Grizzlies Faces Serious Roster Issues. Only weeks before the NBA Playoffs began, the Memphis Grizzlies shocked the NBA community by firing head coach Taylor Jenkins. Many people are now wondering what will happen to star point guard Ja Morant now that Jenkins is out and the Grizzlies are struggling.
On FanDuel’s Run It Back episode, Sam Amick of The Athletic discussed Morant’s future with the Grizzlies and compared it to De’Aaron Fox’s predicament with the Sacramento Kings. Given that the Memphis star still has three years left on his contract, this does not necessarily mean that Morant will be traded soon like Fox was, but it is something to “keep an eye on.”
“There was a slight resemblance to the [De’Aaron] Fox scenario, which was, ‘Well, keep your eyes on it and see where it goes,'” Amick remarked.
The Grizzlies, who had a great start to the season, have now dropped to 44-31, just a half-game ahead of the Golden State Warriors for the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference (these two teams meet Tuesday). They have lost six of their last seven games. Memphis might still lose to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in tournament if they continue to play well.
The decline of Ja Morant as a star
Throughout all of this, Morant has experienced yet another season marred by injuries. He has appeared in 45 games this season after making only nine appearances in 2023–24. Some are wondering if he can still be the Grizzlies’ franchise player, as he looked destined to be when he burst into a superstar in Year 3 of his career, given his recent off-court issues and injuries.
Does he offer tickets for sale? Yes, a rival general manager informed ESPN. When healthy, is he among the top 25 players? Indeed. Can he be the best player and win several series? No. You can probably win at least one most years. He also gets hurt all the time.
Will Morant and the Grizzlies be revitalized by the switch from Jenkins to Tuomas Iisalo? Or will there be a contentious divorce this summer? Perhaps the latter is more plausible if it’s true, given there have been rumors that Morant doesn’t like the new offensive Iisalo helped put in place under Jenkins this season. Last offseason, Memphis drastically changed the coaching staff, which caused Jenkins, including Morant, to “lose the locker room.” The difficult task of attempting to restore authority falls to Iisalo.
Memphis will so attempt to prevent its season from completely collapsing for the time being.
