Report: Grizzlies fire David Fizdale
The Memphis Grizzlies have fired head coach David Fizdale, according to a report.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday that Fizdale was out in Memphis, with assistant J.B. Bickerstaff poised to take over on an interim basis.
Memphis has fired coach David Fizdale, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 27, 2017
Associate head coach JB Bickerstaff will be promoted to Memphis' interim head coach, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 27, 2017
This is definitely abrupt, though the team was at 7-12 and there was some public criticism of the way things were going from star center Marc Gasol, who was benched in the fourth quarter of the team’s eighth consecutive loss on Sunday. This is still a big surprise, though, given Fizdale took Memphis to the playoffs last year in his first year as head coach and was quite popular doing it. Clearly, the front office is siding with Gasol here.