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Grizzlies GM upset with trade fiasco: 'I'm not happy about what happened'

Joe Murphy / National Basketball Association / Getty

It took Memphis Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace less than a day to comment on his frustration with how Friday night's three-team trade debacle ended.

"I don't carry grudges, but I'm not happy about what happened," Wallace said, according to Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen.

The Grizzlies were prepared to ship Wayne Selden and MarShon Brooks to the Phoenix Suns in a deal that centered around forward Trevor Ariza heading to the Washington Wizards. Unfortunately, Phoenix thought it was receiving up-and-coming forward Dillon Brooks instead. Wallace was adamant that he had absolutely no interest in dealing the Canadian sophomore.

"We were very clear about who was in the trade," Wallace added. "Contrary to reports, it was not Dillon Brooks, which put us in a very difficult situation with our players. Individuals from one or both of those teams leaked the deal, while we were playing last night. That forced me to do something I've never done in 30-plus years working in this league for seven teams, which was to drag two players out of the locker room and tell them they have been traded and eventually have to come back in and tell them, 'no you haven't been traded.'"

The Wizards and Suns continued negotiations without the inclusion of a third team and agreed to swap Ariza for Austin Rivers and Kelly Oubre on Saturday. Despite being left out, Wallace remains certain the Grizzlies communicated Chronicle's.

"What happened last night was unfathomable," Wallace said. "I've never experienced this before. We were very clear with who was in this deal. Dillon Brooks never was intended to be a part of this. From our standpoint, we made it very clear it was not Dillon Brooks.

"We were very clear on what we communicated. We don't have any issues with how we conducted this. It was not our problem."

Dillon Brooks started 74 games for the Grizzlies last season, averaging 11 points and 3.1 rebounds in 82 appearances.

The 22-year-old has missed the last 17 games while dealing with a sprained MCL.

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