Taylor Jenkins’ firing came as a huge surprise to the Memphis camp on Friday, as the coach had stretched positive results for six years until this 2024-25 season. This is why general manager Zach Kleiman wants to avoid drama stirring up, and took sole responsibility for this delicate decision. 

“I came to the conclusion that this is in the best interest of the team, and urgency is a core principle of ours, so decided to go on with the move,” he said the next day, which was the first time he speak publicly since the tactician’s dismissal, just as the Grizzlies squad had shootaround in preparation for their Lakers game over the weekend.

The vice-president of basketball operations guaranteed that he did not consult this decision with anyone else before letting go of Taylor, who had been the coach for the Tennessee club for six-long years. “The players were not consulted on this decision,” Kleiman said. “This decision is mine and mine only.”

The 40-year-old had coached Memphis well, leaving them well positioned for this year’s playoffs in the 5th position of the Western Conference with nine matches remaining. This campaign they marked 44-29, and overall 250-214 (.539) during his entire six years with the team.

The Grizzlies were enduring a negative stretch lately, having lost four of their last five outings, and 8-12 in their 20 games. Kleiman said that Jenkins “leaves the team in a much better position than when he started,” but never really gave a direct explanation for his discharge.

“In this case, I am going to leave it that I of course gave this real thought and came to the conclusion that this is in the best interest of our team going forward,” the general manager said.

This means that Tuomas Iisalo has been named Memphis’ new interim head coach. “There’s clearly noise now around the team and that’s something that can also be a destabilizing factor for the whole team,” he said before losing to the Lakers on Saturday night.