The Memphis Grizzlies have been upset since two events, but their problems may go even further.
The Memphis Grizzlies season may be remembered in their decision to reject Taylor Jenkins, the franchise’s most winning head coach in team history.
The firing was a surprise throughout the NBA as Jenkins already led Memphis to a playoff position. But in the end, general manager Zach Kleiman was sure he would make a difference.
Tuomas Iisalo tentatively took over to lead the Grizzlies accusations, but the ball club struggled early and lost the first three games under his command. At one point, the Finnish leader provided words about the situation of him and his team.
And, in addition to the issue, Ja Morant was fined for congratulations on gun gestures.
Many people wonder what’s going on around the Grizzlies. In just over a week before the NBA playoffs, they found themselves in survival mode in the ongoing intense Western Conference race and are now set to fall into a play-in tournament.
In Kendrick Perkins’ eyes, the team’s season is virtually over. But rather than pointing out Jenkins’ decision, he believes it all began when he parted ways with Dillon Brooks in 2023.
“The Memphis Grizzlies are finished. It’s finished. The exit of the first round, the ceiling in the first round. “I think they’ll go to the playoffs, but I don’t know.
“Their culture, their front office, needs to be reassessed. They’re f__ that culture completely in Memphis. It started with getting rid of Dillon Brooks.
“People didn’t realize how valuable Dillon Brooks was to their culture until he was gone.”
Dillon Brooks served as a core member of the Grizzlies along with Morant, Jalen Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bain from his early days in the Jenkins era.
Brooks helped Memphis become an elite candidate with his fierce mentality and villain persona, and earned him a key part of the team’s historic 2021-22 campaign, earning a franchise record 56 victory and a two-round postseason trip.
However, the following season, Brooks became even more polarised with his on-court attitude and controversy. The fiery advances made their situation worse when the Grizzlies endured a ton of drama that year, highlighted by Morant’s handgun scandal.
In the summer of 2023, the Grizzlies announced they had no intention of extending their run with Brooks, allowing the veteran to eventually join the Houston Rockets in a sign-and-trade deal.
Brooks has been a major driver of the young Rockets’ meteor success this season as the ball club is set to take part in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2020.
“They’ve been trying to trade (Brooks) ever since,” Perkins insisted.
“Marcus Smart, and others, that wasn’t going well. They let go of Ty Jones, which was a vital piece as far as they get off the bench. They had continuity and all of that, and suddenly, they fired Taylor Jenkins.
It remains to be seen how this season will end for the Grizzlies. Of all that has happened, they can expect this year to offer them something positive at the end of the road, but the current signs don’t look promising.