Tuomas Iisalo hired as next Memphis Grizzlies head coach

Tuomas Iisalo hired as next Memphis Grizzlies head coach

Tumas Eelo is the man in Memphis to Michael Cole and I told you that was the most likely outcome. But now that it is Eselo, what exactly will change? And we’ll tip our cap to the great Greg Papovich on this episode of Locked On Grizzlies. Let’s lock in. You are Locked On Grizzlies, your daily Memphis Grizzlies podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. your team every day. Welcome to this Monday edition of Lockdown Grizzlies. It is I, Joe Mullenax. So happy to be with you on this episode of the show. So happy to be joined by my co-host to Michael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal there in Memphis, Tennessee. Award-winning Memphis Grizzlies beatriter for the Commercial Appeal there. Michael, so good to have you with me. So good to have all of you with us, every listener, every viewer, every every day hopefully to Lockdown Grizzlies. Thanks for being here on this special Monday edition of the show. This episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. We’re free and available wherever you get podcast. Like, comment, rate, review, subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, Google. Locked on podcast network has been very good to Dem and I. We are proud members of that network and we are so glad that you are with us hopefully each and every time that an episode drops. to Michael, we told our everydayers, our new listeners, if you don’t believe us, you can go back and check the tapes. Check the receipts, baby. Uh, first off, you should always check out Friday episodes because I quote wise philosophers like Rebecca Black. But beyond that, uh, we talked about for the last several times that we’ve been together, last several episodes, while we had grandiose visions, right? It’s kind of nice that they got it over with early because you know who content creators, why would we want to talk about coaching interviews, right? It’s not a slow time of the year at all. Uh but they they did the Friday news dump and Tumas Eelo is the new full head coach. The interim tag has been lifted. Uh it’s interesting to Michael the Kings obviously did that with Christy out in Sacramento. Safe to say Adelman and the Nuggets are probably going to come to a long-term agreement. The way the Denver destroyed the Clippers over the weekend and now the Grizzlies have followed in the same suit. They are keeping Tumas Iselo around. We said this was the most likely outcome. He didn’t come over here to be an assistant for long, you would imagine. We’ll talk more about his credentials and what he brings to the table. That might be a little bit different than Taylor Jenkins later on in the show. But first, just your reaction as that Grizzlies beat writer for the Commercial Appeal. Takeaways again, we expected this to Michael. Maybe not so soon though. Are you surprised or is the timing along the lines of what you thought might happen? Yeah, not surprised. Uh, we expect them to move fast. I don’t know if this fast was kind of the intention, but uh I had the idea that this is something they wanted to get done before the playoffs concluded. Uh when the playoffs conclude, and we’ll talk about this over the course of the next few weeks, one thing that’s important to remember is that’s when the Grizzlies can start the negotiation process uh with their own players. Uh considering you got Santi Alama, Jiren Jackson Jr., uh to a lesser degree, Cam Spencer, uh all players that the Grizzlies see value in and possibly want to retain sooner rather than later and want to take advantage of in that new CBA. You have that rule where as soon as the season ends right after the NBA finals conclude, uh you have the option, the ability to uh start contract negotiations with your own players. the rest of the league uh will probably have to wait another week or two because June 30th uh I believe it’s 5:00 pm June 30th is when the rest of the league uh can can actually do contract negotiations. So the Grizzlies will have at least a week head start possibly two weeks you know depending on uh when the NBA finals end. So with all that uh kind of being taken into consideration uh they wanted to have this part done uh the head coaching thing. Now, I know uh and it’ll be interesting to get your take on this part as well. Um the first thing that stood out to me when uh the hire was made was kind of just looking into the idea of was a search done and things like that. And of course with the timing, it it suggested that there wasn’t much of one. And that’s kind of, you know, based on some of the things I’ve heard that that’s kind of was the case. Um you know, there were a couple names that kind of popped up on my radar uh just from having conversations with people, but nothing of substance. And with that being said, um, Iselo