Tuomas Iisalo Would Like To Become Grizzlies’ Permanent Head Coach
Tuomas Iisalo expressed interest in remaining head coach of the Grizzlies, but he understands that it won’t be his decision to make, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (subscription required). Iisalo was asked about his future after Memphis’ season ended today with a first-round sweep by Oklahoma City.
“I don’t have any thoughts on that subject,” Iisalo responded. “. . . I tried to do my best in those (games). Those decisions are for somebody else in the future. Do I want to be permanent head coach? Yes, why not.”
Iisalo was selected to run the team on an interim basis following the surprise firing of Taylor Jenkins in late March with nine games left on the schedule. He guided the Grizzlies to a 4-5 record to close out the regular season, then lost to Golden State in the play-in tournament before beating Dallas to earn the No. 8 seed.
Iisalo, 42, coached for nearly a decade in Europe before Memphis hired him last summer to run the offense when the front office restructured Jenkins’ coaching staff by replacing five assistants. General manager Zach Kleiman didn’t indicate whether Iisalo would be a candidate for the job on a permanent basis when he spoke to reporters last month.
There’s more from Memphis:
- The Grizzlies still have confidence in Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant to be the foundation of the team, according to Cole, but their lack of postseason success is concerning. Cole points out that they’ve only won a single playoff series in their five years together, and they will continue to get more expensive when Jackson becomes eligible for a contract extension this summer.
- Rookie center Zach Edey and third-year point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. were pleasant surprises throughout the season and both had strong playoff performances, Cole adds. Edey emerged as the team’s best rebounder and screen setter, while Pippen scored 28 and 30 points in the final two games against OKC. “I’ve been very encouraged by Zach’s improvement, from the first game on,” Iisalo said. “He felt a little overwhelmed with the tempo and the physicality of the game, but then game-by-game he was improving and (made an) impact in improving on both ends. Scotty in (Game 3), especially (at the) beginning, was tremendous. He’s been doing those things for a while now, and (it’s) especially great to see the consistency.”
- Cole doesn’t expect unrestricted free agents Luke Kennard, Marvin Bagley and Lamar Stevens to return next season, but he believes restricted free agent Santi Aldama will be re-signed. Aldama, a 24-year-old power forward, is coming off his best NBA season, averaging 12.5 points and 6.4 rebounds in 65 games.
Ja Morant To Miss Game 4 Due To Hip Injury
April 26: Morant won’t play on Saturday, interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo confirmed to reporters, including Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Still, Iisalo indicated Morant’s diagnosis could’ve been much worse.
“Fortunately, he’s avoided a major injury, which is a big positive,” he said.
April 25: In addition to missing the second half of Game 3 due to the hip injury, Morant will also be sidelined for Game 4 on Saturday, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The Grizzlies haven’t officially ruled out Morant yet, but have listed him as doubtful for Saturday’s contest (Twitter link).
April 24: Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant exited the team’s Thursday Game 3 matchup with the Thunder due to a hip injury and was ruled out for the rest of the night, the team announced (via Twitter).
Morant took a hard fall toward the end of the second quarter after he was fouled by Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes. Dort wasn’t called for a flagrant foul on the play (Twitter video link).
The Grizzlies point guard left the game after scoring 15 points and five assists in 16 minutes to help his team take a big lead in Game 3. After being injured, Morant went to the free throw line and shot both attempts before heading back to the locker room. Memphis led by 27 points when he exited.
The Grizzlies were down 2-0 in the series after making the playoffs out of the play-in, and obviously missing Morant for any length of time would be a blow to their already slim hopes of upsetting the team with the best record in the NBA.
With Morant out for the game, Luke Kennard took on a larger role in Game 3, starting the second half in Morant’s place and logging 33 total minutes, his highest total since March 3.
It’s unclear whether or not Morant, who was already dealing with an ankle sprain coming into the playoffs, will be able to suit up for Game 4 of the series on Saturday.
Western Notes: Brooks, Thompson, Green, Kuminga, Pelicans, Grizzlies
Rockets forward Dillon Brooks took exception to the idea that teammate Amen Thompson could be viewed as a dirty player for the play that injured Warriors star Jimmy Butler in Game 2 of the Houston/Golden State series. Asked about the subject on Friday, Brooks suggested that Butler’s teammate Draymond Green was more to blame, as Kristie Rieken of The Associated Press relays.
