EMPIRE OF THE SUNS

A timeline of the Brooks-broken Suns, Grizzlies and Wizards trade

Dec 15, 2018, 6:05 PM | Updated: 10:56 pm
Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks (24) in the second half during an NBA basketball game against...
Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks (24) in the second half during an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018, in Phoenix. The Suns defeated the Grizzlies 102-100. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

It will forever be known as a tale of two men named Brooks.

The Phoenix Suns thought they had agreed upon a three-team trade by shipping Trevor Ariza to Washington and receiving Wizards guard Austin Rivers, plus the Memphis Grizzlies’ Wayne Selden and Dillon Brooks. But the Grizzlies had thought they were dealing Selden and MarShon Brooks to the Suns.

Memphis was expected to receive Wizards wing Kelly Oubre, and the Wizards and Grizzlies were also exchanging draft compensation.

But the miscommunication about which player with the surname of Brooks was to be included led to no trade. The damage, however, was done through a two-hour series of front office leaks to a variety of reporters on Friday night.

The Suns and Wizards followed up the dead deal Saturday morning, agreeing to trade Ariza for Oubre and Rivers straight up, confirmed 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro. That trade reportedly will become official Monday.

But let’s take a look back on the outflow of information with a Twitter retrospective of how reporters, it appears, ended up informing the Suns and Grizzlies of their misunderstanding.

Here is a timeline of Friday’s non-trade that will live in infamy with annotations and notes.

7:53 p.m. Friday

8:09 p.m.

Imagine here that Wojnarowski is attempting to clarify with sources which Brooks is involved in the trade.

8:11 p.m.

Meanwhile, The Athletic’s Fred Katz is with Washington reporters in the Wizards’ locker room after a loss.

In the moment, this appears to be a solid move for Ariza, as the Suns would get back Rivers, who can act as a starting point guard to take pressure off Devin Booker.

While that is a stop-gap option at point guard, the real win was Dillon Brooks, who is a solid second-year pro with a $1.6 million non-guaranteed option on his contract in 2019-20 before he hits restricted free agency.

8:21 p.m.

Uh, oh. Just guessing here, but it appears that Wojnarowski did more than just assume the wrong Brooks. Perhaps different sources gave him different answers?

8:31 p.m.

8:41 p.m.

Red flags go off when two reporters with sources in different cities double-check to make sure they didn’t misunderstand.

8:53 p.m.

9:06 p.m.

9:13 p.m.

9:20 p.m.

Checking in on Washington!

9:34 p.m.

9:51 p.m.

Read further, and you’ll find the Washington Post’s Candance Buckner, who reports on the Wizards, also had sources telling her that Memphis and Phoenix discussed Dillon Brooks before the three-team talks.

Meanwhile, Dillon finds this all as nerve-wracking.

10:19 p.m.

Oh?

10:20 p.m.

And another one:

10:48 p.m.

Damage control incoming.

It should be pointed out that Wallace’s statement to ESPN did not say the Suns and Grizzlies did not discuss Dillon Brooks at all. It said the teams’ owners did not speak about the reported three-way trade — again, because Washington ran point on the deal.

The teams could have discussed Brooks, who is out with a knee injury, as a individual entity before the three-team trade started formulating.

The Grizzlies’ team website later spoke with GM Chris Wallace, who again denied the reports of speaking about Dillon Brooks with Phoenix.

9:43 a.m. Saturday

Hey, a real trade. Probably.

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A timeline of the Brooks-broken Suns, Grizzlies and Wizards trade