is the guy and you know, we talked to Climate at the end of the season and he said he wanted to take some time to kind of I think digest was his word, right? Digest some of the things that had happened and whatnot. And all of that led to Pumas Iselo getting the job. So now that he has the job, I said it in my story that I wrote, but um, considering the fact that you didn’t really do a search, might want to hope that this is the guy. Yeah, I I would agree with that. Talking about digestion, he must have eaten some, you know, some spicy barbecue nachos at some point. That’s a fast digestive track over there on Zack Climate, making a run. Get that down, huh? Not even the first round of the playoffs that you were eliminated from wasn’t even over yet. And you had to make a run to the proverbial postseason toilet, I guess, and get that coaching hire out on a Friday. I think that the the biggest thing for me, and I said this on X, I am fine with the East Low hire. you will not hear me be mad about it because I think you’ve made the point and our good friend, mutual friend Parker Fleming says the same thing. Hard to judge him based off of the landing of a fl a flaming plane, right? Like the the plane was about to crash. He had to land it. And that’s essentially what Iselo did. I think it’s also okay to say that you aren’t super excited about it, if that makes sense. It’s kind of Oh, it’s very middle higher, right? Like it’s hard to judge him really for what he had to do to get the season concluded. But at the same time, aside from getting more out of Zack Edy, which 100% happened, and aside from John Morant looking a little bit more like the jaw of old, a a lot more. Yeah. I think that, you know, the the regression of Jiren Jackson Jr. is concerning, right? I think that Desmond Bane, not necessarily regressing, but maybe amplifying his flaws is concerning. you saw. Maybe we can chalk that up to the the change and the punt of the season and going back in hindsight, you know, and credit some folks said it at the time, you know, the decision to get off of the Marcus Smart contract and basically money dump it. That should have been our first sign that this season was being punted. And again, for some people it was. Uh I I think that the biggest piece of this for me is the follow through. Who does he bring on on his staff? How many people last year’s staff stick around? Do they bring in people with more NBA background? Do they allow Iselo to build it from the ground up his way? Uh I I’m curious to the follow through to Michael because obviously the the guy that’s the public face of the organization, the one that you talk to more than anybody. You don’t talk to Zack Kimman that much, at least not officially. You don’t talk to Robert Pere at all, right? like this is the guy that you’re going to be around almost every day when the season gets back up in, you know, late September, early October. How he builds this thing and his image, that is something to keep an eye on over the next few months to be sure. Yeah. And we’ll talk, you know, kind of a lot about that and in the strategy as we get to the the next segment, just what the plan will look like uh somewhat with with Tomaselo. But uh yeah, you you brought up an interesting point earlier in what you just said, talked about, you know, the situation that he was brought into, right? And one thing that he said, we we didn’t get to talk to him long at interviews because he had to go meet uh with the players and whatnot. So we talked to him for probably about seven, eight minutes, so it was real short. Uh but he said it like two or three times, whether it was after the game four loss to OKC or whether it was at exit interviews. 15 games, two practices. It’s almost like he wanted to continue to let us know like without actually just straight up saying it like, "What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do?" I had two practices. Now, of course, like I said, they had film studies, right? Uh they had, you know, some shootarounds mixed in there and whatnot. Uh but practices are different uh than than those two things. So, look, it was tough situation and I’ve said it, you know, a couple times now. like you could have put Phil Jackson, Greg Papovic, Red Hourback, um whoever you could possibly think of as some of the greatest coaches in in league history in that seat and and I’d say I don’t see anyone getting that team to the second round uh in that situation. Uh so, you know, with all that uh being taken into context, uh I think there is a part where look, you can be critical of the hire, right? I’m not critical of the hire. I’m more critical of the process. I’m critical of the fact that uh we didn’t see you know uh other I mean this off seasonason especially what you just pointed out how some of the the uh top coaching spots we’re just seeing promotions you know Greg Papovic