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Grizzlies’ Taylor Jenkins Enters Protocols

January 8th, 2022 at 1:23pm CST by JD Shaw

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Assistant Brad Jones will coach when the team plays the Clippers on Saturday, Mannix notes.

Jenkins is one of many coaches to enter protocols as the league deals with a surge in COVID-19 cases this season. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd entered said protocols this month, while Lakers coach Frank Vogel, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault all recently exited them.

Jenkins guided Memphis to a 12-4 record in December despite missing Ja Morant for 10 games, receiving Coach of the Month honors for the Western Conference. The Grizzlies own a 26-14 record on the season and have won seven straight games.

Aside from coaches, the NBA has also seen over 200 players enter health and safety protocols this season. As shown in our tracker, nearly 50 players are currently in the league’s protocols.

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And-Ones: Newley, Jenkins, Spoelstra, Protocols, Draft

January 5th, 2022 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

While fans may gloss over the names of draft-rights players included as placeholders in minor NBA trades, the players themselves certainly take notice, even if they don’t expect to ever play in the NBA. Australian wing Brad Newley, who never came stateside after being selected in the second round of the 2007 draft, is one of those players — he had his rights sent from the Lakers to the Knicks in the three-team Rajon Rondo trade earlier this week.

The deal gave Newley an opportunity to reconnect with Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose, who was his agent when he first entered the draft 14 years ago, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Newley knows he won’t ever play for the Knicks, but he and Rose remain friends, and he joked that he’d be ready if he gets the call.

“If the Knicks are rebuilding around a 36-year-old, I’m not sure,” he told Vorkunov. “But I’m open to anything.”

Newley admitted in his conversation with Vorkunov that he probably didn’t prioritize the NBA enough earlier in his career, but he was happy to spend his career playing in international leagues and said he doesn’t have any regrets.

“I played the whole of my career in Europe as a stash guy, thought maybe one day you’d get a chance, but I was on some pretty good contracts over there,” Newley said. “So the NBA, at that time, the guarantees weren’t around as much as they are now, with the way things operate. It would be interesting if you could rewind and do it all again, it might be done a little bit different.”

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world…

  • Taylor Jenkins of the Grizzlies and Erik Spoelstra of the Heat were named the NBA’s December Coaches of the Month for the West and East, respectively, the league announced on Tuesday (Twitter link). Jenkins led Memphis to a 12-4 record despite missing star guard Ja Morant for 10 games, while Spoelstra navigated a series of injuries and COVID-19 cases to lead Miami to a 10-5 mark.
  • In an Insider-only story, Kevin Pelton of ESPN looked into which teams have been hit the hardest by the health and safety protocols this year, concluding that the Cavaliers, Sixers, and Bucks have lost more WARP (wins above replacement player) than any other clubs so far. Zach Kram of The Ringer explored the other side of the health and safety equation, examining how the players signed using hardship exceptions have performed and how they’re affecting the NBA.
  • Looking ahead to the 2022 NBA draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz (Insider link) profiled some players whose stocks are rising, including Iowa’s Keegan Murray and Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis, while Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has published a new mock draft.
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Mike Budenholzer, Billy Donovan Win Coaches Association Award

August 3rd, 2020 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer and Thunder head coach Billy Donovan have been voted the co-coaches of the year by the National Basketball Coaches Association, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

This award, introduced in 2017, isn’t the NBA’s official Coach of the Year award, which is voted on by media members and is represented by the Red Auerbach Trophy. The winner of that award is expected to be announced at some point during the postseason this summer.

The Coaches Association’s version of the award – named after longtime NBCA executive director Michael H. Goldberg – is voted on by the NBA’s 30 head coaches, none of whom can vote for himself.

Budenholzer, who also won the NBCA’s award in 2019, has had even more success with the East-leading Bucks this season. His team has a 54-13 record and – before the season was suspended – had been on pace to surpass the 60 victories that last year’s Milwaukee squad racked up.

As for Donovan, he has exceeded expectations with a Thunder team that was viewed as a borderline playoff contender and a candidate for a full-fledged rebuild. Instead of returning to the lottery following the offseason departures of Russell Westbrook and Paul George, Oklahoma City is 41-24, good for sixth in the Western Conference. A strong finish over the next couple weeks could result in a top-four record in the conference for the Thunder.

