MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Grizzlies president Zach Kleiman assessed Memphis' late-season collapse Sunday and a change in head coaches along with questions about where the franchise goes now in an extremely frank manner.
“Lot to sort out,” Kleiman said. “Forty-eight wins. Good for an eighth seed. Who cares? It's not good enough.”
Kleiman set the tone for the Grizzlies' end-of-season debriefing a day after being swept by top-seed Oklahoma City, making Memphis the first team eliminated from the NBA playoffs. That came after spending much of the season fighting for home-court advantage to start the postseason in the West.
Now, the Grizzlies need to hire a new coach and decide whether interim coach Tuomas Iisalo gets that qualifier removed and how to fix what caused the collapse dropping Memphis from second in the Western Conference in late February to the play-in tournament and the No. 8 seed.
“It was a tough year to say the least,” guard Desmond Bane said.
The Grizzlies dealt with the past and the future Sunday. The Grizzlies acknowledged the franchise is stagnant having won only one postgame series in three of the past four years. That's despite being the No. 2 seed twice during that period.
Team officials have to decide if the core three of Bane and a pair of two-time All-Stars in Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. are enough to compete for championships.
“I think there is so much good,” Kleiman said. "I think you can see at the peak times of what this group has done. It's right there, and there's so much to hold on to."
Morant indicated the OKC series was close to changing when Memphis had a 29-point lead near the end of the first half in Game 3. Then Morant suffered a hip contusion in a dramatic fall at the basket. With their leading scorer out, the Grizzlies lost the lead and the game. Morant missed Game 4, and Memphis was eliminated 117-115.
The guard was still on crutches Sunday but made clear he thought the series could have been tied at 2 headed back to Oklahoma City.
“That win right there (in Game 3), could have made it totally different," he said.
Morant's health
Injuries to Morant continue to pose problems for the Grizzlies. He missed 32 games with various injuries and ailments this season, forcing Memphis to play a significant number of games with others filling the void.
“Obviously, injuries, that's frustrating. Not being on the floor is frustrating. Losing games is frustrating,” Morant said, adding: "With us, I feel like we showed signs of what we can be. That's what I took from this season.”
Personnel and contract decisions
Jackson is eligible for a contract extension. He says Memphis is his home and indicated he wants to stay. Asked about negotiations, the normally talkative Jackson directed such conversations to his agent, at one point even saying “next question,” with a smile.
Then there is who coaches Memphis next season. Iisalo seemed to get a vote of confidence from several Grizzlies, including Morant.
“I feel like Tuomas is a good coach,” Morant said. “For me, going into my film sessions with him and just talking about the game of basketball, seeing and hearing that he sees the same thing I see out there on the floor.
"I wouldn't say its been surprising, but it's been very exciting.”
Nobody was ready to make final decisions Sunday, not even 24 hours after being eliminated early yet again.
“I'm going to digest everything coming out of the season," Kleiman said. “As soon as I've made a decision on anything of substance, I will share.”
Kleiman later added: "I've been 100% focused on trying to make the most of what turned out to be a challenging end of the season."
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Clay Bailey, The Associated Press