Mitch Johnson that Spurs job was set to be I mean they could have gotten a current head coach they could have picked from another team and someone would have taken a bite uh getting that job that’s how attractive that Spurs job was seen as around the league but they promoted you know internally you mentioned earlier with Doug Christie and the Sacramento Kings, now the Grizzlies. Uh, but before the Grizzlies made their move, I mean, if we would have if they would have waited a little bit longer and we saw the the Mitch Johnson, you know, promotion and we’ll see what happens with the the Nuggets, but you could have make an argument that the Grizzlies have one of the more attractive jobs out there, uh, considering where they are from a financial standpoint and, you know, the the young assets that they have in the in the future assets that they have with players like John Morant, Desan, Jiren, Jackson Jr., etc. So, um, you at least wanted to see like the process play out a little bit longer, but again, a lot of the signs that we’ve seen over the course of the year kind of pointed in the direction that this was probably going to be the guy no matter what. And look, if they said, "Hey, we’re probably going to choose this guy no matter what. There’s no point in wasting time." And uh, you know, let’s just get to it. Let’s get to planning as we get ready for free agency and all those things. It makes sense. But I am of the opinion that a search, a more thorough search, I’ll say, uh, should have been done before officially giving them the job. I like the idea of extensive coaching searches, if for no other reason, that you get to get other people’s opinions of where you’re at. You know what I’m saying? Like sitting down with a Mike Malone, sitting down with a Jeff Van Gundy and talking what what do you think we need? You know what I mean? Just something that’s a little bit more uh explor explor explorative. Yeah, that’s the word on the way. explorative to try to get other perspectives and what other people would do and you can apply that even if your guy the dog and pony show would have been cool with me. Uh but I yeah I think I’m with you that the search leaves a little bit to be desired. I wanted Sam Cassell. I talked about Terry Sts. You know there’s lots of names that could have been possibilities but I do think and obviously you grew up in Memphis to Michael. You are in the media there. I lived there for a few years been connected to there since 2011. I am guilty of falling into the same trap every time, right? Like, oh, well, maybe they can bring in this bigname coach. It’s Memphis, right? It’s the 51st largest media market in in the country. You know, there’s things that Memphis will not have access to if they’re competing with other coaching jobs in other markets. There’s just the reality of that. And I think that to the credit of Zack Kleimman did his research. We’ll talk a little bit more about Iselo here in a moment. His background, he thinks this is the guy. And you know, again, I wish there was a search, but I can’t say exclusively this was a mistake. We have to actually see what an ESL team looks like. And we’ll get a better idea of that in the months to come. But when we come back here on Lockdown Grizzlies, we will discuss what we think will change, what exactly that difference will be when Jamaso becomes the full head Memphis Grizzlies coach. Stick around for that. Today’s episode of Lockdown Grizzlies is brought to you by Better Help. It is sponsored by BetterHelp. The world has made a lot of progress when it comes to mental health, but there’s still a long way to go. Too many people still avoid therapy because they’re afraid of being judged. But the truth is this. Taking care of your mental health should be just as normal as going to the gym or trying to eat healthier. This mental health awareness month, let’s normalize getting help and encourage everyone to prioritize their well-being. Because when people feel supported, families, workplaces, and entire communities are better for it. It’s not just about dealing with big problems. It’s about maintaining mental wellness. just like you would do with your physical health. And BetterHelp helps you with that. Getting started is easier than ever, fully online, has a network of over 30,000 licensed therapists, and you can switch therapists anytime at no extra cost. We’re all better with help. Visit betterhelp.com/lockedonba to get 10% off your first month. That’s betterhelp.com/lockedonba. All right, Demich, I want to shout out our YouTube comments for this next segment here. Um, and forgive me for not having the exact name in front of me. You can shout us out in the comments today and let us know it was you. There was somebody who last week, I believe it was, when we talked about questions about the Eselo hire, wanting to expand the search. They said that we never talk