Optimizing Ja Morant Considered 'Primary Motivator' For Grizzlies Firing Taylor Jenkins

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Memphis Grizzlies' decision to fire Taylor Jenkins shortly before the end of the regular season is an indication that Ja Morant remains their franchise player and that they want to get back to the point where he is at the center of what they do on the floor. The Memphis offense had moved away from Morant this season. Now that they have fired Jenkins and assistant coach Noah LaRoche, there is expected to be a reset around Morant.

"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," said Tim MacMahon. "That was a primary motivator for this decision.

"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? Could Ja look to to force a trade, or at least request a trade? And would Memphis shop him this summer?' There's been a lot of that. 

"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.'

Basically this is a "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."

Via Tim MacMahon/ESPN

[Rebound Mound]

Something is not right here.
Morant and some other players are not happy because he is not the centre of the universe and they have to move without the ball and run and make the extra effort. That seems to be too demanding for millionaires.

So the franchise decides to fire the coach.

So the franchise names coach (interim coach) the guy who was signed this summer and who implemented the offensive system.

So Jenkins listen and accepted the ideas or orders by Tuomas Lisalo and/or the GM to implement this offense and also this defense system.

Now he is the one to blame?

Wouldn't it be to blame the franchise, the GM, the assistant coach or all of the above.

By the way, some players are really happy (or were really happy) because they never imagined playing that much at this level and winning games.

[tsherkin]

Unclear what they think "optimizing" Morant actually means. He's played 30 mpg across half a season. Still can't shoot to save his life past the foul line, nor score at/above league-average efficiency. There isn't more that he could/should be doing, other than (As Rebound Mound noted) salving his ego.

[Melwing]

Unclear what they think "optimizing" Morant actually means. He's played 30 mpg across half a season. Still can't shoot to save his life past the foul line, nor score at/above league-average efficiency. There isn't more that he could/should be doing, other than (As Rebound Mound noted) salving his ego.

They ran almost ZERO pick and rolls under Jenkins this year. He just refused to run them, and that's where Morant shines

[Alex_84]

Something is not right here.
Morant and some other players are not happy because he is not the centre of the universe and they have to move without the ball and run and make the extra effort. That seems to be too demanding for millionaires.

So the franchise decides to fire the coach.

So the franchise names coach (interim coach) the guy who was signed this summer and who implemented the offensive system.

So Jenkins listen and accepted the ideas or orders by Tuomas Lisalo and/or the GM to implement this offense and also this defense system.

Now he is the one to blame?

Wouldn't it be to blame the franchise, the GM, the assistant coach or all of the above.

By the way, some players are really happy (or were really happy) because they never imagined playing that much at this level and winning games.

Yes, but when you look at the face and intellect of Ja Morant, which part is NOT telling you "hey, my ego is bigger than my gun"?

[hyberx]

Getting fired for playing the game the right way, by moving the ball instead of giving it to a ball hog? Alright Memphis, lol

[Alex_84]

Getting fired for playing the game the right way, by moving the ball instead of giving it to a ball hog? Alright Memphis, lol

They fired the coach who actually found a way for team do win when the best player is not at disposal and/or having an off night.

Egos are gigantic...

[jefe]

Getting fired for playing the game the right way, by moving the ball instead of giving it to a ball hog? Alright Memphis, lol

They fired the coach who actually found a way for team do win when the best player is not at disposal and/or having an off night.

Egos are gigantic...

Only against teams that are under .500 ....

[puja21]

Something is not right here.

Seems right

Now he is the one to blame?

Yes, of course. It's always the coach, never the max player.

Wouldn't it be to blame the franchise, the GM, the assistant coach or all of the above.

No, of course not.
$h1+ always runs downhill.

This doesn't feel confusing at all to me.
Jenkins was on the hot seat -- he agreed to cave to team's demands by hiring his now replacement.
It didn't go well (predictably) and he got fired (predictably)

The only "not right" things IMO are
1. Jenkins could've resigned AKA said "fire me now" last offseason <-- many journalists had said they were surprised he took the orders and stayed
2. they could've waited until after his 1st round april loss to fire him

Not one other aspect of this feels unusual to me.

[Rebound Mound]

Something is not right here.

Seems right

Now he is the one to blame?

Yes, of course. It's always the coach, never the max player.

