The Memphis Grizzlies have been a surprising disappointment this season, losing six of their last seven games to drop to 44-31, and even fired head coach Taylor Jenkins.
While not everyone was surprised about the Grizzlies firing Jenkins, the timing could not have been worse. The Grizzlies have just seven games left in the regular season, starting with Tuesday’s game against the star-studded Golden State Warriors.
Making a coaching change with less than ten games left in the season is a significant change that many teams do not have to endure. Many fans have speculated whether or not Grizzlies star Ja Morant had anything to do with Jenkins’ firing, but The Athletic’s Sam Amick refuted that idea.
“He was on team Taylor, if you will, until the very end and all the way until the end,” Amick said about Morant. “I don’t know to what degree, you know, he complained when the move happened.”
Ja Morant and the developing situation in Memphis is giving Sam Amick the same vibe as De’Aaron Fox’s differences with the Sacramento Kings 👀
The Grizzlies say Ja isn’t going anywhere, but the firing of Taylor Jenkins casts doubt on what the future holds… pic.twitter.com/JtGsQwUM9x
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 1, 2025
A coaching change like this could lead to an eventful offseason for the Grizzlies, and Amick believes there could be more rumblings about Morant’s potential departure from Memphis.
“He didn’t like the offense,” Amick continued. “That is something that we can kind of definitely say. And I’m talking about the new one, the non-Taylor Jenkins offense. That he was not enjoying the evolution of his role. And now, for them to learn even farther into it seemingly, seems a little precarious.
“I thought it was fascinating that Zach, you know, it wasn’t even like a hard report. It wasn’t headlines and breaking news, just something somebody said on a podcast that made the rounds. Next thing you know, Zach is publicly commenting on it and saying, you know, that other teams can keep dreaming and we’re not going to move Ja.”
Amick compared Morant’s situation to De’Aaron Fox’s, who the Sacramento Kings traded after they fired head coach Mike Brown.
“It’s in the same, you know, a little bit of the same vibe of the Fox situation, which is like alright, keep your eyes on it and see where it goes,” Amick finished.
The Grizzlies and Morant will certainly be in an interesting situation this offseason, and it could lead to Memphis capitalizing on his value on the trade market.
