Memphis Grizzlies Fire Coach Taylor Jenkins

[RingoKid]

The amount of work the Grizzlies org goes through to appease Ja has to be exhausting.

They should trade him asap to whatever desperate franchise would take him. The juice is not worth the squeeze…

We are not trading the best player in franchise history until we fully give him a chance to be his best.

Peak Morant was with Brooks and Adams making up for his lackadaisical D and running interference.

If Edey projects out as Adams lite and can replicate what Stevo did for him, and Russ with OKC then he might be able to get back to a semblance of his best.

Otherwise it's more mileage on an already expiring clock...

[wco81]

If I'm not mistaken, Ja/JJJ/Bane has only won one playoffs series, vs. the Timberwolves, in 7 games?

Grit and Grind must have won more?

But this core is still young so the final chapter isn't written.

All these players, when they hit UFA, would have interest from other teams, you'd think. That's assuming Ja doesn't get into more off-court trouble and can shed his injuries.

[sp6r=underrated]

Grit and Grind must have won more?

Grit and grind teams were ones the tank fans hate. Didn't have the talent to win a title and couldn't really acquire it. But they were very good. And yeah they won 4 playoff series and made a CF.

[Special_Puppy]

Grit and Grind must have won more?

Grit and grind teams were ones the tank fans hate. Didn't have the talent to win a title and couldn't really acquire it. But they were very good. And yeah they won 4 playoff series and made a CF.

Grit and Grind were talented enough that they could have won a title with a weird circumstance (Kawhi to Toronto) or an easy path (2023 Nuggets). The real teams tanking fans want to blow up are the 2025 Heat, Suns, et al

[TFJava]

Wow. Surprise move by the Grizz. There must be some internal power struggle going on.

[sp6r=underrated]

Grit and Grind must have won more?

Grit and grind teams were ones the tank fans hate. Didn't have the talent to win a title and couldn't really acquire it. But they were very good. And yeah they won 4 playoff series and made a CF.

Grit and Grind were talented enough that they could have won a title with a weird circumstance (Kawhi to Toronto) or an easy path (2023 Nuggets). The real teams tanking fans want to blow up are the 2025 Heat, Suns, et al

Ainge blew up a team that was roughly on par with them and the pro-tankers cheered it on. The hardcore fans/executives who want superstars or bust would want that team broken up and sold for picks.

[JujitsuFlip]

Alright Grizz, dysfunction aside, imma need you all to find a way to win tonight.

[NO-KG-AI]

They say they want to optimize Ja, but shouldn’t the coach be focused on optimizing the Grizzlies? This is goofy.

[ReggiesKnicks]

Well the Doug Christie affect didn't help

[wco81]

Towards the end of the Warriors game tonite, Ja makes what appeared to be a shooting gesture at the Warriors bench.

Are the Grizzlies sure they want to go all-in with Ja?

That dumb father of his is still up to the usual court side antics too.

Ja is an electrifying player. But if they give him another max contract and a max contract for JJJ, will the Grizzlies rise to the top with this core?

[azcatz11]

Towards the end of the Warriors game tonite, Ja makes what appeared to be a shooting gesture at the Warriors bench.

Are the Grizzlies sure they want to go all-in with Ja?

That dumb father of his is still up to the usual court side antics too.

Ja is an electrifying player. But if they give him another max contract and a max contract for JJJ, will the Grizzlies rise to the top with this core?

I love the look on Steph’s face…

Watch on YouTube

[shi-woo]

Grit and grind teams were ones the tank fans hate. Didn't have the talent to win a title and couldn't really acquire it. But they were very good. And yeah they won 4 playoff series and made a CF.

Grit and Grind were talented enough that they could have won a title with a weird circumstance (Kawhi to Toronto) or an easy path (2023 Nuggets). The real teams tanking fans want to blow up are the 2025 Heat, Suns, et al

Ainge blew up a team that was roughly on par with them and the pro-tankers cheered it on. The hardcore fans/executives who want superstars or bust would want that team broken up and sold for picks.

Mitchell wasn't resigning with Utah, and was already out the door. Covid ruined what little relationship he had with the city and franchise. Wild how so many people miss the fact that Donovan essentially requested a trade, which saying your not resigning is in the modern NBA...

Ainge did the right thing not building around Gobert and sold him at peak value.

[stillgotgame]

Euroleague coaches never really workout in the NBA. It's just a different game with more simplistic counters to creativity on offense.

Tuomas Iisalo has not coached in the EuroLeague in his career. He won back-to-back continental competitions in Europe but it was the BCL (Basketball Champions League) and EuroCup levels.

So this was his star in a 20 game season:
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4279066/tj-shorts-ii

High level league there, huh. Somehow coaching in a professional rec league might not translate to the egos and athleticism of the NBA.

He’s lost 3 in a row. Trying to rollout a new system when fighting for a playoff spot is beyond dumb. Hey let’s out in a new offense and beat the Celtics, Lakers and Warriors. We’ll give up 130 points a game but that’s someone else’s fault.

Colossal fail firing. Someone is going to get a very good young coach in Jenkins.

[God Squad]

Towards the end of the Warriors game tonite, Ja makes what appeared to be a shooting gesture at the Warriors bench.

Are the Grizzlies sure they want to go all-in with Ja?

That dumb father of his is still up to the usual court side antics too.

Ja is an electrifying player. But if they give him another max contract and a max contract for JJJ, will the Grizzlies rise to the top with this core?

I love the look on Steph’s face…

Watch on YouTube

It looks like Buddy did the gun gesture to Ja first. 10-11 seconds in, looks like he's trying to hide it though.

I could be wrong though.

[Nuntius]

Euroleague coaches never really workout in the NBA. It's just a different game with more simplistic counters to creativity on offense.

