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Memphis Grizzlies Add a Third Candidate to the Quest for a New Head Coach

By Christian Dudley

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 18: Golden State Warriors assistant coach Jarron Collins works out before game three of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers on April 18, 2019 at Staples Center in Las Angeles, CA.(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 18: Golden State Warriors assistant coach Jarron Collins works out before game three of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers on April 18, 2019 at Staples Center in Las Angeles, CA.(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Memphis Grizzlies are slowly conducting their head coaching search just as they should. A third candidate is now in the mix.

It has been nearly one month since the Memphis Grizzlies‘ head coach position became up for grabs. In what should be surprising to the ones who follow the Grizzlies the most, the role is still not filled.

Memphis is accustomed to moving quickly in the pursuit of a new head coach. Even so, the Grizzlies do not give much time for their chosen candidate to produce results. After all, their next hire will be their fifth of this decade.

It is difficult to determine the type of head coach the Memphis Grizzlies are truly looking for. Young? Experienced? A proven player developer? A defensive mastermind? Honestly, the Grizzlies have had a culmination of all of these types of coaches this decade, but they have all gotten the boot, even after successful playoff-bound seasons.

It has taken awhile for the Grizzlies to conduct any interviews and it appears that they are truly demonstrating due diligience within a real coaching search, unlike this time last year. Over the past few weeks, the Memphis Grizzlies have shown interest in two candidates — Alex Jensen and Sarunas Jasikevicius.

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Jensen is the proven player developer type in being one of the main guys in charge of the growth of Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz. Could he do the same with another defensive-minded player in Jaren Jackson Jr.? Jasikevicius is a guy who has risen to quick success on the international circuit in the coaching role, but is it enough to translate to the NBA?

There are plenty of legitimate questions with both of these candidates. Yet, the waters continue to get murky as the Memphis Grizzlies now have a third candidate for their head coaching vacancy, according to ESPN‘s Ramona Shelburne.

With Jarron Collins, there are still plenty of questions running amuck. Collins is another guy who has never been a head coach, but has quickly pieced together an impressive résumé as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors during their stretch of title runs this decade.

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In being an NBA center for 10 seasons, he knows what it takes to battle in the paint versus the best frontcourt players the league has to offer. Aside from the championship experiences, this player-turned-coach would be able to connect with Jaren Jackson Jr. on a developmental level. Jarron coaching Jaren?! Still, there is not a lot of support for the idea of Jarron Collins being an above-average NBA coach. If anything, he is no different than J.B. Bickerstaff or David Fizdale until proven otherwise.

At this point, there is not a clear favorite for the job and the Memphis Grizzlies appear to be on track to interview additional candidates, as they should. Perhaps one of these candidates could be the diamond in the rough that Memphis has been dying to pluck, but their track record states otherwise.

In changing the thought process behind the Grizzlies’ search for a new head coach, maybe it is not Memphis’ sole intention to go after candidates with little — if any — head coaching experience. Considering their high turnover rate, this particular job may not be appealing to coaches on the open market who own long-time head coaching experience, such as Stan Van Gundy or Mark Jackson.

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This situation is one to certainly watch over the coming days and weeks leading toward the NBA Draft. Hopefully the Memphis Grizzlies have a head coach in place so that the Draft can be the full focus by the time late-June arrives. At this rate, their selection will probably be an unpredictable name, and that may or may not be a good thing.

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