Over the weekend, Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and coach Dave Joerger apparently worked out their differences. Despite Joerger’s visit to Minnesota and Pera’s willingness to let him do so, the two communicated in a way they have not in the past, and the coach went as far as saying that the two are basically “married” at this point. So for the time being, it appears everything is back to normal for the Grizzlies with the exception of Jason Levien’s absence.
Over the last couple days, it looked like the Grizzlies were this year’s Nuggets: a playoff team undergoing massive front office shakeup and losing their well-regarded coach. Today, they’re still down a couple executives (though by many accounts, not Masai Ujiri-caliber), but in an unexpected move, it looks like coach Dave Joerger is sticking around. How unexpected? Well, let’s look at a couple pieces that came out earlier today. First, from Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor interviewed Dave Joerger
Scandal, scandal everywhere. If it’s not Donald Sterling, it’s Mark Jackson feuding with the Warriors’ front office. Or maybe it’s the Grizzlies’ management structure suddenly collapsing. It seems everywhere you turn, you get smacked with another piece of dirty laundry. And if you just want to watch the games? Get ready for controversy after controversy over flops, out-of-bounds calls, arguments between teammates. Anything people can complain about, they will. With all that – combined with louder than usual cries of fixing at
With the NBA season over for all but four teams, most around the league are thinking about what to do heading into next season. Naturally, everything starts from the top, and that means the search for quality coaches is on. The Golden State Warriors moved quickly and acquired Steve Kerr on a multi-year deal, while the Detroit Pistons scooped up the much-coveted Stan Van Gundy. There are still plenty of teams around the league looking to fill the vacancy of the
A certain someone made a bold prediction prior to the season that the Memphis Grizzlies would be facing the Indiana Pacers in the NBA finals. OK, it was me. Which means you can guess which way my prediction is going to go, for better or worse. You do not get to divorce yourself from your preseason predictions unless something crazy happens along the way, such as a team trading away its best player of something similar (that was the case last
It’s been a very erratic start to the season, and mildly intriguing stories are popping up everywhere. The Sixers and Pacers are off to flying starts. I wonder which one will last. The Heat and Wizards, conversely, have struggled. I wonder which is more likely to turn it around. The Bulls have could probably be getting more out of Derrick Rose. Michael Carter-Williams and Anthony Davis have been really, really good so far in the young season. Max Ogden writes about it.
Nobody plays a make-or-break game in their season opener. The Clippers are not broken just because they lost to a bunch of journeymen wearing Lakers uniforms last night. The Bulls will be fine — but they got another taste of how far they have to go in order to be able to compete with the Heat. But that was last night. What about Wednesday? The Grizzlies-Spurs game represents Dave Joerger’s first game at the helm of an NBA team, and we’re going to
Have you seen Chris Bernucca’s latest column on the twelve players missing from training camps? If not, go do that now. [Read more…]