Boom: Grizzlies fire their head coach

[ontnut]

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Because Memphis is literally THE smallest market in the NBA? On a national nobody cares about them, at least not on a day-to-day discussion level.
They have a TV market size of about 600,000 and their metro population is about 1.3 million - about the size of Peel or York region.

[DKB333]

I imagine that they wanted to do it last off season, but that it would not look good as the team was injured all year. I believe I heard that they fired his staff before the start of this season. I may be wrong on that though.

[Dalek]

I imagine that they wanted to do it last off season, but that it would not look good as the team was injured all year. I believe I heard that they fired his staff before the start of this season. I may be wrong on that though.

This is correct. They almost all of changes Jenkin's assistants, brought in a lot of the principles of Iisalo's offense and Jenkins was there to be head coach of this new system. I think he was already on thin ice at that point.

I think the toughest thing is managing Ja Morant availability. Memphis cannot afford to have a Luka situation with Morant, so you juggle coaches because what else can you do when you can't afford to trade your stars away.

[DKB333]

I imagine that they wanted to do it last off season, but that it would not look good as the team was injured all year. I believe I heard that they fired his staff before the start of this season. I may be wrong on that though.

This is correct. They almost all of changes Jenkin's assistants, brought in a lot of the principles of Iisalo's offense and Jenkins was there to be head coach of this new system. I think he was already on thin ice at that point.

I think the toughest thing is managing Ja Morant availability. Memphis cannot afford to have a Luka situation with Morant, so you juggle coaches because what else can you do when you can't afford to trade your stars away.

I am not very high on Morant. If he can stay healthy I would look to move him personally. That is easier said then done though as he is a huge star in a small market, so they can not really move him business wise even if they wanted to.

[tecumseh18]

I imagine that they wanted to do it last off season, but that it would not look good as the team was injured all year.

Hah, that didn't stop the Kings from firing Mike Malone. They began that season 16-9, but then Boogie came down with meningitis. The Kings started losing, and Malone was fired mid-season. EVERYONE knew it was a mistake at the time, and obviously history has not been kind to Vivek's decision (or indeed any of Vivek's decisions ).

This firing immediately struck me as akin to the Malone firing.

[DKB333]

I imagine that they wanted to do it last off season, but that it would not look good as the team was injured all year.

Hah, that didn't stop the Kings from firing Mike Malone. They began that season 16-9, but then Boogie came down with meningitis. The Kings started losing, and Malone was fired mid-season. EVERYONE knew it was a mistake at the time, and obviously history has not been kind to Vivek's decision (or indeed any of Vivek's decisions ).

This firing immediately struck me as akin to the Malone firing.

I may be wrong but I do not think the Kings team had a lost season due to injuries the year before though. My point was that it would look bad to fire a coach after a season where all of their players were injured all year.

[C_Money]

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Because Memphis is literally THE smallest market in the NBA? On a national nobody cares about them, at least not on a day-to-day discussion level.
They have a TV market size of about 600,000 and their metro population is about 1.3 million - about the size of Peel or York region.

That’s why NFL coverage is so much better. Like nobody gives a f**k about how small Green Bay is.

[disoblige]

probably a core player dont like him.

[Tripod]

Edey only played 12:45 vs. Boston last night. Unplayable against them? Marvin Bagley played just as much, to put that into perspective.

[TheGeneral99]

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Because Memphis is literally THE smallest market in the NBA? On a national nobody cares about them, at least not on a day-to-day discussion level.
They have a TV market size of about 600,000 and their metro population is about 1.3 million - about the size of Peel or York region.

That’s why NFL coverage is so much better. Like nobody gives a f**k about how small Green Bay is.

Much different league.

Each team has 53 players, owners have way more power, you have a hard salary cap with non-guaranteed salaries, injuries are the norm, and you have the franchise tag to keep your star player.

NBA teams only have 15 guys and it's really only the top 3-4 guys on the roster that will make your team competitive so the stars have a ton of power.

[ontnut]

Because Memphis is literally THE smallest market in the NBA? On a national nobody cares about them, at least not on a day-to-day discussion level.
They have a TV market size of about 600,000 and their metro population is about 1.3 million - about the size of Peel or York region.

That’s why NFL coverage is so much better. Like nobody gives a f**k about how small Green Bay is.

Much different league.

Each team has 53 players, owners have way more power, you have a hard salary cap with non-guaranteed salaries, injuries are the norm, and you have the franchise tag to keep your star player.

NBA teams only have 15 guys and it's really only the top 3-4 guys on the roster that will make your team competitive so the stars have a ton of power.

Green Bay is also a historic franchise with a rich winning history. Their popularity is bolstered by being the only NFL team to 3-peat twice, and they've had some of the greatest QBs to ever play in recent times like Favre, Rodgers. In a league where superstars are few and short-lived, having two all-time greats that play ~15 seasons each at the most visible position, gives them a big spotlight. Also because it's more of a TEAM game, with really only the QB really being the star esp nowadays, team success can more easily translate into national coverage, because it's more about the team than the 1-2 superstars. Also let's not forget how much Americans from smaller states/towns love football - the college scene is as big or bigger in some states than the pro teams - even a city/state with a small population can sustain huge TV/ticket markets.

Nobody would talk about the Bucks now, if they didn't have Giannis. Even after winning the chip and having Giannis there still, isn't enough to keep them in the spotlight. Small market problems. Even fewer people care about the Grizz because beyond being a small market, they've also had very, very little franchise success, and up til now their biggest star was Pau Gasol or Zach Randolph. That's not great, and not much to talk about.