DALLAS — On the night he agreed to a three-year, $35 million contract extension, Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Dillon Brooks got another wish granted.
The Grizzlies agreed to trade Andre Iguodala to the Miami Heat, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday, ending the 36-year-old former Finals MVP’s mutually agreed-upon absence from Memphis.
Sources said 23-year-old forward Justise Winslow will be part of the package received by Memphis in the trade, which could be expanded to a three-team deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder that would also deliver forward Danilo Gallinari to the Heat.
“Now we have a player that we’re getting that actually wants to play with us and thinks we’re good,” Brooks said, referring to Winslow.
On Monday night, Brooks declared that he was eager for the Grizzlies to officially part ways with Iguodala, who never reported to Memphis after being acquired in the summer along with a 2024 first-round pick from the Golden State Warriors, the price for absorbing his $17.2 million salary.
The Grizzlies made it clear that they would not give Iguodala a buyout because they intended to get more value by trading him. After Memphis did not find a deal the franchise considered suitable before training camp, the Grizzlies agreed to allow Iguodala to train on his own while the front office searched for a trade partner.
Brooks and other Memphis players felt disrespected by the perception that the Grizzlies weren’t good enough for Iguodala. The rebuilding Grizzlies have been one of the NBA’s most pleasant surprises, sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference standings with a 26-25 record after Wednesday’s 121-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
“A guy that’s on our team doesn’t want to be on our team,” Brooks said Monday. “I can’t wait until we find a way to trade him so we can play him, and I can show him what really Memphis is about.”
A couple of Brooks’ teammates seemed to co-sign his comments, as Rookie of the Year front-runner Ja Morant posted a shouting emoji along with Brooks’ quote on Twitter, and reserve guard De’Anthony Melton posted a shrugging emoji.
Morant, however, downplayed his interest in Iguodala’s situation on Wednesday night.
“I didn’t care,” Morant said. “That’s in the past. It’s over with, and we’re looking to play with the players that are on the floor. We’re handling business, so we’re fine.”
The downside of the deal, as far as the Grizzlies’ players are concerned, is that highly respected veteran forwards Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill were informed minutes before Wednesday’s win that they would be traded. Crowder and Hill were pulled out of the layup lines to be given the news.
“I honestly didn’t know until starting lineup,” Morant said. “Normally, I have a handshake with Jae and Solo is always wrapping us up at the beginning. So I didn’t know. I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t speak on it. I can only control what I can, and that’s just go out and play the game of basketball.”
The 29-year-old Crowder and Hill, 28, both of whom could end up in Oklahoma City, are the oldest players to appear in a game for the Grizzlies this season. Morant said Crowder and Hill should “get a lot of credit for putting us in the position that we’re in right now” because of their contributions as key role players and mentors for Memphis’ young players.
“I love those guys,” Brooks said. “They helped us build what we got now. They’re going to do great over there. It hurts a little bit because we got close with Jae and Solo, but we still got to move on, still got to handle our business on our end. We’re getting a good player too in Justise. I can’t wait for him to come in and get acclimated to the next gen and keep the ball rolling.”