Grizzlies have found harmony
Zach Kleiman leaned against the wall inconspicuously taking in the end of Memphis Grizzlies practice Tuesday, his relative youth and team-issued clothing giving off the impression of just another staffer, not the general manager who constructed the NBA'S most surprising championship contender this season.
“It's unbelievable how lock-step we are,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said across the court with reporters, and it was a particularly striking comment in the context of this team's history.
Memphis just finished off a regular season in which it tied the franchise record for wins (56), and the organizational harmony accompanying this stunning three-year rebuild that was supposed to take longer feels almost as important as Ja Morant in terms of how it happened.
What often gets glossed over, or perhaps just forgotten with the passage of time, is the discord that existed when the Grizzlies first set that record in the very same gym where Jenkins and Kleiman now stood in solidarity.
It was the 2012-13 season, the first under owner Robert Pera and the only season that ended with Memphis in the Western Conference finals. It also turned out to be Lionel
Hollins' last season as coach. He and the front office couldn't come to terms on a new contract because of what were described at the time as “major philosophical differences.”
To the point that when NBA information maven Adrian Wojnarowski reported on the impasse, he also included mention of a heated practice confrontation during the playoffs between Hollins and former vice president of basketball operations John Hollinger. Hollins, the report said, loudly questioned Hollinger's presence on the practice court after Hollinger approached a player during a shooting drill in order to assert his control over the team.
The Grizzlies' treatment of Hollins remains a sore spot in the city and, frankly, unjustified given results that haven't been replicated until perhaps this season and these NBA playoffs.
But almost a decade later, when Memphis begins its first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday as a heavy favorite, Pera will have finally achieved with this current regime what he awkwardly set out to do when he first took over the franchise. After going through four coaches in five seasons at one point, the Grizzlies have a coach, a front office and an owner with a shared vision.
“The synergy is unbelievable,” Jenkins said. “The trust that Robert has for Zach, myself, in obviously building the team and coaching the team. The trust that Zach has in me. We do a great job of pushing each other because if we want to elevate
this organization, this team to do great things and win championships, we've got to push each other.”
How exactly this plays out can be hard to decipher. Pera hasn't spoken to local reporters in years and only occasionally visits Memphis. Kleiman speaks to reporters only a few times per year. Jenkins, meanwhile, came of age as part of the San Antonio Spurs organization, known league-wide for its tight-lipped front office.
But Jenkins did note recently the Grizzlies are unlike any work environment in which he has been involved, another noteworthy statement given the sustained success the Spurs enjoyed while he was there. When asked about it this week, Jenkins acknowledged the vibe around Memphis was “definitely developed,” not necessarily in place when he arrived.
Where it's most visible is the players, and the unmistakable mixture of talent, chemistry and youth that drove this season to heights few anticipated before it started. The Grizzlies were recently tabbed No. 1 in ESPN'S future power rankings for the NBA, with three players (Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr.) ranked among the top 25 in the league under 25.
Of the current roster, only Jackson, Dillon Brooks and Kyle Anderson were acquired before Kleiman took control of basketball operations.
To hear the makeover described by Brooks, the longest-tenured
member of the team after being drafted by Memphis in 2017, is more revealing than even how Jenkins speaks of Kleiman.
“We got more guys that are here to try to win, not for personal gain or whatever,” Brooks said this week. “We're drafting the right guys. We got the right guys around each other — no toxic players or poison players, as they call it — and we love coming to work every single day and love each other and got each others' backs. That's the difference.
“Those first two years, there was a lot of one-year guys, got one-year contracts trying to make something out of nothing, and we (now) got guys that are here for the long term. We got a bunch of just dogs, to be honest, that love to play and want to play with each other.”
So they were all together again in the gym this week — Kleiman, the players and Jenkins — with no signs of friction accompanying this franchise record. There was no place they would rather be, and that might be the underlying accomplishment that takes them where they still need to go this postseason.
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com