Top 100 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season, Part 2

33. Failed Grizzlies-Suns-Wizards trade because of confusion over which Brooks was involved

The Phoenix Suns wanted to get out of the Trevor Ariza contract as soon as they could (Dec. 15). The Washington Wizards needed to address their tense locker room situation. The Memphis Grizzlies wanted to shore up their bench.

A three-way trade involving Ariza, Kelly Oubre Jr., Austin Rivers, Wayne Selden and another player named Brooks made sense on paper … until there was complete confusion over which Brooks would be involved.

There were conflicting reports on this, and on what actually happened. Arizona Sports‘ John Gambadoro was adamant the Suns would be getting Dillon Brooks from the Grizz in the three-team deal, while ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski and Daily Memphian‘s Chris Herrington reported it was MarShon Brooks — which, you know, would’ve made zero sense if the Grizz were getting Oubre.

Something slipped through the cracks, and it was hard to tell where the miscommunication began, for the obvious reason that whatever side was at fault between Phoenix and Memphis would look incredibly stupid for the kind of glaring oversight that hijacked the deal.

The Washington Post‘s Candace Buckner confirmed the accounts coming out of Phoenix that owners Robert Sarver and Robert Pera had discussed a Dillon Brooks trade before Memphis backed out, but Grizzlies general Chris Wallace told ESPN otherwise.

The Suns and Wizards eventually agreed to their own deal without Memphis, sending Ariza to D.C. with Oubre and Rivers coming to Phoenix. However, as you can imagine, the NBA Twitter reaction to this whole confusing journey was tremendous, making this unnecessarily dramatic and entirely funny series of developments one of the most memorable moments of the season.