Ja Morant, Grizzlies Reportedly 'Tuned Out' Taylor Jenkins Prior to Firing as HC

The Memphis Grizzlies' decision to fire Taylor Jenkins weeks before a playoff run came at least in part because the team believed the former head coach had "lost the locker room," according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Tim MacMahon and Michael C. Wright.

According to the ESPN reporters, "the internal perception was that players, most importantly [Ja] Morant, had tuned out Jenkins."

The Grizzlies held the No. 5 spot in the West when Jenkins was fired on Friday, and remain in contention to beat out the Los Angeles Lakers for the fourth seed.

Memphis had also gone 8-12 in their last 20 games, and suffered blowout losses in three of four games prior to Jenkins' dismissal.

That stretch included a March 25 win over the Utah Jazz during which Desmond Bane and Santi Aldama were recorded having a heated conversation in a courtside huddle. The Athletic's Sam Amick, Fred Katz and Joe Vardon later reported the confrontation took place because Bane asked Aldama if he was "gonna f--king guard anybody."

According to Shelburne, MacMahon and Wright, a player for a rival Western Conference team said the team had "lost all of [its] swagger" over this stretch.

A Grizzlies team source meanwhile told ESPN: "You could just tell no one was on the same page."

Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman told reporters on Saturday that the decision to fire Jenkins had been his alone, and that no players had been consulted prior to the head coach's dismissal.

Kleiman added that he decided to part ways with the former head coach "in the best interest of the team."

The Athletic's Sam Amick, Fred Katz and Joe Vardon previously reported after that Morant "remained supportive of the coach up to the end," but did not enjoy playing in an offensive system that "takes the ball out of his hands and removes the screens he likes to use as a ball handler to make plays."

ESPN's Tim MacMahon meanwhile reported that Jenkins' firing "was about optimizing Ja Morant" and part of an effort to keep him from seeking a trade this offseason.

The Grizzlies signed Jenkins to a multi-year extension after he helped Memphis tie a single-season franchise record with 56 wins during the 2021-22 season. He departs Memphis with a 250-216 regular-season record and 9-14 playoff mark in three trips to the postseason.