about Iselo’s background, how Elo was a very successful coach in Europe, the way that he ran those programs, that sort of thing. And I I think that’s kind of fair. So, let’s take the next few minutes here to Michael and kind of run down how he ran the ship over in Europe. His basketball experience. He played over a decade in European basketball. It’s not like he doesn’t have levels to this in terms of understanding the game at an elite place, but it’s just different than the NBA. It just is. That doesn’t mean he’s not a basketball genius. Uh he could be, but we just need to see it at the NBA level. But just, you know, you’re a little bit of a history lesson. What does Eelo bring with him from his experience over in Europe? How do you think the Grizzlies either practice-wise, schematically? What are some things that are going to be different if we’re going to give him that benefit of the doubt that he was landing Taylor Jenkins’s plane? Well, as the Eelo jet takes off, what are going to be some uh new bells and whistles that we’re going to notice? A lot. Um there’s a lot to take away um here and and I think a good starting point would be uh something that happened recently uh as he got in the playoffs. I think we were in Oklahoma uh when it happened, but a reporter, I don’t remember exactly who the reporter was, but a reporter had basically, you know, asked Iso a question about his playoff in experience. And I don’t remember the exact question, but the question was somewhere to sort of, you know, this is your first big playoff series. and Iso cuts him off mid question, which fans will notice about Eslo like uh he does it in a in a kind way sometimes, but you know, reporters got to have their facts straight uh their facts straight when they’re talking to him because he will he will point out if you say, "Hey, this team is top 10 in that ratings, but say actually they’re 13th." And then he’ll go on to answer the rest of the question and things like that. But in this case, this guy says, "Oh, you know, without with your lack of experience in NBA playoffs, I mean in the playoffs, excuse me, or something like that." And then Eslo cuts him off and he says in the NBA basically say that I got plenty playoff experience. You’re just speaking specifically to the NBA. But uh getting back to the original question, here’s the thing uh with the oneo here. Um he is a confident guy as as a parent by the fact that look I I have a plenty of coaching experience in series. Uh we talk about the Euro League as being the second best league in the world easily without a doubt. A lot of big-time players who’ve made big-time shots in the NBA end up in the Euro League. Uh just in recent years, I mean, you got guys like Sergea over there. You got guys, you know, like Kendrick Nun, who had a nice run with the Miami Heat. I believe he was the MVP over in the Euro League uh this year. And there’s pretty more from where they came from. And even some guys who don’t make the NBA were very top level college basketball players. I mean, you think about that Oregon team that had Dylan Brooks, Pton Pritchard on it, um, that went to the Final Four, went to the national championship game. The best player on that team was Tyler Dorsy and now he, you know, is kind of a star over there in the Euro League as well. So, kind of pointing out that there is a lot of talent over there and with Paris, uh, Iselo had a lot of success. What we have talked about recently, and I just think this is so important into knowing what he brings to the table, is this guy was coveted. It’s no doubt in my mind uh that that Tuance Esello would have been an NBA head coach for someone very soon. I talked about it on here. The fact that there were other NBA teams uh that were interested in him at the time when the Grizzlies plucked him from Paris basketball. Uh it wasn’t just the Grizzlies going out there and getting some random guy who’s had a lot of success in the Euro League. No, this was a guy who the Grizzlies had to compete to get for they they had to compete to get this guy. there were other NBA teams knocking on his door and if Memphis doesn’t come knocking on his door, he’s going to end up he was he would have ended up somewhere else in the NBA. So, you factor in all of that. Um he’s a coveted guy and and that goes to one how he’s respected and that’s two how highly he’s thought of uh from people around the league. Now getting into more the intricacies of the situation and what you know people want to know about what he brings to the table. He as we we’ve also said this before, he’s very big on net rating. his offensive net ratings were through the roof uh with with Paris. That was kind of, you know, his calling card. He put together uh some terrific offenses in the in the couple years that he spent with Paris basketball. Those offenses were centered around two things exclusive. A