The owner of the Memphis Grizzlies has recommended that the head coach salary this mouth will not be paid due to misunderstandings with two players.
Taylor Jenkins, the coach of the Grizzlies, received value for his money.
Frustrated after Jaren Jackson Jr. was sent off and his team made 13 free throws to the Jazz’s 29 in a Friday night loss that left Memphis 1-8 on the season, Jenkins went on a long tirade against the referee, calling it “f****** atrocious,” among other things.
The league fined Jenkins $25,000 for it, the league said on Sunday.
Jenkins began his postgame remarks by advising reporters to “saddle up.”
It was among the worst games I have ever seen officiated. Document it. All is well with me. F****** disgusting. After playing 23 minutes, Jackson Jr. spends the entire evening painting. One of the most professional players in our league receives a double technical foul, for which I am given the justification that he is charging an official. We call that defusing. I am not that coach; there are twenty-nine free throws to thirteen. I have done this once before; you travel back in time. Our group is putting up a great show. And this transpires? The conversations with the officials are currently? Disrespect to the extreme. Things are going to happen. The looks on their faces when I try to strike up a discussion to support our soldiers, who are currently busting their tails, are unreal.
Snoop
“I revisited the conversations once more. Stern. That’s it. I was stonewalled. Turning away. Then you question why our boys are even attempting to compete. It eludes my understanding. I’m excited to see what ought to have happened by watching the tape, receiving feedback when I submit clips, and all that.
There was a fine, albeit not as much as the league might have imposed.
The only thing Taylor Jenkins would change next time is this.
After winning his 200th coaching game, Jenkins said, “I’ll definitely need to bring another change of clothes when these milestones come up. It is not something you take for granted.
Jenkins paused Tuesday as the Grizzlies returned to the practice field to consider the mood and feelings that surrounded the team after the 106-102 victory in Brooklyn the night before.
Players flocked to Jenkins and drenched him with buckets and bottles of water in the exuberant scene that took place inside the visitors’ locker room Monday at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn, NY, March 4: Head Coach Taylor Jenkins speaks with Memphis Grizzlies player John Konchar #46 on March 4, 2024, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
For the Grizzlies, who ended a five-game losing run, won their first game since the All-Star break last month, and avenged their humiliating, blowout home defeat to the Nets in Memphis last week, it was equal parts relief and jubilation.
Apart from that, Jenkins became the second coach in Grizzlies history to record 200 victories with the team after the win. Only Lionel Hollins, who led the Grizzlies to the 2013 Western Conference finals and won 214 games with Memphis, is ahead of Jenkins in his fifth season.
Jenkins emerged from the Brooklyn arena late Monday night, still a little damp, and he was holding the official game ball that the team had given him to mark the achievement. It’s one of the promising signs in what has been a mainly dismal season for Memphis, which has had a wave of significant injuries that have kept most of its important players out of action.
The Grizzlies (21-41) are now on course to miss the NBA postseason for the first time since Jenkins took over as head coach in 2019. However, the Grizzlies are still moving forward as the season comes to a close, hoping to maximize chances for their young and back-end roster players to grow and develop.
For the 39-year-old head coach for the first time, Monday night was about taking a step back and enjoying a unique occasion. On Tuesday, though, it was all about returning to the office. And the Grizzlies carried out just that during a practice at the Brooklyn Nets training facility before heading to Philadelphia on Wednesday to complete the two-game trip against the 76ers.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 28: Head coach Taylor Jenkins of the Memphis Grizzlies talks with Jaren Jackson Jr., #13, during the fourth quarter of their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 28, 2024, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“This was coming in and cleaning up some things on the offensive side,” Jenkins said, attempting to create some cohesiveness with a squad that has utilized an NBA-high 36 different starting lineups this season. There have been some men out there performing some unusual positions. Simply stated, we want to ensure that everyone is using the educational concepts we’ve covered in films and games.
Players for the Grizzlies have valued Jenkins’s unwavering commitment to instruction and communication, even during some of the season’s most trying moments. This season has seen the Grizzlies miss key players Ja Morant, Marcus Smart, and Desmond Bane for extended periods of time. Further missing the last few games is Jaren Jackson Jr., the current NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
The team’s most recent injury update going into Wednesday’s game suggests further rotation rearranging.
With lower back and groin pain keeping him out of the last three games, Grizzlies guard Derrick Rose will undergo a reevaluation in three weeks, the team said on Tuesday. Forward Ziaire Williams, who strained his hip flexor on Saturday, will also undergo a reevaluation in four weeks, the team added.
Jenkins has had to manage a season when player injuries have cost the Grizzlies almost 360 games overall. Players maintain, nevertheless, that Jenkins’ standards and demands haven’t changed in spite of the difficult conditions.
