Yesterday [Thursday, May 26] the Grizzlies finalized a deal that will make current Miami Heat Assistant Coach David Fizdale their new head coach. The deal is for three years, with the team holding an option for a fourth year.
Fizdale was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks before joining the Heat’s staff with Erik Spoelstra. The Grizzlies parted ways with Dave Joerger at the end of the season, who had coached the team for three seasons. Joerger was hired by the Sacramento Kings only two days after being fired from the Grizzlies.
Memphis was one of the two remaining teams in the NBA that had yet to fill their coaching vacancy, and it would seem that the other remaining team, the Houston Rockets, is on the verge of filling their head coaching position as well.
ESPN.com is citing multiple sources that say the Rockets are on going to name Mike D’Antoni as their next head coach. He’s currently an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. With D’Antoni’s coaching strengths on the offensive end, it seems to make sense that he will pair up with one of the league’s most potent scorers in James Harden. However, that does not bode well for Houston’s defense, which has never been a focus of D’Antoni’s or Harden’s, which was an area that the Rockets needed to improve on this off-season.