lot of uh pick and roll, the volume pick and rolls, but it was different types of pick and roll, off ball, on the ball, all these type of things. And then those offenses seem to kind of thrive around these fast, quick twitch, speedy point guards. Sound Sound a little familiar, Joe? Yeah, that sounds exactly like the star point guard of the Memphis Grizzlies, John Mor. Yeah, they Memphis might have something similar uh in in a guy that wears number 12. Uh so, yo yo, you like you just said with John Morant, uh I mean going to get that was one of the uh most seamless parts about the transition into his coaching tenure, how he can unlock and potentially even, you know, uh put John’s game, you know, at a whole another level. So, uh, he had a point guard, uh, in the Euro League by the name of TJ Schwarz who came from smaller school, smaller background, and they had a bunch of success together. And, uh, shout out to my colleague, uh, Jonah Dylan. He wrote this story, big story about Tomasil Iselo. And I’ll end it here. Uh, he has this drill and I I asked him about it. Uh, we were just just chatting one time and and he laughed about it and said he hadn’t done it with the Grizzlies yet, but as we just talked about, it’s only been two practices. Joe, check this out. He has a drill. It’s called Murderball. I love it. Murder ball is the name of the drill. Uh if you’re you’re a subscriber over at the Commercial Appeal, you can go check out this story. But um the Murder Ball drill basically me just summing it up real quick here. It’s just relentless. It’s intense. It’s basically you’re moving at warp speed and you’re getting the ball out of the net. Uh if the ball goes out of bound, the coaches from, you know, out of bounds, they’re going to throw the ball back in. there’s no stoppages and you’re just constantly playing and you’re constantly playing. So, what you’re going to see from a similarity standpoint is the emphasis on speed, the emphasis on tempo that Taylor Jenkins had. That’s good. I think that’s a great thing. You don’t want the Grizzlies to lose that because quite frankly, they’ve been great at it the entire time under Taylor Jenkins. That’s one of the things that they’ve really been great at. So, I think Iso will keep some of those same principles. But he at first glance if you listen to him in the interviews, if you just watch him on the sideline, he doesn’t really look like the most intense guy. That’s why I brought up Murder Ball because that uh when you hear about the drill and like I said, there’s there’s more very in-depth details from Jonah Dylan’s story of the commercially appeal about Murder Ball. Uh it’s one of the most intense drills I’ve heard about. Yeah, it kind of sounds like Kelvin Samson and the Houston Cougars, right? The the ball being thrown out and everybody diving at it. I like the intensity. If we’re looking for a little more toughness, maybe Elso can bring that to the table. I I am a little bit nervous about what that means for guys like Jiren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane. Uh neither of which are those quick twitch, you know, types of athletic guards. And you know, I I think we need to see a larger sample of what it’s going to be for those guys because especially Jiren. There’s no denying Jiren struggled uh during the switch and he was struggling a little bit before the switch to Elo in fairness. again, we need to see it with the full vision, with a full training camp, actual practices. Uh, but you know, wonderful information there. Go check out Jonah Dylan’s piece over the commercial appeal. And shout out to my partner for the feedback there and the a little bit of a fillin of the history of Tuaso and what he’s going to bring that’s going to change things up for the Memphis Grizzlies. When we come back here on the podcast, we’re going to close out this episode tipping our cap to a coaching legend. Stick around. Today’s episode of Lockdown Grizzlies is brought to you by Monarch Money. Have you ever checked your bank account and wondered where did all my money go between dining out, online shopping, and entertainment? It’s easy to lose track. I was telling to Michael before the show, it was dance recital weekend in the Moex household. So, guess what? That means we’re eating out a lot. Maybe not so much the smoked chicken wings like I like, but we’re, you know, we’re on the move. We’re getting dinner. That’s where Monarch Money comes in. It lets me know. It’s my personal CFO giving me full visibility and control over finances. It’s not just a budgeting app, though. It’s completely up to you to financially con uh control and command your financial future. You track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. You can stop managing money and start building wealth. Plus, it allows for you to easily collaborate with your partner. In my case, my wife. It’s smoother than ever tracking shared and personal accounts, setting goals, maybe not eating out as much this week, staying on the same page. