Grizzlies have some serious explaining to do after firing Taylor Jenkins

Nine games left. A fourth-place tie in the Western Conference standings. Three-and-a-half games out of second. And the Memphis Grizzlies have fired their coach.

What gives? For now, we have no clue.

But that’s precisely what the Grizzlies did, announcing a “parting of ways” with coach Taylor Jenkins.

Memphis (44-29) is coming off a fairly ugly loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s really not THAT big of a deal. The Thunder have made a lot of opponents suffer ugly losses this regular season. That’s just what they do.

And with the playoffs right around the bend, an ugly regular-season loss can be little more than human nature. Sometimes, you can get caught looking ahead.

So Jenkins’ dismissal has nothing to do with that game. Or at least you wouldn’t think it does. But we don’t really know — because the Grizzlies haven’t told us anything. 

“I’m genuinely appreciative of Taylor’s contributions to this team and this city over the past six seasons,” Grizzlies president/GM Zach Kleiman said in a vanilla press release. “This was a difficult decision, given the consistent and tangible development of our players and overall success under Taylor’s leadership. I wish Taylor the very best going forward.”

Jenkins had been the Grizzlies’ coach for six seasons. Two years ago, they finished with the No. 2 seed in the West. Last year, they were ravaged by injuries — and more than any team in NBA history. 

This year, despite the previous drama involving star point guard Ja Morant, the Grizzlies seemed back on track. Without a doubt, they will enter the postseason as a potential dark horse. If Memphis were to emerge from the West, no one could consider it a major surprise. This is a deep, talented team.

But what makes all this so puzzling is that even if the Grizzlies were dead last in the West, teams generally wait until AFTER the season to make a coaching change. At least, you sure would with only nine games to go.

So, yeah, this is puzzling. Grizzlies fans deserve answers. Their favorite team, though, is staying quite beyond a meaningless and manufactured official announcement.

Eventually, and probably soon, we will learn what was behind this stunning decision. But for now, the Grizzlies are keeping everyone in the dark, and that’s no way to be a dark horse.