Memphis Grizzlies begin the real rebuilding in earnest
By Phil Watson
The Memphis Grizzlies had an 11-win improvement in 2018-19 and were still not in the playoff picture. With Mike Conley (and many others) gone, the road the future starts now.
The books are completely closed on the beloved Grit-‘n’-Grind era for the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Mike Conley was the last piece to move, traded to the Utah Jazz in a deal that became official when the NBA moratorium ended on July 6. Marc Gasol beat Conley out the door by a few months when he was traded to the Toronto Raptors at the deadline in February.
But the changes didn’t stop there. Longtime general manager Chris Wallace was demoted to a scouting role, with executive vice president of basketball operations duties turned over to new executive vice president of basketball operations Zach Kleiman.
Kleiman, 30, has some experience in his ear with Tayshaun Prince brought on board as a special advisor, and the new exec hasn’t been shy about remaking the Grizzlies.
J.B. Bickerstaff is out as head coach, replaced by a young Mike Budenholzer protege in Taylor Jenkins, a 34-year-old who got his start in the San Antonio Spurs organization as an intern in basketball operations before moving on to be an assistant and later head coach of the Spurs’ G-League affiliate in Austin.
He joined Budenholzer’s new staff with the Atlanta Hawks in 2013 and followed the two-time NBA Coach of the Year to the Milwaukee Bucks last season.
So, if nothing else, the 3s will be flying in FedEx Forum this season.
The emphasis for Kleiman this summer was to get younger and more athletic, with a couple of veterans to help steady the ship and teach the NBA neophytes how this whole pro basketball world works.
Otherwise, Kleiman did some renting out of cap space to pick up future picks and generally appears to have gotten the makeover in Memphis off to the right sort of start.
But what will the Grizzlies look like in 2019-20? Read on.