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, widely viewed as the favorite to win the official Coach of the Year award in 2020, was one vote away from finishing in a three-way tie with Budenholzer and Donovan, per Wojnarowski.

Sources tell ESPN that Taylor Jenkins (Grizzlies), Nate McMillan (Pacers), Erik Spoelstra (Heat), and Brad Stevens (Celtics), and Frank Vogel (Lakers) also received votes.

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Community Shootaround: Coach Of The Year Favorites

February 16th, 2020 at 5:37pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

This season, the Coach of the Year race appears to have plenty of intriguing candidates. With the All-Star break upon us, we at Hoops Rumors deemed it a good time to reflect on where things stand currently.

Mike Budenholzer is leading the 46-8 Bucks towards potentially the NBA’s third-ever 70+ win season. Superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo may win his second consecutive MVP award under Budenholzer’s tutelage, while wing Khris Middleton has made his second straight All-Star team.

In their second year under Nick Nurse, the Raptors are miraculously on pace for a better record than they had during a champion run last year, minus 2019 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Pascal Siakam has blossomed into an All-Star starter. Fellow All-Star Kyle Lowry has remained a steadying presence on the court. Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Norman Powell have all taken notable leaps.

Erik Spoelstra has coached the new-look Heat to a 35-19 record in the East, helped center Bam Adebayo become a first-time All-Star, and made the most out of promising rookies Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn, plus second-year sharpshooter Duncan Robinson.

The Celtics lost Kyrie Irving and Al Horford to free agency over the summer, and signed Kemba Walker in Irving’s stead. Team chemistry appears to have improved significantly, and coach Brad Stevens has helped Walker return to the All-Star game and Jayson Tatum make his first appearance in the big show, while leading Boston to a 38-16 record (including a recent eight-game win streak).

Though the Lakers missed out on signing priority head coach options Tyronn Lue and Monty Williams over the summer, their supposed “consolation” option Frank Vogel has impressed in his first season with the team. The Lakers have a 41-12 record, tops in the West thus far, and have been able to incorporate several mercurial veterans into an upbeat, defensive-oriented locker room atmosphere.

There are several contenders elsewhere in the NBA. Billy Donovan has helped take the Thunder to a surprisingly robust 33-22 record. Rick Carlisle has brought the Mavericks back to the thick of the playoff hunt with an identical record to the Thunder’s and helped Luka Doncic become a first-time All-Star starter. 35-year-old coach Taylor Jenkins has brought the young Grizzlies back to relevance after the team offloaded former franchise cornerstones Marc Gasol and Mike Conley in 2019.

Who do you think will walk away with Coach of the Year hardware in 2020? Let us know!

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Western Notes: Harden, Westbrook, Jenkins, Clippers, Dozier

September 14th, 2019 at 3:56pm CST by JD Shaw

Rockets star James Harden expressed confidence that he and Russell Westbrook will get adjusted to playing with each other quickly this season, sharing his thoughts in a recent interview with Alex Shultz of GQ.com.

“I don’t really do a lot of interviews, so I actually don’t answer it that much,” Harden said when asked if the questioned about him and Westbrook irritate him. “The questions are usually the same, though: How are you and Russ going to fit in? It’s like, yo, we’ll figure it out. Everything isn’t necessarily going to be smooth at first, there are going to be ups and downs, and that’s part of an 82-game season. Hopefully by the end of the season, we’ve caught a rhythm and everybody is on the same page going into the playoffs. That’s all you can ask for.”

Harden and Westbrook, known as two talented, ball-dominate players, will play in the same backcourt for the first time since the 2011/12 season with Oklahoma City. The duo is eager to prove they can co-exist, with both players still seeking their first NBA championships.

“We’ve formed into the players that we want to be, in terms of superstar status,” Harden said. “We had opportunities to be at the top, at the peak; he won an MVP and I won an MVP. And there were conversations before, when me and Chris [Paul] joined the same team about whether it was going to work. We ended up with the best record in the NBA and were a game away from the Finals.

“It’s not like me and Russ were just teammates in Oklahoma City for three years. We’ve known each other since we were 10 years old. There’s a different kind of relationship and communication that we have, a different type of excitement that we have for each other. We don’t really care or pay attention to what other people say or think.”

