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Taylor Jenkins, a 34-year-old assistant who has just spent six years in the lineup for Mike Budenholzer, former (and possibly future) NBA coach at Milwaukee and Atlanta, will be featured on Wednesday after midday as the ninth Grizzlies. head coach since the team moved to Memphis.
Jenkins will talk to us soon, but here is a set of six initial thoughts on renting:
'Young & Hungry' again
Over the weekend, I came across a long-time Grizzlies wise fan and during a discussion about Jaren Jackson Jr. and the alleged arrival of Ja Morant and the alleged departure of Mike Conley, she said with irony: "They can do" Young & Hungry & # 39; for good this time. "
"Young & Hungry" was a Grizzlies marketing campaign from the last rebuilding period a decade ago. He referred to the good times to come in a young and exciting trio of future stars in the perimeter: Rudy Gay, Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo.
Good times have arrived, but not quite as expected by "Young & Hungry". This was the injection of two veterans imported into Zach Randolph and Tony Allen, led by an experienced coach (Lionel Hollins) and an experienced executive (Chris Wallace) and playing in a regression style.
Chris Herrington: Grizzlies Hires Taylor Jenkins, Milwaukee Bucks Assistant, as Head Coach
"Young & Hungry" died for "Grit & Grind" to live.
I do not know what the Grizzlies marketing campaign will be for the coming season, but they could probably replace "Young & Hungry" if they wanted to.
(Pro Tip: Look north on Third Street, away from FedExForum, and you may see one of these "Young & Hungry" banners still hanging and long forgotten.)
Unless I miss something, the Grizzlies could now boast of the youngest controlling owner (Robert Pera, 41), the youngest basketball executive (Zach Kleiman, 30), the second youngest head coach (Jenkins, 34) and the youngest player foundation (Jackson and Morant, each 20 years old this summer) in the NBA.
This is an attempt to build something that can grow together.
Expect a stylistic change, or perhaps a radical change
It is unclear whether all this youth is a good thing or a disappointment to expect. In unison, everything seems pretty risky. But that suggests real and substantial change.
David Fizdale's hiring was a transition attempt from the past to the future that has paid off, but has not generally taken hold. Assuming Conley is treated this summer, it's not a transition. It's clean slate and draw something new.
We will learn more about Jenkins' ideas in basketball when he is introduced Wednesday afternoon. But we know a few things about this team:
Jaren Jackson Jr. is the very model of a modern major bigman. It is made for a game that asks big players to play in space on both sides of the ground.
Ja Morant, assuming it's choice # 2 next week, thrives in transition.
The Grizzlies have been among the top five performers in the last seven seasons and have moved to more traditional alignments. The Bucks and Hawks teams for which Jenkins is the assistant are in the top 10 of the rhythm for four seasons and Milwaukee has built everything around the versatility of the star on the field of star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Geoff Calkins: Calkins: Taylor Jenkins, new coach at Grizz, has a blue CV and a blue collar style
Pera and, to a greater extent, Kleiman might well make good speeches, but they did not build it. Here is a chance to build their own playground.
Every summer, most teams, especially those who do not qualify for the playoffs, talk about playing differently. This team will almost certainly do it. They'll play faster – maybe a lot, a lot faster – and they'll probably play smaller, change more and modernize their spin selection.
A coach with front office experience
There has been a lot of talk about how the Grizzlies burned cars during Robert Pera's ownership period. As I wrote before, I think it's a misreading.
The instability of the Grizzlies coaches was on the whole a replica of the instability of the front office. Of the four coaches dismissed since Pera became owner, two were late – acting at a change of direction (Lionel Hollins and Dave Joerger) and a third (JB Bickerstaff) was dismissed at the same time as. a change of direction. Only David Fizdale has not fallen victim to an NBA truism: the new management wants his own coach.
Along the way, friction exists mainly between management and coaching. Whether we like it or not, Lionel Hollins' "You get the players, I'll get them" perspectives are now at odds with the NBA wind's evolution. Tellers do not only engage coaches and buy players, but actively work on establishing styles and strategies in the field. Collaboration between management and coaching is not just lip service; this is what successful organizations do.
Taylor Jenkins
Time will tell, but Jenkins will probably have a lot of room for maneuver as long as the front office that hired him, especially in a climate where the Grizzlies seem willing to deviate from the double approach of recent seasons and to commit to a single track, one whose destination is far enough on the way. As I also wrote before, this off season is like a comeback for Pera. For better or for worse – and no one will know it sooner – this is more like the organization he talked about for the first time.
And what could be useful here is not just that Jenkins is "their guy", or that he has learned his way in cultures where management / coaching works hand in hand, but that he has debuted on the other side of this wall that disappears. Jenkins started at the San Antonio front office, where he worked with Dennis Lindsey, then assistant general manager (now Utah Jazz's general manager), with the tasks of screening, drafting, information management and other front office tasks.
A problem of homogeneity?
The Grizzlies are well below the NBA's national radar, especially in a high-powered final, which might prevent them from getting attention in this area. But NBA 's biggest story last week, which is not limited to the finals, the free agency, the draft or the Lakers (still with the Lakers), is related to the cultural gap that is ever present and growing between d & # 39; former players who feel get rushed and technocratic invaders from other areas increasingly in charge of franchises.
This is too big a subject for us to explore thoroughly here. So I will mainly present it as a return commitment, a solo performance. However, as Geoff Calkins (and just about everyone else) has noted, Jenkins seems to fit a profile as Penn's economics graduate who has hung up on top of his post-secondary education: as the owner, the Team president, the chief executive and the researchers / analytics VP (Rich Cho), his academic pedigree is much bigger than the one on the court.
In itself, it does not bother me much. Although I am very pleased that Tayshaun Prince has been promoted and is an important part of this mix, I tend to think that many different contexts apply to the success of the NBA and that none of these guarantees is a guarantee. I like smart people, although I do not think that the establishment of your degree is for much.
But the player / non-player issue is a separate issue but related to other types of diversity – race, gender, life experience, worldview – which the Grizzlies are certainly aware of. And even if I find the complaints about "nerds" as boring as they are too misleading about the word "analytic" that creates language barriers, the Grizzlies would do well to think appropriately about these topics.
As Matt Hrdlicka suggests, you should not need a subscription to "The Economist" to get in the door with the Grizzlies. (Matt has jokes.)
Pedigree is not a guarantee
Jenkins does not just have the Spurs to sew, it's a new page on the growing branch of Budenholzer, after Quin Snyder (Utah) and Kenny Atkinson (Brooklyn). The Grizzlies like that, he has worked in these organizations and with these coaches, and they should.
But hiring an assistant from a good organization or having sat under an excellent head coach does not guarantee you any purchase for these crops or these successes. We learned this the hard way, via Marc Iavaroni of Suns' "Seven Seconds or Less" and Miami Heat's David Fizdale. (Fizdale has certainly been very successful, but the widest point is still valid.)
It's a moment of hope, of course. But not suppose.
What we do know is that we just do not know
In the same vein, do not think anyone tells you it's a good or bad rental. No one has any idea and there is a good chance that nobody will do it for a good while. The Grizzlies are entering the first season of this decade where success is not up to the ranking. This is not an authorization to refuse a judgment, but it means that the standards will be different, that the bow will be longer and that the results will be more subject to interpretation.
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