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com code lockdown NBA for half off your first year. To Michael you mentioned earlier in the show, uh Greg Papovich officially stepping aside as the head basketball coach for the San Antonio Spurs. I think I saw 29 seasons, 29 years as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. He’s still going to be the president. Yeah, he’ll be around. Yeah, he’s still in the organization. It’s kind of like a Brad Stevens thing almost, right? Brad Stevens moved up uh in the pecking order there in Boston. It worked well worked out for the Celtics and and it’s hopefully for the Spurs, right? They’re in our division here with the Grizzlies, but uh hopefully it works out for San Antonio as well. Uh Pop, of course, has had health issues. It’s good that he’s healthy enough that he can continue in this role. And of course, I don’t want to speak for Michael, but I’m pretty sure we’re on the same page here. We wish Pop the very best uh as he continues his recovery and adjusts to this new role. This segment is kind of just an opportunity to Michael for you. Any memories you have covering because obviously you focused on the aspects of you know Philadelphia. You did some work over there. Obviously you’ve been with the Grizzlies on the beat uh covering the Grizzlies for the commercial appeal I should say for a few years. I’ve been following the team since 2011 and I will I will never forget that 18 upset where we thought the Spurs were cooked, right? And Antonio McDice, who was probably cooked, uh, got obliterated by Super Zebo in that series. And the Spurs were the victims of that massive upset 18. And every time the Spurs played the Grizzlies after that, it seemed like Greg Papovic did not forget, whether it was the Western Conference Finals a couple years later or just any random matchup as long as you know Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Genobi, you know, obviously Kawhi Leonard after that and part of that any matchup where the Grizzlies saw the Spurs, it felt like there was a little bit more oomph to it. But Papovic will be remembered for his very honest media, very brief media things. uh you know he he was a phenomenal uh ambassador to the game is a phenomenal ambassador to the game know he hasn’t passed away we’re not going to eulogize him here but just a quick shout out to the phenomenal coaching career in particular of Greg Papovich and how he got the most even he did have some Hall of Fame talent but you don’t tank one year his first year as head coach and then win something like 50 games uh almost every year after that. A remarkable run. Yeah, remarkable run indeed. And um you know a big thing for me when you talk about legacy is uh leaving the game or the place uh in a better place than when you found it. And um that is 100% the case uh when you talk about what Greg Papovic has done. The number one thing that stands out to me is the extensive coaching tree that he has created. I mean it’s hard to look around the NBA now and not see Greg Papovic in Prince. Um it’s it’s everywhere. Taylor Jenkins for for a little while here in Memphis obviously. Yeah. Yeah. And and his his tree has created other trees, you know, like Mike Mike Benhoer now has kind of this coaching tree. Guys like Kenny Atinson who we’re seeing, you know, uh do his thing with the Cleveland Cavaliers now. Uh and then there’s the front office types as well. You know, guys like Sam Prey, who’s probably, you know, recognized as the best, you know, in the business right now. guess where he was, you know, once upon a time, right? Uh and you mentioned it with with Taylor Jenkins, and that was the most notable example uh to me how Taylor Jenkins started off as an intern, you know, there and Greg Papovic and, you know, the Spurs organization eventually, you know, gave him opportunity to coach, you know, down there in Austin, coaching the D-League and, uh, you know, he eventually turned that into an opportunity. He goes goes on, you know, after leaving uh San Antonio and Austin, goes on to, you know, Atlanta and he’s with, you know, a terrific group of coaches there and coaches that include Mike Benhoer, you know, Kenny Atinson, Quinn Snyder, um Darvin Ham, like it’s just remarkable to me to see how uh Greg Papovich, I mean, even to the playoffs right now, like we just talked about Kenny Ason a little bit. How about uh Eime Udoka, you know, as well as a guy who’s kind of turned around that Houston Rockets, you know, uh franchise uh in a way since taking over and kind of instilled this toughness. Uh him being a former player as well and someone, you know, who worked closely uh with Greg Papovich. So that that that really stands out to me more than anything else. It’s really