“I think the dirty player is Draymond, giving him a little push as regular basketball players do,” Brooks said. “And Jimmy’s fighting in the air for a rebound and stuff happens. Amen’s not a dirty player. He has (nothing) to do with being a dirty player.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after Game 2 that he and the Warriors “didn’t think there was anything wrong with the play,” suggesting that it was unfortunate but unintentional. Kerr and his players didn’t think much of Brooks’ claim about Green, given the reputation that the Rockets forward has earned himself over the years.
“Dillon said that? Interesting,” Kerr replied when informed of Brooks’ remarks.
“It’s a little ironic, isn’t it?” Moses Moody said of Brooks’ comments, per ESPN.
We have more from around the Western Conference:
- If Butler is forced to miss Game 3 as a result of his pelvic injury, will the Warriors lean on Jonathan Kuminga as his primary replacement? Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle weighs that question, given that Kuminga had been out of the rotation for three games and made just 4-of-12 shots from the field in his return to action on Wednesday. Anthony Slater of The Athletic also touches on that topic in a story with Kelly Iko of The Athletic that explores the keys to the series going forward.
- In addition to the front office members reported earlier this week to be departing the Pelicans amid a basketball operations shake-up, veteran scout Chico Averbuck, who has been with the team since 2020, is leaving the organization, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Averbuck had strong ties to former head of basketball operations David Griffin, Scotto notes, having also worked with Griffin in Cleveland.
- The Grizzlies were left searching for answers after blowing a 29-point first half lead and losing Game 3 to Oklahoma City on Thursday. Scotty Pippen Jr. said the game – which also included a Ja Morant hip injury – was “definitely frustrating,” while Santi Aldama, asked if it was the worst loss he has ever experienced, replied, “It would be hard to find another one like this.” William Guillory of The Athletic has the full story, with more quotes.
Super-Max/Rose Rule Candidates To Watch After Mobley Cashed In
As we detailed on Thursday within our story about Evan Mobley earning Defensive Player of the Year honors, the award represented a major financial boon for the Cavaliers big man, who significantly increased the value of his contract extension by virtue of being named this season’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Mobley signed a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension last summer that included Rose Rule language. The Rose Rule allows a player and team to negotiate a maximum salary worth up to 30% of the cap (instead of the usual 25%) for a player with just four years of NBA experience if he makes an All-NBA team or wins the MVP or DPOY award.
Interestingly, Mobley’s rookie scale extension would’ve started at 27.5% of the cap in 2025/26 if he had made the All-NBA third team (instead of one of the first two teams) and hadn’t won Defensive Player of the Year.
Now that he has received DPOY recognition, it will instead start at 30%.
Here are the three scenarios that had been in play for Mobley, based on a projected 10% cap increase:
| Year | 25% of cap | 27.5% of cap | 30% of cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | $38,661,750 | $42,527,925 | $46,394,100 |
| 2026/27 | $41,754,690 | $45,930,159 | $50,105,628 |
| 2027/28 | $44,847,630 | $49,332,393 | $53,817,156 |
| 2028/29 | $47,940,570 | $52,734,627 | $57,528,684 |
| 2029/30 | $51,033,510 | $56,136,861 | $61,240,212 |
| Total | $224,238,150 | $246,661,965 | $269,085,780 |
Mobley cashed in with his DPOY win, locking in a contract that projects to be worth in excess of $269MM over the next five seasons. Are there any other players who could join him by earning All-NBA nods this spring?
There’s only really one other guy who entered award season in the same boat as Mobley, waiting to see if his rookie scale extension worth 25% of the cap will increase to 30% of the cap. That player is Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham looks like a pretty safe bet to be included on one of the All-NBA teams for 2024/25, and unlike Mobley, his contract doesn’t include any variable rates between 25% and 30% depending on which All-NBA team he makes. If Cunningham is a third-teamer, that would still be enough to bump his ’25/26 salary to 30% of the cap, matching Mobley’s deal.
Two other players signed Rose Rule extensions last offseason, but Magic forward Franz Wagner didn’t appear in enough games to qualify for All-NBA consideration and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes isn’t a serious candidate for the honor — their new contracts will start at 25% of next season’s cap.
