The moment that transformed Russell Westbrook and the Clippers’ NBA title chase

The Memphis Grizzlies’ decision to fire Taylor Jenkins shortly before the end of the regular season is an indication that Ja Morant remains their franchise player and that they want to get back to the point where he is at the center of what they do on the floor. The Memphis offense had moved away from Morant this season. Now that they have fired Jenkins and assistant coach Noah LaRoche, there is expected to be a reset around Morant.

“This decision to do it now and to move on from LaRoche, and to lean back into all the pick and roll stuff… this was a decision that was about optimizing Ja Morant,” said Tim MacMahon. “That was a primary motivator for this decision.

“And look there has been noise about Ja being unhappy all season long. There has been noise about, ‘Hey, you know, could Memphis look to move Ja this summer? Could Ja look to get out of Memphis this summer? Could Ja look to to force a trade, or at least request a trade? And would Memphis shop him this summer?’ There’s been a lot of that.

“I was texting with a GM after this happened and he said ‘I would have told you I thought they were definitely going to [shop him]. Ja was out on them. They won games without him. They have to be sustainable.’ And he said ‘This is a move that goes in the face of that.’

Basically this is a “Hey Ja, you’re still our guy. Everything we do is going to be based on what’s best for you. What optimizes you. They got away from that for a lot of this season and they’re leaning back hard into it.”