Ja Morant is apparently just as floored about the Memphis Grizzlies’ shock firing as everybody else is.
The stunning news broke on Friday that the Grizzlies had decided to fire head coach Taylor Jenkins with just nine games left in the regular season. Assistant coach Tuomas Iisalo has been named the team’s interim head coach for the remainder of the year.
Basketball writer Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson revealed later in the day on Friday that the Grizzlies franchise player Morant was “stunned” by Jenkins’ firing (even reportedly reacting to the news by saying, “Oh s–t”).
“Ja was surprised,” a Grizzlies team source was quoted as saying. “Ja loves [Jenkins].”
Jenkins, 40, had been the head coach of the Grizzlies ever since 2019 (when Morant was first drafted). While his overall winning percentage in his six seasons was modest (.539), Jenkins had led the Grizzlies to multiple 50-win campaigns as well as multiple division titles. Making the firing of Jenkins even more shocking is that Memphis is currently a top-five seed in the difficult Western Conference this year at 44-29. Hardly anyone could have seen the move coming, especially this late into this successful of a season for the Grizzlies.
It is probably worth noting that a couple of Memphis players got physical with each other on the sidelines during a recent game, calling into question Jenkins’ control over his team. But with Morant reportedly taken aback by the decision to fire his trusted head coach, maybe this is a sign that the Grizzlies also plan to part ways with Morant himself (which has already been rumored in recent weeks).
