Tuomas Iisalo's performance this season has been very interesting to evaluate. In just his first season, Iisalo is already unpopular in the Memphis fanbase, and there are valid concerns about his NBA fit. The Grizzlies are 20-33 for a plethora of reasons; however, the main culprits for this season specifically are injuries and coaching.
Going into the season, it was not unreasonable to have playoff expectations once the Grizzlies reached full strength. However, that did not end up happening, and the Grizzlies made the decision to trade Jaren Jackson Jr. since they were well below .500. Would the 2025/26 Grizzlies have made the playoffs at full strength? That is a question we will never get an answer to.
Iisalo will get chances to reverse his poor start in Memphis
Tuomas Iisalo has been dealt an unfair hand with how many injuries the Grizzlies have had. Given how heavily he loves to use pick-and-roll, his system has suffered from large chunks of missed games from players such as Zach Edey and Ja Morant. He has also had key injuries to players such as Ty Jerome and Brandon Clarke.
However, injuries do not fully absolve Iisalo from blame for the Grizzlies' current record. Right now, the Grizzlies currently lead the entire NBA with 17 blown double-digit leads. They have also blown 16 fourth-quarter leads, which is tied for the most in the league with the New Orleans Pelicans. Despite injuries, most of the blown leads this season fall on coaching.
Whether it is timeout management or substitution patterns disrupting momentum, Iisalo has had a strong influence on plenty of the Grizzlies' losses this season. Even before the Grizzlies traded Jaren Jackson Jr., the Grizzlies' best players were often playing fewer minutes than the best players of other teams. Lineups that had momentum were often pulled at inopportune times of games and allowed opposing teams to make runs.
Can player development bring Iisalo long-term stability?
Despite being made the full-time head coach after last season, Tuomas Iisalo ended up coaching the 2025 Summer League squad for the Grizzlies. Now, with the number of young players on the Grizzlies roster, he will have a prime opportunity to develop talent. Despite concerns with Iisalo's game management, he has no doubt been instrumental in the developments of GG Jackson II and Zach Edey.
Besides Jackson II and Edey, players such as Taylor Hendricks, Walter Clayton Jr., Jaylen Wells, and Cedric Coward will have additional opportunities to develop. While the Grizzlies have plenty of future assets, it will be essential for them to maximize their current talent if they want to win sooner. This stretch of games could be a defining factor of how long Iisalo will be in Memphis.
It will be important for the Grizzlies to boost the talent level on the roster and for them to stay healthy. However, one of the best measures of coaching includes how well they develop. For example, Mark Daigneault and Joe Mazzulla are championship-level coaches, but they have thrived with player development and have often found ways to outperform expectations even with injuries. Iisalo must prove he can win against quality competition even in suboptimal conditions.
At this point, given the injuries and significant roster turnover at the deadline, it is highly unlikely that the Grizzlies will fire Tuomas Iisalo after one season. While the early signs of his NBA coaching career have not been promising, developing this current group of young talent could bode well for his future in the league.