There have only been a few head coaches in NBA history who guaranteed their job position.
Unfortunately, the Memphis Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins after six seasons on Mar. 28. He led them to the postseason three times, but only reached the second round once. It wasn’t always Jenkins’ fault, as their stars Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. constantly dealt with injuries or Morant’s 25-game suspension.
The Grizzlies' schedule for the remainder of the regular season is the ninth most difficult in the league. They thought it was time for a change because of their struggles against teams with winning records despite being fifth in the Western Conference.
Jenkins was the fifth-longest tenured coach in the league, with the four ahead of him all winning championships. He passed Lionel Hollins and will finish his tenure with the most wins in franchise history. Assistant coach Tuomas Lisalo will replace him as the interim coach for the remainder of the year.
Erik Spoelstra shared his thoughts regarding Jenkins’ dismissal and how disappointing it is in this profession to have job security.
“It’s incredibly disappointing,” Spoelstra said. “This profession is tough, and you want to be in it together, through the good and the bad, and not looking for the easy escape route to point blame. His record speaks for itself.”
MIAMI HEAT LEGEND DWYANE WADE REVEALS CLEAR CUT CHOICE FOR LEAGUE MVP
The MVP race between Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is among the most challenging decisions in NBA history.
On one end, Jokic is statistically one of the most impressive players in basketball history. He became the fourth player to record 30 triple-doubles in a season after Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, and Russell Westbrook. He will also be the first player to finish a season in the top three for points, rebounds, and assists.
Alexander is also having a historic season. He became the fourth player to have 65 consecutive games of scoring at least 20 points. He also became the third player to have three straight seasons with 45 30-point games, after Michael Jordan and Chamberlain. What may give him the edge in winning the MVP is the Oklahoma City Thunder’s record. Alexander is on pace to lead the Thunder to the fourth-best record in modern league history.
On the WY Network with Dwyane Wade, he shared his thoughts on who should win the award.
“One thing I have had an issue with in the MVP race is that Jokic has been so amazing, but it’s probably been two times when his team has been in fifth,” Wade said. “And I know that the Western Conference is a very challenging and tough league, but he’s been in fifth and he’s won MVP.”
MEDIA PERSONALITY BLAMES JIMMY BUTLER FOR “SCREWING” MIAMI HEAT THROUGH TRADE
Not only did Jimmy Butler not win against the Miami Heat, but he didn’t even play well as the Golden State Warriors' primary option.
Butler finished with 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists on 41.7 percent shooting and missed both three-point attempts.
Despite one of the reasons he left the Heat being beyond his contract extension, Butler had issues with his role decreasing. Their two All-Stars, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, have taken over more responsibility leading the offense in the regular season. However, in a game without Stephen Curry due to injury, Butler had a mediocre performance similar to several he had as a member of the Heat this year.
On First Things First, Nick Wright explained how pleased he was to see Butler fail against his former team after quitting on them during the season.
“Jimmy Butler did not deserve to have a great game and stick it to Miami, ‘I won and you lost’,” Wright said. “Jimmy Butler screwed the Heat. Jimmy Butler is allowed to be this way, and it’s fine. People who watch this show know that I have really prayed at the altar of Playoff Jimmy and believing in the Heat, even when they’re the eighth seed. If they had pulled off the championship against the Nuggets, put his resume against Harden’s if he had won the title. All of that is true. This is also true: he was awful in his exit there.”
