Memphis Grizzlies Fire Coach Taylor Jenkins

[wco81]

The NBA is looking into Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant using his hands and arms to mimic shooting a gun toward the Golden State Warriors' bench late in Tuesday night's game between the Western Conference rivals, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

The league probe will also look into Warriors guard Buddy Hield's gesture ahead of Morant's finger-guns motions, sources said. League officials will conduct an investigation and talk to involved parties as soon as Wednesday, the sources said.

The incident occurred during a timeout with 20.1 seconds remaining in the Warriors' 134-125 road win over the Grizzlies.

As Morant walked toward the Grizzlies bench on the other side of the court, he formed imaginary guns with the fingers on both hands, pointing them toward the Warriors bench with his left arm fully extended. The referees issued double technical fouls to Morant and Hield.

Morant, 25, a two-time All-Star, has twice been suspended by the NBA due to brandishing a firearm on social media.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44506770/sources-nba-probes-finger-gun-gesture-grizzles-ja-morant

[stillgotgame]

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.

All of this could’ve taken place last offseason. The Grizz fired 5 of Jenkins’ assistants. Clearly they were moving on from him. Why not start fresh with Iisalo? He could’ve implemented his system on a normal basis, not rushed into making bad decisions. Ja has already called him out postgame about defense. This is a disaster made to happen. There’s a reason coaches don’t get fired 9 games before the playoffs.

[Nuntius]

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.

All of this could’ve taken place last offseason. The Grizz fired 5 of Jenkins’ assistants. Clearly they were moving on from him. Why not start fresh with Iisalo? He could’ve implemented his system on a normal basis, not rushed into making bad decisions. Ja has already called him out postgame about defense. This is a disaster made to happen. There’s a reason coaches don’t get fired 9 games before the playoffs.

Sure but had Jenkins lost the locker room last offseason? It doesn't look like he had since the Griz were doing great before the break. But, clearly, something happened internally that made the situation unbearable and resulted in Jenkins losing the locker room, hence the move.

[doogie_hauser]

Morant the new Latrell ??? (Spreewell)

[Nuntius]

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.

Individually, he has the potential to get there, yes. But doesn't he need to actually make a deep playoff run first? Doesn't he need to prove that he can give you that chance?

This is how I view it when it comes to my team as well. Haliburton does have the potential to be the best player in our franchise history as well. But until he leads us to a Finals appearance, I cannot consider him better than Reggie yet. Proving it and realizing your potential matters.

[SpreeS]

From 2nd to 8th in one month…

[wco81]

So Ja and Buddy Field were warned by the NBA about their gun gestures earlier this week.

Apparently at the game in Miami tonight, Ja again made some gun gesture with his fingers or hands.

Daring the league to do something about it.

[DoItALL9]

Should the Spots hire him today?

[Dan Z]

Does someone hire Taylor Jenkins in the off season?

Maybe Milwaukee moves on from Doc? Philly from Nurse? Other?

[NO-KG-AI]

So Ja and Buddy Field were warned by the NBA about their gun gestures earlier this week.

Apparently at the game in Miami tonight, Ja again made some gun gesture with his fingers or hands.

Daring the league to do something about it.

Wtf is even wrong with Ja? Like seriously has the mental capacity of a child.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Does someone hire Taylor Jenkins in the off season?

Maybe Milwaukee moves on from Doc? Philly from Nurse? Other?

Hornets could be a good match.

[jokeboy86]

So Ja and Buddy Field were warned by the NBA about their gun gestures earlier this week.

Apparently at the game in Miami tonight, Ja again made some gun gesture with his fingers or hands.

Daring the league to do something about it.

Ja may be kind of a idiot and his comments after the game may confirm it. Him saying everybody basically called him a villain for two years and the fact that he says he doesn't care anymore shows an extreme lack of accountability and unfortunately means he still may be surrounded by yes people and that a having a veteran player/mentor around him may have ultimately done him some good. Nowadays the veteran players can't really tell these high profile rookies anything or mentor them because they've been told they're the golden goose from day one.

This is the same problem with Zion and possibly some other high lottery picks in recent years. They've basically been told at every level that they're "the man" and when they get to the pros, the team that drafts them basically treat them like Lebron even though they haven't done enough to be given that type of treatment. It doesn't help that some of these smaller market teams are probably deathly afraid of pissing of these "stars" because if they become unhappy they request a trade in a heartbeat.

[jefe]

So Ja and Buddy Field were warned by the NBA about their gun gestures earlier this week.

Apparently at the game in Miami tonight, Ja again made some gun gesture with his fingers or hands.

Daring the league to do something about it.

Ja may be kind of a idiot and his comments after the game may confirm it. Him saying everybody basically called him a villain for two years and the fact that he says he doesn't care anymore shows an extreme lack of accountability and unfortunately means he still may be surrounded by yes people and that a having a veteran player/mentor around him may have ultimately done him some good. Nowadays the veteran players can't really tell these high profile rookies anything or mentor them because they've been told they're the golden goose from day one.

This is the same problem with Zion and possibly some other high lottery picks in recent years. They've basically been told at every level that they're "the man" and when they get to the pros, the team that drafts them basically treat them like Lebron even though they haven't done enough to be given that type of treatment. It doesn't help that some of these smaller market teams are probably deathly afraid of pissing of these "stars" because if they become unhappy they request a trade in a heartbeat.

Not to say that you're not generally right, but if you know anything about Ja's history, then you'd know he's not been "told at every level he's 'the man'" - he barely got any D1 offers out of high school.

[cupcakesnake]

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.

