The Memphis Grizzlies have fired head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. They’ve also opted to reassign general manage Chris Wallace to a scouting role in a major shakeup of their front office.
Bickerstaff’s run with the Grizzlies will come to an end after a season and a half. In both of Bickerstaff’s seasons with the team, the once consistent Western Conference contenders missed the postseason.
While Mike Conley’s 70-game absence and a general swath of injuries across the board played a large part in spoiling Memphis’ 2017-18 season, the 2018-19 season didn’t start off much better.
By February the team was in sell mode, shipping Marc Gasol north of the border in exchange for a package of younger players. Not long after that, prized pupil and future franchise cornerstone Jaren Jackson Jr. was also sidelined for the duration of the year.
Prior to latching on as a head coach with the Grizzlies when David Fizdale was fired in November, 2017, Bickerstaff had served as an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Bobcats.
