Despite currently having a head coach in place, the Sixers are the odds-on-betting favorites to land former Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins, according to Bovada Sportsbook.
Jenkins was seemingly randomly fired from his position by the Memphis Grizzlies on March 28 amid a successful 44-29 season. However, lately, the Grizzlies have started to slide, going 5-5 in their last 10 games, losing to playoff teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Sacramento Kings, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder loss was Jenkins’s last game.
Beginning his NBA coaching career in the G-League as a member of the Austin Toros’ coaching staff, the affiliate team for the San Antonio Spurs, Jenkins became an assistant coach for Mike Budenholzer—another coach from the Pop coaching tree—in Atlanta and Milwaukee. He came to Memphis after the 2018-2019 season as the 11th non-interim head coach in the team’s history following J.B. Bickerstaff’s firing the previous season.
Jenkins went on to coach for almost six seasons for the Grizzlies, amassing a 250-214 record over that span. At this point, no other head coach in Memphis or Vancouver Grizzlies history has amassed more wins than Taylor Jenkins, nor has any coach coached more games than Jenkins. He ends his time with Memphis with 3 playoff appearances, never making it past the conference semifinals.
Given the Sixers’ nightmare season, winning only 23 games so far, it makes sense that Philadelphia might be tempted to go in another direction at head coach. However, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
It’s important to note that while Nick Nurse hasn’t been perfect in his two seasons for the Sixers, he has also had to deal with two completely different rosters during his time in Philadelphia. In his first year, the team enacted their salary cap plan, trading away James Harden for multiple players on expiring contracts.
This season, Nurse has had to deal with some of the worst injury luck possible. Former MVP Joel Embiid only appeared in 19 games this season. The big free agent addition of Paul George? He only appeared in 41 games and was clearly dealing with lingering issues all season. Even the star rookie that the team added in the offseason tore his meniscus in just 23 games.
That being said, if the Sixers do decide to pursue Jenkins aggressively, he is, at this point, the most proven option that will be on the market in the offseason and will surely be highly sought after because of his success with the Grizzlies.
