has agreed to a four-year, $80 million contract with the Houston Rockets, his agent, Mike George of One Legacy Sports, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday.

Sources told Wojnarowski that the deal would result in a reduction in annual salary.

The Rockets also agreed to a four-year, $32 million deal with free agent center Jock Landell, sources told Wojnarowski. Only the first season of the deal is guaranteed.

With this pair of signings, along with the blockbuster addition of point guard Fred VanVleet, the Rockets aim to take a step forward next season under new head coach Ime Udoka.

The 27-year-old Brooks played for the Grizzlies his entire six-year career after arriving in Memphis as a second-round pick. He became a key starter for the team that made the playoffs each of the past three seasons, earning a reputation as one of the NBA’s premier wing defenders – as evidenced by his Second Team All-Defensive selection last season. Let’s go

However, the Grizzlies opted not to attempt to re-sign him in free agency due to Brooks’ often-contradictory antics and poor shot selection. The decision was made shortly after the second-seeded Grizzlies were ousted in the first round by the Los Angeles Lakers, a series in which Brooks made headlines for derisively calling LeBron James “old”. Brooks shot only 31.2% from the floor in the series and was fined $25,000 by the NBA for not meeting his media obligations after Memphis’ previous three losses.

Brooks’ role in the Grizzlies’ offense has been a point of contention for some years. He averaged a career-best 18.4 points per game in 2021–22, but his effective field goal percentage was below 47.5%.

Memphis’ coaching staff asked Brooks to accept a reduced role in the offense last season, which he did, averaging 14.3 points on 13.6 field goal attempts per game, his lowest figures since becoming a full-time starter.

“I don’t think I’ve lost anything on the offensive end,” Brooks said during his exit interview the day after being kicked out to the Grizzlies. “I was there to just 3-and-D, shoot and play defense. I got a lot more of that in my game.”

Meanwhile, Landell got his first major NBA contract after breaking through last season with the Phoenix Suns. He spent four years at St. Mary’s and a few years overseas before making his NBA debut with the San Antonio Spurs in 2021.

The 27-year-old Landell averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game and appeared in seven of the Suns’ post-season games.

When Landell did see the court in Phoenix, he proved to be a reliable backup center, strong rebounder and finisher. The Suns also gained in the minutes he was on the court — in nearly 1,000 total minutes this season, Phoenix averaged 7.9 points per 100 possessions when Landel played.