There’s one other player to watch for potential super-max candidacy though — Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. would become eligible for a super-max (ie. “designated veteran“) contract extension worth up to 35% of the cap if he’s one of this season’s 15 All-NBA players. He looks like a solid bet to make the cut after serving as Memphis’ most reliable offensive weapon and earning DPOY votes.
If Jackson earns an All-NBA spot, the Grizzlies would have three options when they enter extension talks with him this offseason:
- They could offer him a raise of up to 40% off his current contract, but that likely wouldn’t be enough to get a deal done, since his salary in the final year of his current deal in 2025/26 is just $23.4MM, a relatively modest figure for an All-NBA caliber player.
- They could use cap room to renegotiate his ’25/26 salary in order to give him a raise and then extend him off of that figure. This is a legitimate option, given that the Grizzlies are in position to potentially carve out a little cap room.
- They could sign him to a super-max extension that starts anywhere between 30% and 35% of the cap. Although it’s typical for players who sign super-max deals to get the full 35%, a team doesn’t necessarily need to go that high — when Utah extended Rudy Gobert after he became super-max eligible with a Defensive Player of the Year win, for instance, his deal started at a little over 31% of the cap.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will also be eligible to sign a super-max contract extension this offseason — that would still be the case even if he doesn’t win this season’s MVP award or make an All-NBA team (he’ll almost certainly do both), since he achieved the performance criteria a year ago.
The Rose Rule and super-max performance criteria call for a player to earn All-NBA, MVP, or DPOY recognition in either the preceding season or in two of the three preceding seasons, so Gilgeous-Alexander got there by making All-NBA teams in 2023 and 2024, even though he wouldn’t have enough years of service to sign his new deal until 2025.
No other stars are in position to meet that two-in-three-years criteria early this spring, like Gilgeous-Alexander did last year.
A player like Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, for example, is on track to make his second straight All-NBA team, but won’t meet the years-of-service criteria for a super-max extension until 2027. That means that even if he earns an All-NBA spot this year, Edwards will have to do so again in either 2026 or 2027 to be eligible to sign that deal in ’27, since the 2024 nod won’t be counted within the preceding three seasons at that time.
We’re likely still a few weeks away from learning this year’s full All-NBA results. A year ago, the league announced those teams on May 22.
Injury Notes: Butler, Garland, Heat, Bucks
Warriors swingman Jimmy Butler has been listed as questionable to play on Saturday vs. Houston and was referred to by head coach Steve Kerr on Friday as “day-to-day,” according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Kerr isn’t ruling out the possibility of Butler suiting up for Game 3.
“I’m relatively optimistic,” Kerr said. “I mean, Jimmy is Jimmy. We know he’s willing to play through anything, so we’ll see. I mean, this is a day-to-day thing for sure, and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow, but I think there’s a chance he plays.”
Kerr noted Butler’s injury is “very similar” to the one Stephen Curry suffered in March, which cost the Warriors star two games.
“It’s a pain tolerance thing, that’s why he’s day-to-day,” Kerr added.
Butler isn’t the only Warrior whose status for Saturday’s contest is up in the air. Veteran guard Gary Payton II has been listed as questionable due to a right shoulder strain after averaging just under 14 minutes per night in the first two games of the series, Youngmisuk notes.
The good news for Golden State is that guard Brandin Podziemski isn’t listed on the injury report after being limited to 14 minutes in Game 2 due to an illness. Podziemski said he’s ready to go for Game 3.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland is listed as questionable to play in Game 3 vs. Miami on Saturday due to a big toe sprain on his left foot, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Garland has averaged 24.0 points and 7.0 assists per night in the first two games of the series, both Cleveland wins.
- Heat big man Kevin Love (personal reasons) and guard Terry Rozier (left ankle sprain) will remain out for Game 3 on Saturday, but the rest of the roster is available, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). Rozier was unable to practice on Friday due to his ankle injury, Winderman adds.
- While neither player would have been in the rotation, the Bucks have ruled out Tyler Smith (left ankle sprain) and Chris Livingston (personal reasons) for Friday’s Game 3 vs. Indiana, the team announced (Twitter links).
- In case you missed it, while Shams Charania reported that Grizzlies star Ja Morant would miss Game 4 on Saturday vs. Oklahoma City due to his hip injury, Memphis isn’t entirely closing the door on the possibility of Morant suiting up, having listed him as doubtful. His injury designation is a hip contusion.
