Grizzlies' firing of Taylor Jenkins makes absolutely no sense
The Memphis Grizzlies made one of the most baffling firings of this NBA season on Friday, letting head coach Taylor Jenkins go after five seasons at the helm, according to ESPN.
No matter how you look at things, this move makes little to no sense for Memphis, based on the information we currently have about the decision.
Jenkins is both the longest tenured, and winningest coach in the history of the franchise. They've won at least 50 games twice in his six seasons, and had three playoff berths, and were well on their way to a fourth.
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It's not like this season has gone badly in Memphis, either; they're currently 44-29, and sitting in fifth place, with a solid enough lead in the standings that it was highly unlikely they'd find themselves in the play-in tournament.
Were there some concerns? Sure. The Grizzlies struggled somewhat against other playoff teams, going just 11-20 and being outscored by 77 points against teams over .500 this season, while feasting on sub-.500 competition. And they'd struggled some since the All-Star break this season, going 8-11, and had lost four of its last five games.
But pinning those issues solely on Jenkins is unfair to him and the job he's done. Star point guard Ja Morant has missed 30 games with assorted injuries this season, while Santi Aldama has also battled injuries. In fact, the only players who have been consistently available for the Grizzlies this season are rookie center Zach Edey, guard Desmond Bane, and forward Jaren Jackson Jr. This is a banged up, and somewhat shallow Grizzlies roster,
Jackson's development into a bona fide star can be attributed to Jenkins, and Morant's continued development into one of the game's best point guards also falls into his lap. Jenkins has shown a knack for maximizing talent, and developing young players into functional NBA regulars. Prior to their recent slide, the Grizzlies sat second in a loaded Western Conference, and with a bit of luck down the stretch, could still climb back to that perch by the end of the season.
The question here is, who are the Grizzlies going to get who will be better for them than Jenkins was? What coach is out there who can step in and succeed with a banged up roster of parts that maybe don't fully fit together? What better option are you bringing in? Is there one? It feels like you're just hoping to replace him with someone who can come close to replicating his success, and that's not the place you want to be when you're replacing the winningest coach in franchise history.
Plus, your team is in the playoffs! Ja Morant should be back on the court soon, and you'll be at full power. Firing someone coming down the stretch of the season when your team is comfortably in the postseason field is a profoundly bad idea, and it's hard to see Memphis finding postseason success at this point.
As for Jenkins, barring some sort of scandal around him emerging in the coming days (and at this point there's no evidence of anything like that occurring), he figures to be one of, if not the hottest head coaching candidate in the upcoming carousel. He figures to be a front-runner for virtually any job he wants, including the potential opening in San Antonio should Gregg Popovich retire.
Everything about this firing feels like a mistake, and one the Grizzlies are going to regret come playoff time.