Hours after Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace told the media he expected J.B. Bickerstaff to return next season, the franchise fired its coach and demoted the GM.
The Grizzlies announced Thursday afternoon that Bickerstaff had been fired and Wallace's responsibilities had been "reallocated" to allow him to focus on player scouting.
The team promoted Zach Kleiman to executive vice president of basketball operations and gave him control of decision-making while installing Jaxon Wexler as team president.
“In order to put our team on the path to sustainable success, it was necessary to change our approach to basketball operations,” owner Robert Pera said in a release. “I look forward to a reenergized front office and fresh approach to Memphis Grizzlies basketball under new leadership, while retaining the identity and values that have distinguished our team.”
Earlier in the day, Wallace had met with reporters in Memphis and expressed optimism about the future of the franchise, including Bickerstaff.
"J.B. and his staff did a great job keeping everybody together and improving both individually and team-wise down the stretch," he said, according to the Commercial Appeal.
Wallace added that when it came to his own job, he was "not really worried about my situation at all."
Chris Wallace, about 5 hours ago, when asked about his status as Grizzlies GM and his relationship with Robert Pera:
— Mark Giannotto (@mgiannotto) April 11, 2019
"I’m very comfortable here and comfortable working with him and really not worried about my situation at all.”
Apparently he should have been.
Wallace, who spent 10 years as GM of the Celtics, joined the Grizzlies in 2007 and has had varying degrees of control over basketball operations since then.
Bickerstaff, 40, took over in Memphis after David Fizdale was fired in November 2017 and went 48-97 as Memphis' coach. The Grizzlies posted an 11-win improvement this season, to 33-49, but that obviously wasn't enough for Pera.