Lawsuit Against Morant Has Been Dismissed
- A lawsuit against Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant has been dismissed, reports Adrian Sainz of The Associated Press. Joshua Holloway, who was 17 at the time and recently finished his sophomore season as a player at Samford University, sued Morant for assault for punching him in the face at a pickup game he was invited to at the home of Morant’s parents in July 2022. Morant countered by saying he was acting in self-defense after Holloway threw the ball at his face. Shelby County Circuit Judge Carol Chumney agreed that Morant acted in self-defense and was immune to civil liability in the case, in part due to the testimony of other witnesses present, as Sainz details.
Grizzlies Notes: Game 1 Loss, Morant, Bagley
After falling behind by as many as 56 points, the Grizzlies lost by 51 to the Thunder on Sunday in Game 1 of their first-round series. However, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN and Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal write, Memphis’ players didn’t seem demoralized by the loss in the locker room after the game.
Star point guard Ja Morant vowed, “We will never play that bad again,” while wing Desmond Bane spoke about the need to “turn the page fast” ahead of Tuesday’s Game 2.
“At the end of the day, it’s one game,” Bane said on Sunday. “If we lose by 50 or lose on a buzzer-beater, the series is still 1-0. Not the result we wanted for sure, but still got a good opportunity to get one on the road in two days.”
Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., the team’s most valuable player during the regular season, had his worst game of the season in Game 1, with four points, three rebounds, and three turnovers. He’s not expecting a repeat of that showing.
“In every area, I can get better,” Jackson said, according to William Guillory of The Athletic. “There’s so much room for improvement after a loss like that. It’s definitely just one game. That’s how a series works. We can’t really overthink things in any way. … I’m going to figure out a way to play better and get myself involved in the series. Then, we’ll be good.”
Here’s more on the Grizzlies:
- After the Grizzlies defeated Dallas in Friday’s play-in game, Morant referred to his right ankle sprain as a “difficult” injury and hinted that he wouldn’t have been on the court if it were a regular season contest. “Obviously, regular season games, it’s not win or go home,” Morant said (story via ESPN). “So this one was way more difficult — the whole process, like, learning what I would have to do to be able to get out there. I was kind of questioning it, but with our staff, the doctors, they gave me all the info I needed and [in the] simplest terms so I will understand.” Following Sunday’s Game 1 vs. Oklahoma City, Morant declined to say whether he was still receiving pain-killing injections for the ankle and dismissed the idea that the injury affected his performance. “It felt good,” he said, per MacMahon.
- A trade-deadline acquisition, big man Marvin Bagley III averaged just 8.3 minutes per game in 12 appearances for the Grizzlies in the regular season. On Sunday, the former No. 2 overall pick racked up 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting in 16 minutes across the first three quarters. Bagley’s strong play was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise forgettable game and could earn him a longer look going forward, per Michael Wallace of Grind City Media. “Marvin’s performance was extremely encouraging,” interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “In the absence of (injured forward) Brandon (Clarke), we have not been strong in those minutes. And it seems like we’ve found a solution with Marvin.”
- Even if the Grizzlies play better for the rest of the series than they did in Game 1, the same will likely be true of Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored a season-low 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting on Sunday, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic, noting that doesn’t bode well for Memphis.
2025 NBA Draft Tiebreaker Results
Tiebreakers among teams with identical regular-season records were broken on Monday through random drawings to determine the order for this year’s draft prior to the lottery.
The results are as follows, according to a press release from the league (Twitter link):
- Phoenix Suns (No. 9) over Portland Trail Blazers (No. 10)
- The Suns will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Trail Blazers.
- The Suns’ pick will be sent to the Rockets.
- Dallas Mavericks (No. 11) over Chicago Bulls (No. 12)
- The Mavericks will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Bulls.
- Sacramento Kings (No. 13) over Atlanta Hawks (No. 14)
- The Kings will get one more lottery ball combination (out of 1,000) than the Hawks.
- The Kings’ pick will be sent to the Hawks if it’s outside of the top 12.
- The Hawks’ pick will be sent to the Spurs.
- Memphis Grizzlies (No. 18) over Milwaukee Bucks (No. 19) over Golden State Warriors (No. 20)
- The Grizzlies’ pick will be sent to the Wizards.
- The Bucks’ pick will be sent to the Nets.
- The Warriors’ pick will be sent to the Heat.
