NBA veteran Danny Green, who played for the Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers last season, recalled the fight between Donovan Mitchell and Dillon Brooks.
When the fight happened back in February, Green was still a member of the Grizzlies.
Donovan Mitchell and Dillon Brooks tussle in Cleveland 👊
🎥 @BleacherReport pic.twitter.com/z5le7GOYt2
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 3, 2023
Brooks clearly got under Mitchell’s skin after hitting the Cavs star in the groin area. Green explained his perspective and revealed that he was able to talk to Mitchell about it when he joined the Cavs in the 2022-23 season.
“I got a chance to play for both teams,” Green said. “They got into a fight in Cleveland. So, Donovan Mitchell and Dillon got into that fight. And I was there for the Memphis side, and I actually got a chance to talk to Donovan about it when I got to Cleveland.
“And you can tell, Don’s not one of those guys that gets angry, but he had enough, threw the ball at him and almost started a brawl. That’s what Dillon does — get under these people’s skin and try to get you out your game.”
Both players were ejected from the game. Brooks had actually been playing good defense on Mitchell that night. Prior to being ejected, Mitchell scored just six points on 2-of-11 shooting from the field.
Still, the Cavs guard did not hold back after the game when speaking on the situation.
“That’s just who he is. We’ve seen it a bunch in this league with him. Him and I have had our personal battles for years,” Mitchell said of Brooks at the time. “Quite frankly, I’ve been busting his a– for years. Playoffs, regular season – the one game he does an alright job on me, he decides to do something like that. There’s no place in that in the game. You got to protect yourself at the end of the day. This has been brewing for years. You all see it. This isn’t new. It’s tough when you can’t guard somebody, you can’t do something to somebody, you gotta resort to that.”
Brooks can be a solid defender in many cases, but he also plays chippy at times, such as in this instance with Mitchell. Now, Brooks is no longer with Memphis, as he landed with the Houston Rockets this offseason.
It’s cool to see Green’s side of things since he played for both teams. Green helped Cleveland down the stretch of the 2022-23 season and played in the team’s playoff series against the New York Knicks.
The veteran wing is currently an unrestricted free agent, but he could latch on with a contender at some point prior to the 2023-24 season.
