The Memphis Grizzlies players are trying to find their way again after Taylor Jenkins is fired.
The Memphis Grizzlies have made the major decision to remove Taylor Jenkins from the head coaching post after a six-year partnership.
Given the timing, with around two weeks remaining in the regular season, what Memphis did is unprecedented, taking into account the team currently ranked fifth in the Western Conference ranking (44-30).
General Manager Zach Kleiman already takes full responsibility for the decision and feels that it is in the best interests of the franchise moving forward.
Other Grizzlies players are not as thriving as Ja Morant as they are to Jenkins.
Both Jenkins and Morant joined the Grizzlies franchise in 2019. They served as faces for the team’s rebuilding and led the rise of Memphis meteors as legitimate candidates.
Under Jenkins, Morant became one of the league’s most moving stars. He led the Grizzlies to three victory seasons highlighted in the Dream Campaign in 2021-22, earning a franchise record 56 victory and a trip to the Western Conference semi-finals.
The Memphis superstar can only acknowledge the challenging process he has to accept, reflecting the franchise’s Jenkins fire.
“It’s difficult for me,” Morant said after a 22-point effort in the Grizzlies’ 134-127 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers on March 29th.
“Coach Taylor was here. Do you know? Everything you did in the Grizzlies jersey is pretty much under him.
“It’s always hard. It’s the first time I’ve left coach because I’ve really done the hoops. There was a lot to handle, but it was tough at the timing.
“We had to quickly turn the page into Lakers. That’s a tough part of the NBA business.”
The record shows that the Grizzlies are on track and successfully delivered a solid bounce back season after roughly 2023-24, but the entire team has struggled recently behind Jenkins’ leadership.
Before the firing was made, the Grizzlies already lost four of their last five games. They’ve been awful since the All-Star break on an 8-11 card heading into a crucial weekend game with the Lakers.
For Desmond Bain, it is him and his Grizzlies teammates who should be held accountable for the whole team’s slump that affected Jenkins’ firing.
“We’re five players out there. The coach didn’t shoot one shot all season. He didn’t defend anyone. He gave us a great game plan and didn’t run to the level we needed,” Bain claimed.
“Most of the time, coaches and others end up falling, but in the end, it’s with the players.”
As long as there are eight games left on the regular season calendar, the Grizzlies have no choice but to move forward and continue their competing desires under interim leader Tuomas Iisalo.
And as they’re about to push for the NBA Championship, the Grizzlies only want Jenkins the best when Jenkins finally breaks up.
“That’s my dog,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said of Jenkins. “He was here the whole time I was outside of a year (JB Bickerstaff, 2018-19). It will be my dog forever.
“He’s made a huge impact while he’s here. Obviously he’ll be one of the coaches who have driven him out on his tenure trip elsewhere.”