The Memphis Grizzlies recently parted ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins
Much of the NBA world was shocked over the weekend when the Memphis Grizzlies announced the firing of head coach Taylor Jenkins.
Jenkins coached six seasons in Memphis with a 250-214 record, leading the Grizzlies to back-to-back 50+ wins and No. 2 seeds in the Western Conference in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
“I’m genuinely appreciative of Taylor’s contributions to this team and this city over the past six seasons,” Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman said. “This was a difficult decision given the consistent and tangible development of our players and overall success under Taylor’s leadership. I wish Taylor the very best going forward.”
Many fans have begun to speculate whether or not star point guard Ja Morant had any involvement in the Grizzlies’ parting ways with Jenkins, but that does not seem to be the case. During Memphis’ matchup against the Boston Celtics on Monday, sidelined reporter Taylor Rooks said that Morant was not involved.
“The decision (to fire Jenkins), I am told, was about the second half of the season,” Rooks said. “The defense had slipped, they had lost nine straight games against opponents .500 or better, and the belief is that they simply needed a new voice. I can confirm that Ja Morant did not ask for this move to be made and the team did not know that this was coming.”
The Grizzlies have made it clear that they are ready to build around Morant for their future, so getting a head coach who clicks with their franchise player makes sense. Whether or not Morant asked for this change, it should be good for the direction of the Grizzlies franchise.
“This decision to do it now and to move on from LaRoche, and to lean back into all the pick and roll stuff… this was a decision that was about optimizing Ja Morant…
“And look there has been noise about Ja being unhappy all season long. There has been noise about, ‘Hey, you know, could Memphis look to move Ja this summer? Could Ja look to get out of Memphis this summer?’… I was texting with a GM after this happened and he said ‘I would have told you I thought they were definitely going to [shop him]. Ja was out on them. They won games without him. They have to be sustainable.’ And he said ‘This is a move that goes in the face of that.’”
McMahon sums up the message of the trade as, “Hey, Ja, you’re still our guy. Everything we do is going to be based on what’s best for you. What optimizes you. They got away from that for a lot of this season and they’re leaning back hard into it.”
Morant didn’t push for Jenkins’s firing, and Jenkins would have happily leaned back into more Morant on offense (when he’s healthy), but management wanted a new voice. Whether Iisalo is that voice and if he can make meaningful changes before the playoffs remains to be seen.
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