Taylor Jenkins had to go, I have no contest with that. I don’t agree with the timing of it and I don’t know if I agree with him being the scapegoat because there’s a bigger issue with this team. Their star player has been subpar this year and can’t stay on the court.
Ja Morant had off the court issues distract from his electrifying play on the court and affect his ability to stay on the court at that. He has played in just 43 games this season.
He’s not eligible for postseason awards with the benchmark at 65 games. He’s been mildly consistent this year at that anyway. It’s been the opposite of the type of season Morant needed to turn his career around after the last two seasons’ problems.
The Memphis Grizzlies fired Jenkins just weeks before the NBA playoffs and the timing of it just doesn’t make sense. I’m sure the Grizzlies were planning on letting him go at the end of the season, but a knee-jerk decision right now is just mind-boggling.
What message are you sending to this team that you’re willing to fire the coach just as the playoffs are getting ready to start? My guess is they didn’t want to give Jenkins any reason to go on a playoff run and be forced to keep him for another year.
This move wreaks of desperation. Sure, the Grizzlies have lost five of the last seven games. Sure, they can’t beat a playoff team at all this year, posting an 11-20 record against teams with a .500 record or better. They’re 33-9 against the more inferior teams.
That's absolutely a fireable offense. Yet, the playoffs are right around the corner and this move makes it clear, there are some serious problems going on behind the scenes.
Memphis Grizzlies firing Taylor Jenkins weeks before the NBA playoffs is a sign they aren’t gearing up for a long postseason
The timing will always remain a mystery. The only acceptable reason a coach gets fired with nine games left in the regular season on a playoff-bound team is if there is so much dissension between the players and the coach that it causes irreparable damage.
The Grizzlies letting their coach go during all of this just proves the team is already looking toward next season. They have no faith, Jenkins or not, they can go on a playoff run, albeit in a Western conference that’s loaded.
The end of Jenkins' tenure was certainly unique. He came in with Ja Morant in 2019 and was tasked with turning this team around as the Grit and Grind era was long behind them. He did that and more.
He finished as the winningest coach in Memphis Grizzlies history. He took them to being the No. 2 seed in the west at one point. The Grizzlies have a playoff series win under him. Jenkins had reached his peak. A change was needed, just not in March.
Much like when the Milwaukee Bucks fired Adrian Griffin when the Bucks were atop the Eastern conference with a 30-13 record, this feels equally odd.
Zach Kleiman either knows what he's doing or is scrambling through growing dissatifaction. Either way, the Grizzlies have accepted their playoff run is over before it ever had a chance to get going.