To be fair, during that 8-14 stretch, Ja and Santi Aldama missed 8 games, Jaren missed 5. Brandon Clarke (their best on/off guy) missed 9 and is once again out for the season.

In general, in the Jenkins era, this team has had pretty bad injury problems.
- Last year was an obvious nightmare. Total write off season.
- Marcus Smart was supposed to be an important aquisition but played only 39 games in 2 seasons.
- They went into the 2023 playoffs vs. the Lakers with their entire center rotation out with injury, then lost Ja and Kennard during the series.
- In the 2022 playoffs, they lost Ja mid-series against the Warriors .
- Ja has missed basically half this teams games over the past 4 seasons.

I'm also not sure I agree with your take that we should trust Memphis fans on this one. Fans are almost always rabid to fire a coach when the team is in anything less than a dream scenario. It's possible firing Jenkins was the right move, but I wouldn't use the fans as strong indicators. Fans do "know their team better than anyone" but they're also the most emotionally over-invested.

[stillgotgame]

So Ja and Buddy Field were warned by the NBA about their gun gestures earlier this week.

Apparently at the game in Miami tonight, Ja again made some gun gesture with his fingers or hands.

Daring the league to do something about it.

Wtf is even wrong with Ja? Like seriously has the mental capacity of a child.

He’s a spoiled brat being enabled by the Grizzlies.
Fortunately the league has a very easy fix - ban gun gestures. He’ll undoubtedly try to skirt the line but deal with him then.

[tamaraw08]

Does someone hire Taylor Jenkins in the off season?

Maybe Milwaukee moves on from Doc? Philly from Nurse? Other?

Hornets could be a good match.

From dealing with that crazy Morant to having to cuddle and put up with Melo?, I don't think so.
I'm betting the Spurs since Mitch is not exactly doing a great job there in San Antonio imo.

[QMemphis]

For those with opinions on the gun hand gestures. Either ban it for the whole league or stop talking about it. Was it emotionally charged to defy the league by Ja sure. But no player should be restricted from doing a gesture that 75% of the league has done. Mind you also Ja has been doing the gesture all season, so to now get penalized for it only adds to the psyche of being targeted which I’m sure Ja is feeling. Again either ban it in the offseason or leave it alone.

[Nuntius]

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.

To be fair, during that 8-14 stretch, Ja and Santi Aldama missed 8 games, Jaren missed 5. Brandon Clarke (their best on/off guy) missed 9 and is once again out for the season.

In general, in the Jenkins era, this team has had pretty bad injury problems.
- Last year was an obvious nightmare. Total write off season.
- Marcus Smart was supposed to be an important aquisition but played only 39 games in 2 seasons.
- They went into the 2023 playoffs vs. the Lakers with their entire center rotation out with injury, then lost Ja and Kennard during the series.
- In the 2022 playoffs, they lost Ja mid-series against the Warriors .
- Ja has missed basically half this teams games over the past 4 seasons.

Oh, I fully agree. Injuries have definitely played a huge role in Memphis' downfall every season. Sadly, injuries at inopportune times are enough to break a team. As a Pacers fan, I've seen this happen a couple of times. Danny Granger's injury played a significant role in the collapse of the ECF teams as he was the veteran leader that the team relied on. Domantas Sabonis' injury before the bubble made us completely irrelevant in the bubble playoffs, despite a good season before the injury. And Oladipo's injury caused the relationship between him and the FO to fracture completely which resulted in him asking out. Injuries can definitely derail an team that once looked promising. That's indisputable.

I'm also not sure I agree with your take that we should trust Memphis fans on this one. Fans are almost always rabid to fire a coach when the team is in anything less than a dream scenario. It's possible firing Jenkins was the right move, but I wouldn't use the fans as strong indicators. Fans do "know their team better than anyone" but they're also the most emotionally over-invested.

Fair point. There are certainly some fans that will always advocate for firing the coach the very moment that something goes awry. Coaches are the easiest scapegoat after all, both for fans and FOs. And, yeah, fans can definitely be emotionally over-invested.

But they are still the ones watching their team night in and night out. They are the ones that know their strengths and weaknesses, that know how players get along with each other, that see how their players act while on the bench and whether the climate in the locker room seems to be good or not. When a coach loses the locker room, that's pretty obvious to the fans who watch the team nightly.

[FOB]

For those with opinions on the gun hand gestures. Either ban it for the whole league or stop talking about it. Was it emotionally charged to defy the league by Ja sure. But no player should be restricted from doing a gesture that 75% of the league has done. Mind you also Ja has been doing the gesture all season, so to now get penalized for it only adds to the psyche of being targeted which I’m sure Ja is feeling. Again either ban it in the offseason or leave it alone.

In my view there's a big difference if you point the gesture at nowhere in celebration of a teammate's shot, or directly at the opposing bench. Same gesture, different meaning.

[Dan Z]

For those with opinions on the gun hand gestures. Either ban it for the whole league or stop talking about it. Was it emotionally charged to defy the league by Ja sure. But no player should be restricted from doing a gesture that 75% of the league has done. Mind you also Ja has been doing the gesture all season, so to now get penalized for it only adds to the psyche of being targeted which I’m sure Ja is feeling. Again either ban it in the offseason or leave it alone.

I just watched a video of the gesture and he should know better not to do that. He's 25 years old and has been in the league for years...

I say that, but also didn't think it was a big deal. I just think it's not a good look for him and not something the league should allow. I remember years ago Joakim Noah did a finger gun celebration and I think he got in trouble for it...? I know he later said he regretted doing it.