Vitaly Potapenko Rumors

Grizzlies Rumors: Jenkins, Bane, Aldama, Morant, Iisalo, LaRoche

March 29th, 2025 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

Taylor Jenkins‘ dismissal as the Grizzlies‘ head coach on Friday came as a major surprise, especially given the timing and the fact that he was under contract beyond this season. However, the team’s decision to overhaul his coaching staff a year ago was among the first signs that Jenkins’ days in Memphis may be numbered, according to Sam Amick, Fred Katz, and Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

Last July, executive VP of basketball operations Zach Kleiman and his front office unilaterally decided to replace five of Jenkins’ assistants: Blake Ahearn, Brad Jones, Scoonie Penn, Sonia Raman and Vitaly Potapenko. Team and league sources tell The Athletic that Jenkins became emotional during his final exchanges with those outgoing coaches, and while he had consulted with the front office on the new hires, those last interactions with his former assistants set an “uneasy tone” for the 2024/25 season, per Amick, Katz, and Vardon.

That coaching overhaul may have signaled a declining level of organizational support for Jenkins, but the Grizzlies’ inconsistent play in the second half of this season and against playoff teams was the main reason he was let go, according to The Athletic’s reporting.

Memphis has gone just 9-13 since starting the season 35-16 and has lost nine games in a row to teams at or above. 500, with an average margin of defeat of 12.8 points per game in those contests.

The defensive drop-off during the recent slump has been troubling, Amick, Katz, and Vardon say — the Grizzlies have a defensive rating of 116.7 in their last 22 games, 19th in the NBA, after playing at a top-five level for much of the first half, and league sources tell The Athletic that the organization “worried greatly about buy-in.”

Even in the team’s only win for the last two weeks, a Tuesday blowout of the Jazz, Desmond Bane and Santi Aldama had an altercation on the bench, exchanging shoves after Bane called out Aldama’s defensive effort, according to a source who spoke to The Athletic.

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

A Memphis offense once built around pick-and-rolls now sets fewer screens than any other NBA team and relies more on “clever cutting and off-ball movement,” according to The Athletic’s reporters, who say that the offensive changes came in large part from the new assistants. Star point guard Ja Morant hasn’t been a huge fan of the changes, since he’s playing off the ball more and seeing fewer pick-and-roll opportunities. “Some days he looks like he’s ready to play, and some days he looks like he doesn’t want to be there … because he hates the offense,” one league source tells The Athletic.
The Athletic’s report credits assistants like Tuomas Iisalo and Noah LaRoche with playing pivotal roles in introducing the new offensive system while noting that Jenkins had recently begun reinstalling some of the screen plays Morant likes to run. It’s unclear, then, what sort of message the front office is sending by firing both Jenkins and LaRoche while elevating Iisalo to the role of interim head coach.
League sources tell The Athletic that Morant was upset about the decision to let go of Ahearn last summer and that he “remained supportive” of Jenkins until his firing on Friday.
The Grizzlies paid an above-market salary – along with a buyout – in order to hire Iisalo away from Paris Basketball in 2024, according to Amick, Katz, and Vardon. Paris reportedly liked Iisalo’s offense so much that the team made it a requirement when seeking his replacement that the new coach wouldn’t be allowed to change the system.
Kleiman put out a statement last month strongly refuting the idea that the Grizzlies would consider trading Morant this summer, but firing the only head coach Morant has ever played for will likely reignite speculation about the guard’s long-term future in Memphis, per Amick, Katz, and Vardon. For what it’s worth, two league executives who spoke to The Athletic questioned how much demand there would be for Morant on the trade market, given his injury history, his past off-court transgressions, and a dip in production this season.

Pistons Announce Coaching Staff Under Bickerstaff

September 23rd, 2024 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons have officially announced new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s staff via a press release.

Luke Walton, Sidney Lowe, Fred Vinson, Vitaly Potapenko, Kevin Burleson, Jerome Allen and Josh Estes have been named as assistants.

Walton’s decision to join Bickerstaff was reported in mid-July. The former Kings and Lakers head coach comes to Detroit after spending the last two seasons in Cleveland on Bickerstaff’s staff. Lowe’s decision to join Bickerstaff was also revealed in July. This will be his third stint in Detroit, where he served as an assistant during the 2005/06 season and again from 2018 to 2021.

Vinson was hired in June prior to the Pistons’ decision to fire Monty Williams with five years remaining on his contract. Vinson spent 14 years with the Pelicans organization and is highly regarded for his expertise as a shooting instructor.

