Memphis Grizzlies begin the real rebuilding in earnest
By Phil Watson
Storyline 3: Will Jenkins be the guy or the guy before the guy?
Taylor Jenkins is getting his first NBA head-coaching opportunity at just 34 years old and he jumped in with both feet, taking the opportunity to work with the Memphis Grizzlies’ young players at the Las Vegas Summer League.
He led them to the championship while also getting a jump start on developing a rapport with the team’s young core that was in Vegas.
One of the first challenges for Jenkins will be to make sense of the jumble of new players on the Memphis roster — 11 not including two-way contract player John Konchar or Exhibit 10 signee Matt Mooney.
Figuring out the rotations will be an ongoing chore for Jenkins and he’ll also be giving a crash course familiarizing power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. with center Jonas Valanciunas.
The duo played only 28 minutes together over two games last season before Jackson was shut down for the year with an injury to his right quad shortly after the All-Star break.
But on this roster, having played 28 minutes on the court at the same time with any other member of the club makes them almost seem like Larry Bird and Kevin McHale in terms of familiarity.
Ja Morant will learn on the fly at the point guard spot, with young veteran Tyus Jones to steer the ship for the second unit as well as mentor the rookie. Brandon Clarke figures to share time with incumbent Kyle Anderson at the 3.
Grayson Allen, the second-year player from Duke acquired in the deal that sent Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz, could get the first shot at the 2, unless Andre Iguodala decides to (a) play and (b) buy in for at least however long he’s in Memphis.
There are also renovation projects such as Josh Jackson and Bruno Caboclo still around, with Jae Crowder likely to play backup minutes at both the 3 and 4.
Balancing the rotations to keep the veterans fed while also getting the youngsters the meaningful minutes they need to develop as the future of the Grizzlies will be Jenkins’ biggest challenge in his rookie season.
Beyond that will come the questions of whether Jenkins is the guy for the long-term rebuild or if he will end up being — like so many coaches around the NBA before him — the guy who takes the bullets and the losses before the team is turned over to someone who can take it to the next level.