Dave Joerger Fired by Grizzlies: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The Memphis Grizzlies fired head coach Dave Joerger on Saturday, which came as somewhat of a surprise considering the team posted a 42-40 regular-season record despite myriad injuries to key players. In three seasons at the helm, Joerger went 147-99.

The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news, and Bleacher Report's Howard Beck relayed the team's official statement:

Wojnarowski provided more context:

ESPN's Marc J. Spears added:

GM Chris Wallace explained why the team made the move:

"

The decision was made because I believe you need a deeply committed leadership team in order to establish the strong culture needed for sustainable long-term success. 

I don’t want to get into specifics, but our goal now is to identify the best candidate for our organization.  

"

ESPN.com's Zach Lowe reported "there was definitely still tension" in Memphis regarding Joerger's "flirtation" with the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was rumored as far back as December 2015 that Joerger, who had been with the team since 2007 in some capacity, was in imminent danger of being let go.

In 2015-16, Memphis used 28 different players in the regular season—an NBA record. The Grizzlies earned the Western Conference's No. 7 seed despite missing stalwarts Marc Gasol and Mike Conley for much of the season, but the San Antonio Spurs promptly blew them out in four games.

"Emotionally, there have been times where we are just kind of out of gas," Joerger said before the end of the regular season, per the Associated Press' Teresa M. Walker. "You can't be high for every single game. We took a couple hits in some games where you wish they had been closer or we had given ourselves a chance to win."

Season	Offensive Rating (Rank)	Pace (Rank)
2013-14	106.3 (15)	89.9 (30)
2014-15	105.7 (13)	92.0 (26)
2015-16	105.4 (19)	93.3 (27)

Effective as Joerger's brand of physical, defensive-oriented basketball has been, it hasn't gotten Memphis past the conference semifinals. In fact, Memphis' high-water mark came in former head coach Lionel Hollins' last season, 2012-13, when the Grizzlies lost to the Spurs in four games in the conference finals.

There's a good chance Joerger will catch on elsewhere. According to Wojnarowski, the Sacramento Kings had been "pushing hard" for permission to speak to Joerger, who has "moved to the top" of their list.

There are more big decisions ahead for the Grizzlies, who must choose what to do with Conley, who is set to enter free agency. Whether he is retained could determine the direction Memphis goes in moving forward.