What confuses me about the Taylor Jenkins firing...

[Neal Romer]

So theres an ESPN article out today implying Memphis felt Jenkins had lost the locker room, and Ja in particular.

But the thing is, Memphis was winning the games they were supposed to. Their record was good against the bad teams, and poor against the top teams. To me this is actually a marker of a team that is focused and prepared, consistently doing what theyre SUPPOSED to do... but just not top heavy enough in talent to hang with the very best. As opposed to having talent but not playing to their potential night in and night out, and having flops against teams like the Jazz or the Wizards.

Their results have been pretty consistent with what youd expect of this roster. Good, not great. This is not some stacked team. Morant is a good player, but he's a "superstar" in highlights only. He is not a HUGE difference maker. JJJ has been emerging and is a quality piece on the court and in the locker room, but hes not a first or second team All NBA guy at this point. Desmond Bane is also nice but I mean come on... who is building championship expectations around Desmond Bane? The league is super competitive right now.

Their role players are decent but Santi Aldama, Scottie Pip Jr, Zach Edey and Luke Kennard isnt BOWLING you over.

To me this feels like a Memphis front office with very warped expectations. The Grizz roster is not a title team. Supposedly their feeling is that getting the right mentor for Morant will unlock everything. They brought in Rose and Marcus Smart, they tried to sign Draymond, and now apparently theyre fingering Jenkins for not motivating Ja enough.

Morant to me is clearly not a championship "1st option" in the first place, but that issue aside... theyre not underachieving. I mean you cant BLAME this on Morant, or Jenkins. Theyve been in the top half of the bloodbath West all season. Theyre not an elite roster. The expectations are really outta whack here.

I mean obviously it's their right to fire a coach, but I think management/ownership has to ask itself if theyve really done enough with the roster to be serious contenders. Because I dont see it personally. It's a good team, theyre competitive. But it's not the Celtics, or the Thunder, or the Nuggets, or the Lakers, or the Cavs. What are they seeing exactly??

[Kblaze8855]

I don’t take issue with him losing his job as much as him losing it when he did. I don’t know what is gained by firing him right before the playoffs. Feels like a behind-the-scenes thing where somebody’s bluff may have been called.

Unless you have an assistant you really believe in who has a system that’s being held back that you want to see in action? It just doesn’t make sense unless there was something personal.

A “ If you’re not gonna let me run my team my way just fire me now because I’m not going to be undermined and held responsible for the outcome at the same time” kinda thing. But I haven’t been reading much about it To know if they are rumors of it being mutual

[Xiao Yao You]

So theres an ESPN article out today implying Memphis felt Jenkins had lost the locker room, and Ja in particular.

But the thing is, Memphis was winning the games they were supposed to. Their record was good against the bad teams, and poor against the top teams. To me this is actually a marker of a team that is focused and prepared, consistently doing what theyre SUPPOSED to do... but just not top heavy enough in talent to hang with the very best. As opposed to having talent but not playing to their potential night in and night out, and having flops against teams like the Jazz or the Wizards.

Their results have been pretty consistent with what youd expect of this roster. Good, not great. This is not some stacked team. Morant is a good player, but he's a "superstar" in highlights only. He is not a HUGE difference maker. JJJ has been emerging and is a quality piece on the court and in the locker room, but hes not a first or second team All NBA guy at this point. Desmond Bane is also nice but I mean come on... who is building championship expectations around Desmond Bane? The league is super competitive right now.

Their role players are decent but Santi Aldama, Scottie Pip Jr, Zach Edey and Luke Kennard isnt BOWLING you over.

To me this feels like a Memphis front office with very warped expectations. The Grizz roster is not a title team. Supposedly their feeling is that getting the right mentor for Morant will unlock everything. They brought in Rose and Marcus Smart, they tried to sign Draymond, and now apparently theyre fingering Jenkins for not motivating Ja enough.

Morant to me is clearly not a championship "1st option" in the first place, but that issue aside... theyre not underachieving. I mean you cant BLAME this on Morant, or Jenkins. Theyve been in the top half of the bloodbath West all season. Theyre not an elite roster. The expectations are really outta whack here.

I mean obviously it's their right to fire a coach, but I think management/ownership has to ask itself if theyve really done enough with the roster to be serious contenders. Because I dont see it personally. It's a good team, theyre competitive. But it's not the Celtics, or the Thunder, or the Nuggets, or the Lakers, or the Cavs. What are they seeing exactly??

Apparently no one wants to pay for your expert analysis? :eek:

[Neal Romer]

I don’t take issue with him losing his job as much as him losing it when he did. I don’t know what is gained by firing him right before the playoffs. Feels like a behind-the-scenes thing where somebody’s bluff may have been called.

Unless you have an assistant you really believe in who has a system that’s being held back that you want to see in action? It just doesn’t make sense unless there was something personal.

A “ If you’re not gonna let me run my team my way just fire me now because I’m not going to be undermined and held responsible for the outcome at the same time” kinda thing. But I haven’t been reading much about it To know if they are rumors of it being mutual


The timing thing could be a strategic gamble, sometimes teams get a temporary bump in energy and focus after a coach is fired. If the plan is not to retain him next year, and they dont feel they were gonna get over the hump this year as things were... maybe not such a terrible idea to take a desperate swing in this regard. In theory it might have given them a little bit of a jolt right before the playoffs. Of course I dont think it will work, but on the other hand they had nothing to lose.

The reality is this team is pretty much where I personally would have expected them to be based on the roster. Competitive in the regular season, potentially winning a playoff series, MAYBE winning two series, no real chance at three. I dont think Jenkins or the players have really underperformed in that regard. Management might be overestimating just how much coaching can do.

[Neal Romer]

Apparently no one wants to pay for your expert analysis? :eek:


Hey, that's ok. I've got other ways to make money. I just enjoy doing this so I was hoping to monetize it, but no hard feelings if that's not the case here.

I been wanting to make this particular thread since the firing, I've got one other thread I'll make later today or tomorrow, and then that's it! Gonna focus my time elsewhere.

[Im Still Ballin]

Ja wants his stats. Stars are why it can be hard to play college-style team ball in the pros. We'll see if Morant-ball results in a better offense. They've actually been pretty good on offense. Got better as the season went on.