impressive, right? that there there’s like a picture that circulated online maybe from an article that you know was like the the bloodline like Roman Reigns the Rock kind of stuff to bring back to my pro wrestling love you know just just remarkable the tree right and how it branched out and went from one branch to another and got bigger in other spots and you know that is a testament to the kind of coach you are in my opinion how many people are better for having worked with you how many people get opportunity because of your success and build upon that success in their own unique environments, right? Because I don’t want to say anybody. You can win in one spot. You can win in one place and it be because of you and what the system you build, but if you can’t teach it to others, if you can’t establish a culture and and a mindset and a way of applying what you know and you can’t have it spread, to me, that is what takes a good coach to elite. And you know, we’re not gonna, you know, Red Hourback and Phil Jackson, you know, there’s all sorts of guys that we could talk about that might be the greatest coaches of all time. I’m not sure that Papovic is the greatest coach of all time, but I can tell you this, in the modern era, he is the most impactful NBA coach of all time, and I don’t know that you can really argue against that. Uh, so kudos to Greg Papovic on behalf of Locked on Grizzlies. I’m I’m not going to be sad that you’re not trying to beat up on the Grizzlies anymore. I’m not going to lie. Maybe Mitch Johnson will continue that for you. But you’re exactly right. That Spurs job is really attractive. Obviously, Victor Winyama being there, Stefan Castle, they have the last two rookies of the year if I’m not mistaken. Was attractive. Yeah, still is attractive. And that’s, you know, a spot if things fall apart with Giannis in Milwaukee. Obviously, the Thunder have the assets. The Spurs might make more sense than the Thunder. I don’t know that I would tinker too much with what Oklahoma City has going on. And can you imagine a Castle Webama Giannis tan trio there in San Antonio? That would be very difficult to score in and around the paint if that was the case. So kudos to Coach Pop on a wonderful career. Uh next time we’re together here on Lockdown Grizzlies, we’ll bring it back to Memphis, of course. Maybe start doing some player reviews to Michael. Start digging into some numbers, things that went well, things that didn’t go well. Uh John Morant, Jiren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane. You know, we won’t go all the way down the list. We won’t make this too tedious of a process, but maybe we focus on the Stars tomorrow and how 2024 2025 went for them and maybe even check in on the playoffs and see how things are going as the second round gets underway. Yeah. Yeah. We’ve actually been caught up in the news and and whatnot since uh the season end, so we haven’t had a chance to kind of review some of the players. So, yeah. Right. Uh definitely going to be a good time to get into some of that. And then u I expect sometime this week we’ll probably see you know east something with Iselo um kind of coming with the media as well. So um looking forward to kind of u breaking that down as well when that time comes. I think there are a bunch of relevant questions that you know weren’t asked at exit interviews that are now more relevant for clim now that he’s u you know the new head guy permanently. Maybe that was one of the reasons he wasn’t as available. Maybe they knew this was probably going to be the way it went down the entire time and Maybe he’ll be much more available in a presser this week. We’ll have all of that here for you on Lockdown Grizzlies. As always, make sure you’re liking, commenting, rating, reviewing, subscribing wherever you get your podcast. Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, Google. Thanks for making us a part of your everyday Memphis Grizzlies content consumption. And now that you’ve checked out Lockdown Grizzlies, for your second listen, go check out Locked On NBA Game Night every game, every night until an NBA champion is crowned. Get local analysis on a national scale. Find NBA game night on lockdown NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts for Michael Cole. I am Joe Mullenax. We’ll catch you back here tomorrow. Stay locked in again. YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Google, anywhere you get podcasts. We’ll catch you tomorrow. See you then.

After not much of a coaching search, the Memphis Grizzlies have their next head coach. Now that the “interim” tag is off of Tuomas Iisalo, how will he help revive the title hopes of Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies? Hosts Damichael Cole and Joe Mullinax break that down and more on this episode of Locked on Grizzlies!

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