Marc Gasol might be relieved that the Memphis Grizzlies fired head coach David Fizdale on Monday.
But some members of the Cleveland Cavaliers sure as hell aren’t.
Dwyane Wade, who played under Fizdale during his time as an assistant with the Miami Heat, was the first to respond:
I need answers!!! WTF https://t.co/z39oNRQok0
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) November 27, 2017
LeBron James, who also played under Fizdale in Miami, followed suit:
I need some answers. Feels like my man was a fall guy
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 27, 2017
Isaiah Thomas was not far behind:
https://twitter.com/isaiahthomas/status/935280302573916160
And finally, there was Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue, who played under Fizdale when both were with the Atlanta Hawks. He voiced his support for his former assistant coach prior to Cleveland’s Monday night victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, per Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon:
“It’s not right,” Lue said. “He’s done a great job, take that team to the playoffs last year and was in a dog fight with San Antonio. Did an unbelievable job, especially when no one expected them to even make the playoffs. To do what he did was unbelievable.
“I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be great because he’s a great coach. If he needs anything from me, he knows he can get it.”
No one around the league has any doubt that Fizdale will land on his feet. He was among the most highly sought head coaching candidates when he took the reins in Memphis. That isn’t about to change after what he accomplished last season, when he guided a less-than-stellar roster to the playoffs and unlocked career-best versions of Gasol and Mike Conley. The Grizzlies’ 7-12 start to this year is hardly ideal, but they’ve been laboring through a bunch of injuries and unable to play at full strength since the schedule tipped off.
Calling Fizdale a fall guy, however, feels a tad strong. This feels more like potentially avoidable collateral damage.
The Grizzlies won’t be flush with cap space until 2019 at the earliest, but they most likely won’t enjoy serious breathing room until 2020. Thin on dispensable trade assets, shaking up the head coaching slot is the closest they can come to instilling meaningful change. That doesn’t guarantee this will be a productive pivot, but this was one of the few moves they had in their chamber, so they pulled the trigger amid a deflating 2-11 stretch.
Make of that what you will.
