Dillon Brooks takes a jab at Grizzlies: 'They have no swagger' / News - Basketnews.com

Dillon Brooks reflects on his departure from the Memphis Grizzlies before facing his former team for the first time on Wednesday: "It's like the girlfriend that you used to have. You don't know how good she is until she's gone."

Credit: Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix Credit Getty Images via AFP - Scanpix

Having spent the first six seasons of his NBA journey with the Memphis Grizzlies, Dillon Brooks began a new chapter this offseason by joining the Houston Rockets.

Dillon Brooks

Team:Houston RocketsPosition:SF, SGAge:27Height:198 cmWeight:102 kgBirth place:CanadaProfileNewsStatistics

Transitioning from a significant tenure with a team can be akin to navigating a challenging breakup, even when the signs were apparent. Both the Grizzlies and Brooks acknowledged the inevitability of their parting ways, recognizing that differences had reached a point of no return.

"It's like the girlfriend that you used to have," Brooks said of the Grizzlies this season without him, via Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle. "You don't know how good she is until she's gone.

"I don't worry about the past. I'm here building a future with these guys. I'm here for another three years [after this season] and then some. I want to get the Rockets to get back to the playoffs and the Rockets to be one of the best teams."

His flourishing presence in Houston, appreciated by teammates and management alike, serves as a testament to the qualities that were once synonymous with the Grizzlies. While Memphis struggles to recapture the toughness that characterized their recent era, Brooks observes the void.

"You can see now, they have no swagger," Brooks remarked as he prepared to face his former team for the first time at the Toyota Center on Wednesday.

"We have swagger. We have an identity we're building. Each and every game, we show it more and more. That's what I want for my guys. That's what I want for each and every guy on the floor, to play their best basketball."

Houston holds the eighth spot in the Western Conference with a 6-6 record, while Memphis finds itself at the lower end of the standings, sharing the 13th-14th spots with a 3-10 tally.

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