Tuomas Iisalo has not coached in the EuroLeague in his career. He won back-to-back continental competitions in Europe but it was the BCL (Basketball Champions League) and EuroCup levels.

So this was his star in a 20 game season:
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4279066/tj-shorts-ii

Yeah, TJ Shorts played for Bonn and Paris under Iisalo. They did great together and won the Basketball Champions League with Bonn and the EuroCup with Paris. TJ Shorts remained in Paris after Iisalo left for Memphis and now Shorts and Paris are playing in the EuroLeague and doing fairly well there too. Paris is a mid-level team in the EuroLeague this season that has a very good chance at qualifying for the playoffs. Not bad for a team making its first appearance at that level. TJ Shorts will probably be signed by a big EuroLeague club in the summer. His career is at a pretty good stage.

High level league there, huh. Somehow coaching in a professional rec league might not translate to the egos and athleticism of the NBA.

Yes, everyone knows that coaching in the NBA is different than coaching elsewhere. The egos are incomparable so an NBA coach needs a lot of player management skills that aren't really necessary elsewhere. No one's disagreeing with that point.

He’s lost 3 in a row. Trying to rollout a new system when fighting for a playoff spot is beyond dumb. Hey let’s out in a new offense and beat the Celtics, Lakers and Warriors. We’ll give up 130 points a game but that’s someone else’s fault.

Colossal fail firing. Someone is going to get a very good young coach in Jenkins.

Jenkins lost the locker room. That's not anyone else's fault, is it?

Also, the Grizzles didn't just start losing now. They have been losing for quite some time. They are 2-8 in the last 10 games. But you may say that these last 3 losses play a role here so, fine, let's go further back.

Do you remember where the Grizzlies were at the All-Star break? They were 2nd in the West with a 36-18 record. And now their record is 44-32 and they're on the verge of falling out of the playoffs altogether. That means that they have only won 8 games post-ASG. And they've lost 14. 8-14 post-ASG.

Things were clearly going horribly before Jenkins was fired. Is it uncommon to fire a coach so late into the season while the team is still in the playoff run? Yeah, it is. But that doesn't mean that it's a mistake.

How often have fans hoped that their teams acted faster when things started going south? How often have fans accused their teams of waiting too long before going forward with a change that they all saw coming? Based on what I've seen and read on this forum, that's quite common.

Also, for what is worth, most Griz fans in this thread seem to agree with the decision to fire Jenkins. They don't seem upset by these news. It's the fans of other teams that were caught off-guard and surprised (myself included here). So, if the fans of the team are okay with it, why would I disagree? They know their team better than anyone.

[Nuntius]

The amount of work the Grizzlies org goes through to appease Ja has to be exhausting.

They should trade him asap to whatever desperate franchise would take him. The juice is not worth the squeeze…

We are not trading the best player in franchise history until we fully give him a chance to be his best.

Ja definitely has the chance to be the best payer in your franchise's history but he hasn't done enough yet to be considered better than that awesome Grit n' Grind team.

[tamaraw08]

Towards the end of the Warriors game tonite, Ja makes what appeared to be a shooting gesture at the Warriors bench.

Are the Grizzlies sure they want to go all-in with Ja?

That dumb father of his is still up to the usual court side antics too.

Ja is an electrifying player. But if they give him another max contract and a max contract for JJJ, will the Grizzlies rise to the top with this core?

I can't help but wonder if the owners are actual basketball sensible fans who are able to properly gauge this team's ability to be actual contenders.
I mean come on, Ja is not even top 10 among PGs in terms of efficiency, IQ, impact etc.
I like Bane but not a player who can take over esp in the playoffs when legit teams take away their first options.
JJJ is really good and after them... Aldama is good then....?
I don't think there's a coach from past to present, including Spoelstra, who can elevate and lead this team deep in the playoffs.

[G R E Y]

Towards the end of the Warriors game tonite, Ja makes what appeared to be a shooting gesture at the Warriors bench.

Are the Grizzlies sure they want to go all-in with Ja?

That dumb father of his is still up to the usual court side antics too.

Ja is an electrifying player. But if they give him another max contract and a max contract for JJJ, will the Grizzlies rise to the top with this core?

I love the look on Steph’s face…

Watch on YouTube

It looks like Buddy did the gun gesture to Ja first. 10-11 seconds in, looks like he's trying to hide it though.

I could be wrong though.

Except the commentator said Hield responded. Looked like Buddy was all wtf is this, pointing out what Morant did.

But even if BH did it first, and even if he had made some over the top gun gesture, Morant has a choice in how he responds.

Guy just can't get out of his own - and the team's - way. Grizz FO better be super sure he is the one they want to build around. I get featuring him more on O I guess if his decision making improves with it but goodness the excitement on the court and the issues off it with iffy PO results have to all be weighed. I wonder which will end up being the heaviest factor?

[QMemphis]

The amount of work the Grizzlies org goes through to appease Ja has to be exhausting.

They should trade him asap to whatever desperate franchise would take him. The juice is not worth the squeeze…

We are not trading the best player in franchise history until we fully give him a chance to be his best.

Ja definitely has the chance to be the best payer in your franchise's history but he hasn't done enough yet to be considered better than that awesome Grit n' Grind team.

Ja is the best Grizzly to ever put on a Memphis Grizzly jersey. I was at the games with ZBO, Marc and Mike once we traded Rudy we never had a chance to win a title or even the conference title. Ja gives us that none of those players as great as they were did.

[RingoKid]

Morant needs to get past the 1st round with no injuries. That ain't gonna happen this year.

And for all the talk, Jenkins didn't want the smoke. He was always looking for an excuse to lose.