J.B. Bickerstaff Officially Named Grizzlies' HC After Serving in Interim Role

The Memphis Grizzlies officially announced Tuesday that interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been hired as the team's head coach going forward.   

"J.B. did an admirable job as interim head coach last season in what was a challenging set of circumstances," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said. "J.B. has connected with our players and earned their respect throughout his time in Memphis, and we have been pleased with his role in developing our young players. We are excited to see him coach with a full offseason and a healthy roster next season."

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported last week that Bickerstaff's deal would be for three years.

Bickerstaff, 39, took over as head coach after David Fizdale was fired on Nov. 27 following a 7-12 start to the season. While the Grizzlies went just 15-48 under his tutelage, he "made a strong impression on management and Grizzlies players under difficult circumstances and ultimately became a clear choice within the organization to become elevated to the full-time coaching role," per Wojnarowski.

The Grizzlies are heading into an interesting offseason. The team has the second-best odds of winning the draft lottery, meaning a top-five pick is inbound, though the squad also still has star veterans Mike Conley Jr.  and Marc Gasol. 

For the Grizzlies, the decision will come down to whether they want to retool on the fly and seek a playoff berth next season behind their veterans, or undergo a full rebuild and dangle Conley and Gasol on the trade market. 

If they go the former route, re-signing Tyreke Evans will be a priority, though they won't have much cap space to do anything beyond that, especially if they can't get off of Chandler Parsons' huge contract. Given that he's played just 70 games the past two seasons and averaged 7.1 points per game in that span, it's hard to imagine the Grizzlies finding a taker for the $49.2 million he's due over the next two years.

So it's unclear what type of team Bickerstaff will coaching next season. Whether he's asked to get the Grizzlies back into playoff contention or guiding a young team in a full rebuild, the Grizzlies are clearly comfortable with Bickerstaff at the helm.