Potapenko spent the last six years with Memphis, while Burleson had been the head coach of the Rockets’ NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the last two seasons. Allen was a candidate for the head coaching job after Williams’ dismissal and spent two seasons on Dwane Casey‘s staff in Detroit. He served as a pro personnel scout for the Celtics last season.

Estes spent the last four seasons as a coaching analyst and analytics coordinator in Cleveland under Bickerstaff.

Pistons Notes: Holland, Cap Room, Potapenko, Roster Upgrades

July 28th, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons have used a rookie in their opening-night starting lineup for the past four seasons, but Ron Holland isn’t likely to continue that tradition, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press writes in a mailbag column. Holland was a high lottery pick — like Killian Hayes, Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson — but he may not have an opportunity to contribute right away on an improved roster.

Tobias Harris will claim one starting forward spot after signing a two-year, $52MM deal in free agency. Holland will battle for minutes with Thompson, Simone Fontecchio, Tim Hardaway Jr. and possibly Isaiah Stewart if he’s not used exclusively as a center. Sankofa points out that Fontecchio and Hardaway are among the team’s most effective outside shooters, so at least one of them should be on the court most of the time.

Sankofa called Holland “electric” during the Las Vegas Summer League and states that his defensive prowess and play-making should give him a bright NBA future. However, there may not be a path to regular playing time until Hardaway’s contract expires next summer.

There’s more from Detroit:

The Pistons are still in position to take on an unwanted contract in exchange for draft assets, Sankofa adds in the same piece. New head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon expressed a willingness to get involved in those type of deals, but so far it’s only happened with the addition of Hardaway. Sankofa points out that Detroit still has about $11.5MM in remaining cap room, along with a $7.9MM room exception. He expects opportunities to arise before the February deadline to become the third team in a trade and help facilitate a deal.
Vitaly Potapenko will become an assistant to new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The longtime NBA center transitioned to coaching in 2009 after his playing career ended, and he spent the past six years as an assistant in Memphis.
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report lists the Pistons as one of the most improved teams during the offseason. In addition to adding Harris, Holland and Hardaway, Detroit also signed Malik Beasley in free agency and claimed Paul Reed off waivers.

Southwest Notes: Ingram, Grizzlies, Barnes, Spurs

July 8th, 2024 at 5:17pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks were considered a possible trade suitor for Brandon Ingram this offseason, but they ended up not having much interest in giving the forward his next contract or surrendering either Clint Capela or Onyeka Okongwu in a trade with the Pelicans, league sources tell William Guillory of The Athletic.

As a result, the Pelicans and Hawks instead made a deal involving Dejounte Murray that didn’t include Ingram or either of Atlanta’ centers. Now it’s unclear whether New Orleans will be able to find a trade partner for Ingram, who will be on an expiring contract in 2024/25.

According to Guillory, both the Pelicans and Ingram would prefer not to go into training camp without an extension, since it may become a distraction. That could mean New Orleans will be looking to complete a trade by late September, but it also doesn’t sound like a new contract for the former All-Star is out of the question. Guillory cites “some optimism within the building” that Ingram and the Pelicans could work out an extension below the max that leaves both sides happy.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The Grizzlies have officially announced Taylor Jenkins‘ new-look coaching staff for the 2024/25 season (Twitter link). Anthony Carter and Patrick St. Andrews are the only returning assistants, though one newcomer (Jason March) had been coaching the Memphis Hustle, while another (Erik Schmidt) was the Grizzlies’ head video coordinator. Joe Boylan (formerly of the Timberwolves), Patrick Mutombo (from the Bucks), Tuomas Iisalo (Paris Basketball), and Noah LaRoche are the other additions. Former assistants Blake Ahearn, Brad Jones, Scoonie Penn, Sonia Raman, and Vitaly Potapenko have all been replaced, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
LJ Ellis of SpursTalk shares his thoughts on the Spurs‘ impending acquisition of Harrison Barnes, explains why he likes the fit and why he expects the veteran forward to be a starter in San Antonio. As Ellis notes, more minor roster moves will be necessary to open up enough cap room to accommodate Barnes’ incoming salary, so he’s reluctant to give his final assessment of the deal until it’s clear what those moves will be.
As Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News points out (via Twitter), the Spurs wouldn’t have been in position to add both Barnes and Chris Paul if they had kept the No. 8 overall pick in the draft, which carried a cap hit of $6.26MM.

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.”