There’s more out of the Western Conference today:

  • New Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins is eager to lead his young team into a promising future, Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com writes. “So, for me, it’s that mentality of defining each day who we are,” Jenkins said as part of a larger quote. “We’re naturally and organically going to grow and not just have this set plan for how we’re going to be from Game 1 to 82. That excites me, because organically, we’re going to get to a really good spot with everything we’ve laid down already. We’ve hit the ground running, and Oct. 1 (first training camp practice) is rapidly approaching.”
  • Jovan Buha of The Athletic examines what the other newcomers (not named Kawhi Leonard or Paul George) could bring to the Clippers this season. Buha discusses the talents of players such as Maurice Harkless, Rodney McGruder, Mfiondu Kabengele and more in his piece.
  • PJ Dozier hopes to make a strong impression with the Nuggets in training camp this fall, Alex Labidou of Nuggets.com writes. “I love the city [of Denver], it’s a beautiful city,” Dozier said. “[I want to] continue to show that I belong and that I belong for a reason. I feel like I have a lot to show for — a lot to bring to the table. It’s just all about getting the opportunity and being prepared for it.”
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Grizzlies Announce New Coaching Staff

August 5th, 2019 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

After hiring first-time head coach Taylor Jenkins to replace J.B. Bickerstaff in June, the Grizzlies have officially announced Jenkins’ staff, which features a series of new hires.

According to a press release, Niele Ivey, Brad Jones, David McClure, James “Scoonie” Penn, Vitaly Potapenko, and Neven Spahija will serve as Jenkins’ assistants for the 2019/20 season. Of the six, only Potapenko was on the team’s staff last season.

Ivey, who has spent the last 12 seasons at Notre Dame, including the last four years as the associate head coach of Fighting Irish’s women’s team, is the first female assistant in Grizzlies history, as David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal notes.

Jones, a veteran of the NBA and G League, most recently served as the head coach of the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies’ NBAGL affiliate. The team has named Jason March as its new G League head coach.

McClure spent the last three seasons as a player development coach for the Pacers; Penn comes to Memphis from Ohio State, where he was the director of player development since 2017; Spahija has coached internationally in a handful of countries since the mid-1980s, and was a Hawks assistant from 2014-17, working alongside Jenkins under Mike Budenholzer.

“Their experiences at the collegiate, international, G League and NBA levels will benefit everyone in our organization,” Jenkins said of his new assistants. “Above all else, I am thrilled to work with great people who will help build a competitive, unselfish, development-focused, and positive environment for our players.”

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Grizzlies Hire Taylor Jenkins As Head Coach

June 11th, 2019 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

2:21pm: The Grizzlies have officially confirmed that they’ve hired Jenkins as their new head coach.

“We are excited to welcome Taylor Jenkins to the Grizzlies organization,” Kleiman said in a statement. “Taylor has an excellent coaching pedigree and we are confident he will lay the groundwork of developing the young players on our roster while having the elite basketball acumen and forward-thinking positive vision to be a high-level NBA head coach.”

10:48am: The Grizzlies‘ lengthy coaching search has come to an end, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that the club is hiring Bucks assistant Taylor Jenkins as its new head coach. Memphis had been the last NBA team with a head coaching vacancy.

Jenkins spent several seasons with the Spurs beginning in 2007, eventually being promoted to the head coach of the franchise’s G League team in Austin. Following his time in San Antonio, he joined Mike Budenholzer‘s staff in Atlanta, serving as a Hawks assistant beginning in 2013. A year ago, he made the move to Milwaukee, once again working under Budenholzer as an assistant for the Bucks.

As Wojnarowski points out, Jenkins will become the third NBA head coach to be hired directly off Budenholzer’s staff. Quin Snyder (Jazz) and Kenny Atkinson (Nets) were assistants in Atlanta before joining their current teams.

Jenkins, who met with the Grizzlies three times during their search process, per Wojnarowski, was one of several reported candidates to interview the position. Alex Jensen, Jarron Collins, Igor Kokoskov, Nate Tibbetts, and Adrian Griffin were among the others who spoke to Memphis about the job, while Sarunas Jasikevicius was said to have received consideration as well.

Word of J.B. Bickerstaff‘s dismissal broke on April 11, so the Grizzlies spent two months searching for his replacement. It’s the first major decision made by the new management group led by team president Jason Wexler and executive VP of basketball operations Zach Kleiman.

