Many NBA peers are still in shock that the Memphis Grizzlies dismissed Taylor Jenkins from his head coaching duties a few weeks before the playoffs start. However, more and more information is starting to come to light surrounding the decision. The organization had become dissatisfied with how Ja Morant had been optimized in his coaching scheme. Tim MacMahon of ESPN elaborated on the decision to fire Taylor Jenkins.
“This decision to do it now and to move on from LaRoche, and to lean back into all the pick and roll stuff. This was a decision that was about optimizing Ja Morant,” MacMahon. “That was a primary motivator for this decision.
“And look, there has been noise about Ja being unhappy all season long. There has been noise about, ‘Hey, you know, could Memphis look to move Ja this summer? Could Ja look to get out of Memphis this summer? Could Ja look to force a trade, or at least request a trade? And would Memphis shop him this summer?’ There’s been a lot of that.
“I was texting with a GM after this happened and he said ‘I would have told you I thought they were definitely going to [shop him]. Ja was out on them. They won games without him. They have to be sustainable.’ And he said, ‘This is a move that goes in the face of that.’
Basically, this is a “Hey Ja, you’re still our guy. Everything we do is going to be based on what’s best for you. What optimizes you. They got away from that for a lot of this season and they’re leaning back hard into it.”
Memphis is fifth in the Western Conference as of March 31st, 2025.
Taylor Jenkins Did Not Optimize Ja Morant Properly According to Memphis Grizzlies
Ja Morant’s Season
Ja Morant has been having a down year across multiple categories. He is averaging 22.3 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.2 total rebounds per game. Last season, the two-time All-Star logged 25.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 5.6 total rebounds per game. Not to mention, Morant’s shooting efficiency has decreased. He tallied a field goal percentage of 47.1 percent last season and is only shooting 44.7 percent from the field this year.
Oftentimes, Morant has seemed to be an afterthought in Memphis’ offense this season. However, the rest of the team has proven to be formidable even without Morant as the hub of the offense. Whether Taylor Jenkins is fully to blame for some of the point guard’s inconsistencies remains to be seen. Despite all of this, one cannot deny that the timing of Taylor Jenkins’ dismissal still seems suspicious. The NBA world will soon find out if Ja Morant can carry this Memphis Grizzlies squad to a deep playoff run.
