Memphis is singing the blues, and it is time for a new voice and leader. The Memphis Grizzlies have dismissed coach Taylor Jenkins, the team announced Friday.
The move is somewhat of a shock as the Grizzlies (44-29) are the fifth seed in the stacked Western Conference and are guaranteed their fourth winning season with Jenkins patrolling the sideline.
Memphis has yet to name Jenkins’ successor, but the Grizzlies assistant coaching staff includes Anthony Carter, Erik Schmidt, Noah LaRoche, Tuomas Iisalo, Pat St. Andrews, Jason March, Joe Boylan and Patrick Mutombo.
“I’m genuinely appreciative of Taylor’s contributions to this team and this city over the past six seasons,” Grizzlies president and GM of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said in a statement. “This was a difficult decision, given the consistent and tangible development of our players and overall success under Taylor’s leadership. I wish Taylor the very best going forward.”
Jenkins became the team’s winningest coach in November, but the team has relieved him of his duties as Memphis is struggling down the stretch, especially without their best Ja Morant who has a hamstring injury and at risk of losing home-court advantage in the playoffs.
He was let go at a strange time with the team on the verge of playing three home games in a four-day period starting Saturday, first the Los Angeles Lakers, then the champion Boston Celtics on Monday, then last but certainly not least, the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
Embed from Getty ImagesThat starts a tough stretch where eight of Memphis’ final nine opponents are either playoff teams or contending for a play-in spot. But it is still possible, at least mathematically, that Memphis could get back to No. 2 in the West, and it is highly unlikely that the Grizzlies will tumble into the SoFi Play-In Tournament range.
Jenkins was the fifth longest-tenured coach with his current club in the league, behind only San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Golden State’s Steve Kerr and Denver’s Michael Malone, all of them having NBA titles to their credit, and three of them more than one.
Results against the league’s cream of the crop so far this season were not a good sign for Jenkins.
The Grizzlies were 0-4 against Oklahoma City, getting blown out in all those games by 24, 13, 17 and 21 points. They are 3-6 so far this season against Houston, Denver and the Lakers, the next three teams ahead of them in the West.
That has been an unfortunate trend all season for Memphis: they were good against the sub-.500 teams but struggled mightily against the winning clubs.
Against the 13 other teams that currently are above .500, the Grizzlies are 11-20 this season and have been outscored by 77 points. Against the 16 clubs at .500 or worse, the Grizzlies have taken care of business and are 33-9, outscoring those opponents by 462 points.
Jenkins passed Lionel Hollins for the most wins in franchise history and has also coached the most games in team history, with the franchise launching in 1995 in Vancouver, Canada. He was 250-214 in six seasons with Memphis and led them to the postseason in 2021, ’22 and ’23 and was on pace to do so again this season.
In the 2021-22 season, the team won 56 games, the Grizzlies’ most in a season under Jenkins. The Grizzlies captured the Southwest Division crown and the No. 2 seed in the West. They vanquished the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round but lost to Golden State in the Western Conference semifinals with star Ja Morant dealing with an injury.
Jenkins replaced J.B. Bickerstaff, who was fired after failing to make the playoffs in the 2018-19 season. Jenkins served as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks, both working for coach Mike Budenholzer, who is currently with the Phoenix Suns. He also served a stint in the San Antonio Spurs organization, eventually becoming coach of the Spurs G League team in Austin.
Jenkins’ arrival in Memphis coincided with the Grizzlies drafting Morant with the No. 2 overall pick out of Murray State in 2019. After the playoff runs from 2021-23, the Grizzlies spent last season dealing with a flurry of injuries to major players.
Morant played only nine games because of a 25-game league suspension and a right shoulder injury that cut his season short. Fellow guard Desmond Bane missed a significant amount of time with a left ankle sprain, and frontline reserve Brandon Clarke managed to appear in only six games because of a left Achilles tendon tear.
That left Jenkins in a boat without a paddle to manage the season with forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and a bunch of makeshift lineups, eventually finishing 27-55.
This season, Jenkins cleaned house and turned over his coaching staff and brought in a new offense based on spacing. Despite being plagued with turnovers, Memphis spent the lion’s share of the season second in the West. Other teams surged as the Grizzlies’ rough patch dropped them to fifth place.
Again, Jenkins spent another season piecing together lineups around Morant limited to 43 games with various illnesses, soreness, contusions and sprains. Morant missed Thursday night’s game, his sixth straight, with a strained hamstring.