- Los Angeles Lakers (No. 22) over Indiana Pacers (No. 23) over Los Angeles Clippers (No. 24) over Denver Nuggets (No. 25)
- The Lakers’ pick will be sent to the Hawks.
- The Clippers’ pick will be sent to the Thunder.
- The Nuggets’ pick will be sent to the Magic.
While the tiebreaker winner will pick ahead of the loser(s) in the first round, that order will be flipped in the second round.
For instance, the Warriors’ second-round pick (traded to the Grizzlies) will be at No. 48, followed by the Bucks’ pick (traded to Detroit) at No. 49, and the Grizzlies (traded to New York) at No. 50 — that’s the opposite of their order in the first round.
For lottery teams that finished with identical records, the second-round order is still to be determined depending on the lottery results.
For example, if Phoenix’s first-round pick (traded to Houston) stays at No. 9 and the Blazers’ first-rounder stays at No. 10, Portland’s second-round pick (traded to Toronto) would be at No. 39 and Phoenix’s (traded to Washington) would be No. 40. But if the Trail Blazers win the No. 1 overall pick on lottery night, moving ahead of Phoenix in the first round, then the Suns’ second-round pick would be No. 39, while Portland’s would be No. 40.
We’ll publish the full lottery odds and pre-lottery draft order for 2025 later tonight.
NBA Announces Finalists For 2024/25 Awards
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic are the three finalists for the league’s Most Valuable Player award this season, the league announced on Sunday (Twitter link).
While all three players put up monster numbers, Gilgeous-Alexander is generally considered the favorite to win the award due in large part to the Thunder’s team success this season. Oklahoma City won a league-high 68 regular season games, compared to 50 for Jokic’s Nuggets and 48 for Antetokounmpo’s Bucks.
The finalists for each award represent the top three vote-getters. The winners will be announced at a later date.
Here’s a rundown of the finalists for the major NBA awards voted on by media members:
Coach of the Year
- Kenny Atkinson (Cavaliers)
- J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons)
- Ime Udoka (Rockets)
Rookie of the Year
- Stephon Castle (Spurs)
- Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks)
- Jaylen Wells (Grizzlies)
Sixth Man of the Year
- Malik Beasley (Pistons)
- Ty Jerome (Cavaliers)
- Payton Pritchard (Celtics)
Defensive Player of the Year
- Dyson Daniels (Hawks)
- Draymond Green (Warriors)
- Evan Mobley (Cavaliers)
Most Improved Player
- Cade Cunningham (Pistons)
- Dyson Daniels (Hawks)
- Ivica Zubac (Clippers)
Clutch Player of the Year
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Grizzlies Claim West’s Final Playoff Spot
The Grizzlies locked up the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a convincing win over the Mavericks on Friday night in Memphis.
The Grizzlies scored the first seven points of the game and built a double-digit lead within the first five minutes. They never trailed en route to a 120-106 victory, locking up the No. 8 seed in the West and lining up a first-round series with the top-seeded Thunder.
Jaren Jackson Jr. (24 points, seven rebounds), Ja Morant (22 points, nine assists, seven rebounds), and Desmond Bane (22 points, nine assists) led the way for the Grizzlies, overcoming a 40-point performance by Dallas big man Anthony Davis.
While the Heat became the first No. 10 seed to win back-to-back play-in games earlier in the night, the No. 10 Mavericks couldn’t repeat that feat, bringing a tumultuous season in Dallas to a close. The Western play-in tournament played out largely as expected, with the No. 7 Warriors and No. 8 Grizzlies entering the playoffs with the same seeds they held at the end of the regular season.
Memphis’ win was crucial for the Wizards, who will now receive the Grizzlies’ first-round pick — it will be either No. 18, 19, or 20, depending on the results of a Monday tiebreaker. If the Grizzlies had lost on Friday, Washington would have instead received a pair of future second-round picks, since that first-rounder was top-14 protected.
The Mavericks will now be a lottery team and will end up either 11th or 12th in the pre-lottery draft order, depending on the results of a tiebreaker with Chicago.
While the Grizzlies will be significant underdogs against the 68-win Thunder in round one, it’s worth noting that Memphis was the second seed in the West for weeks at a time during the season, including as late as February 28. If the Grizzlies, who went 35-16 prior to the trade deadline, can recapture that form, they have a chance to make it a competitive series.