Jenkins will assume control of a Grizzlies team that appears headed for a rebuild around 2018’s No. 4 overall pick Jaren Jackson Jr. and 2019’s probable No. 2 overall pick Ja Morant. Franchise point guard Mike Conley remains under contract for two years, but he’s expected to be a trade candidate this summer if Memphis looks to reboot around its young cornerstones.

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Coaching Updates: Grizzlies, Kidd, Suns, Sixers, Bulls, Thibodeau

June 4th, 2019 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The latest round-up of NBA rumors from Shams Charania of The Athletic features a handful of coaching-related notes, including an update on the Grizzlies‘ head coaching search.

According to Charania, Bucks assistant Taylor Jenkins, whose interview with Memphis was previously reported, met with the Grizzlies for a second time last week. Jenkins is one of at least six candidates to interview for the position, but the fact that he got a second meeting may signal that he’s receiving serious consideration.

Elswhere in Charania’s story, he notes that Jason Kidd‘s contract with the Lakers will make him the highest-paid assistant in the NBA and reports that Warriors assistant Willie Green has been offered a leading assistant coach job with the Suns. Phoenix is hopeful that Green, who played for new Suns head coach Monty Williams in 2010/11, will accept that offer.

Here are a few more coaching-related items from around the NBA:

  • Former Brooklyn and Dallas head coach Avery Johnson is interviewing with the Sixers for a job on Brett Brown‘s staff, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Johnson spent the last four seasons coaching at Alabama.
  • Not long after parting ways with the Rockets, Roy Rogers has agreed to a three-year deal to become an assistant for the Bulls, tweets Wojnarowski. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, who tweets that Rogers’ interview with the team was described as “impressive,” points out that the three-year term lines up with head coach Jim Boylen‘s new extension.
  • Appearing on The Zach Gelb Show, Tom Thibodeau confirmed that he’s not eager to rejoin the assistant coaching ranks anytime soon (link via CBS Sports Radio). The Lakers were rumored to have interest in Thibodeau as a lead assistant when they appeared to be nearing a deal with Tyronn Lue, but Thibs says the position probably wouldn’t have appealed to him. “I’ve known Ty for a long time. I coached him in Houston, and when he first got into coaching, we were in Boston together, so I consider him a really good friend,” Thibodeau said. “But I still have some time on my contract. I’ll be patient and just wait for the right opportunity to come along.”
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Grizzlies Interview Bucks’ Jenkins For Head Coaching Job

May 24th, 2019 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Yet another name has surfaced in the Grizzlies‘ head coaching search, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that Bucks assistant Taylor Jenkins has interviewed for Memphis’ open coaching position.

This is the first we’ve heard of Jenkins receiving head coaching consideration, but he has quietly built a strong résumé over the course of his NBA career.

Beginning in 2007, Jenkins spent several seasons with the Spurs, eventually being promoted to the head coach of the franchise’s G League team in Austin. As Chris Herrington of The Memphian points out (via Twitter), that makes Jenkins the third former G League head coach interviewed by the Grizzlies this spring, joining Alex Jensen and Nate Tibbetts.

Following his time in San Antonio, Jenkins joined Mike Budenholzer‘s staff in Atlanta, serving as a Hawks assistant beginning in 2013. A year ago, he made the move to Milwaukee, once again working under Budenholzer as an assistant for the Bucks.

Jenkins is the sixth known candidate to have interviewed for the Grizzlies’ head coaching vacancy, along with Jensen, Tibbetts, Jarron Collins, Igor Kokoskov, and Adrian Griffin.

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Central Notes: Pacers, Budenholzer, Bulls, Tate

June 6th, 2018 at 10:35pm CST by clarkcrum

The Pacers will host their first pre-draft workout tomorrow morning and it too will consist of six participants, per an official release from the team. The highest rated players are UNLV big man Brandon McCoy and Wichita State guard Landry Shamet.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Shamet coming off the board at No. 50 in the second round to the Pacers, so it makes sense that he’d be one of the first prospects they brought in. The Pacers also have the No. 23 overall selection. Meanwhile, McCoy is rated as the No. 70 overall prospect by Givony.

In addition to Shamet and McCoy, the Pacers will also host Jaylen Adams (St. Bonaventure), Marcus Foster (Creighton), Nick King (Middle Tennessee State), and Yante Maten (Georgia).

There is more tonight from the Central Division:

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