Wouldn't it be to blame the franchise, the GM, the assistant coach or all of the above.

No, of course not.
$h1+ always runs downhill.

This doesn't feel confusing at all to me.
Jenkins was on the hot seat -- he agreed to cave to team's demands by hiring his now replacement.
It didn't go well (predictably) and he got fired (predictably)

The only "not right" things IMO are
1. Jenkins could've resigned AKA said "fire me now" last offseason <-- many journalists had said they were surprised he took the orders and stayed
2. they could've waited until after his 1st round april loss to fire him

Not one other aspect of this feels unusual to me.

Everything is confusing.
How in 100 years can you fire a coach for not running the offense your star player wants when that offense is the idea of an assistant coach that is staying as the head coach now?
C'mon, no sense at all.
The Grizzlies were not running that offense last season.

[puja21]

Something is not right here.

Seems right

Now he is the one to blame?

Yes, of course. It's always the coach, never the max player.

Wouldn't it be to blame the franchise, the GM, the assistant coach or all of the above.

No, of course not.
$h1+ always runs downhill.

This doesn't feel confusing at all to me.
Jenkins was on the hot seat -- he agreed to cave to team's demands by hiring his now replacement.
It didn't go well (predictably) and he got fired (predictably)

The only "not right" things IMO are
1. Jenkins could've resigned AKA said "fire me now" last offseason <-- many journalists had said they were surprised he took the orders and stayed
2. they could've waited until after his 1st round april loss to fire him

Not one other aspect of this feels unusual to me.

Everything is confusing.
How in 100 years can you fire a coach for not running the offense your star player wants when that offense is the idea of an assistant coach that is staying as the head coach now?
C'mon, no sense at all.
The Grizzlies were not running that offense last season.

Two possible flaws in this logic:
1. That Jenkins was fired primarily for the carousel offense
2. Asserting that Iisalo is the primary architect of that offense and not Noah LaRoche (who was also fired with Jenkins)

Not saying you're wrong but there's no certainty that 1 and 2 are true either

e.g.
https://youtu.be/k-OpDMa-IJY?t=25
e.g. "Some fans are blaming Iisola for an offense that Ja Morant hated, when it's not even his preferred play style"

We'll know more if Morant is traded or just "shopped" during the offseason -- moving or attempting to move Ja would tell me all the Memphis leaks to NBA media about "reloading fully behind Ja" are a false flag to boost his trade value

[tsherkin]

Getting fired for playing the game the right way, by moving the ball instead of giving it to a ball hog? Alright Memphis, lol

They fired the coach who actually found a way for team do win when the best player is not at disposal and/or having an off night.

Egos are gigantic...

Only against teams that are under .500 ....

So instead they should give it to the inefficient volume scorer who isn't ever healthy and has availability issues of various sorts? That's the solution?

[DoItALL9]

Something is not right here.

Seems right

Now he is the one to blame?

Yes, of course. It's always the coach, never the max player.

Wouldn't it be to blame the franchise, the GM, the assistant coach or all of the above.

No, of course not.
$h1+ always runs downhill.

This doesn't feel confusing at all to me.
Jenkins was on the hot seat -- he agreed to cave to team's demands by hiring his now replacement.
It didn't go well (predictably) and he got fired (predictably)

The only "not right" things IMO are
1. Jenkins could've resigned AKA said "fire me now" last offseason <-- many journalists had said they were surprised he took the orders and stayed
2. they could've waited until after his 1st round april loss to fire him

Not one other aspect of this feels unusual to me.

Everything is confusing.
How in 100 years can you fire a coach for not running the offense your star player wants when that offense is the idea of an assistant coach that is staying as the head coach now?
C'mon, no sense at all.
The Grizzlies were not running that offense last season.

Taylor Jenkins must've been "spamming" the new offense against the wishes of the GM & Asst. Coach to price a point which led to his firing.

[jefe]

They fired the coach who actually found a way for team do win when the best player is not at disposal and/or having an off night.

Egos are gigantic...

Only against teams that are under .500 ....

So instead they should give it to the inefficient volume scorer who isn't ever healthy and has availability issues of various sorts? That's the solution?

Continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

[tsherkin]

Only against teams that are under .500 ....

So instead they should give it to the inefficient volume scorer who isn't ever healthy and has availability issues of various sorts? That's the solution?

Continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

Exactly.