The Memphis Grizzlies sent shockwaves through NBA circles Monday when they fired coach David Fizdale just 19 games into their 2017-18 campaign.
The Grizzlies were 7-12, had lost eight straight, and Fizdale, who reached the playoffs in his first season at the helm in Memphis, had reportedly clashed with All-Star center Marc Gasol over his 1-plus seasons on the job. Fizdale benched Gasol in the fourth quarter of Memphis’ loss in Brooklyn on Sunday in what could have been the last straw for Grizzlies’ management.
Nuggets’ coach Michael Malone has sympathy for Fizdale. He was also fired near the quarter-pole in his second season with a franchise. In December 2014, Malone was relieved of his duties as the Sacramento Kings coach after amassing a 28-54 record in his first year and an 11-13 mark to start his sophomore season.
Malone actually had the Kings out to a 9-6 record before All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins came down with a case of viral meningitis. Without Cousins the Kings struggled, lost seven of their next nine and Malone was promptly relieved of his duties. In Memphis, All-Star point guard Mike Conley has been sidelined for the past two weeks with Achilles soreness.
“It really reminded me of my situation in Sacramento,” Malone said. “Mike Conley goes out. They go 0-7, 0-8. DeMarcus Cousins gets viral meningitis. We go two and whatever. And I get fired. He gets fired. David Fizdale is going to be back in the league as a head coach and he’ll be in a better situation just like I am.”
Fizdale’s firing, just like Malone’s did in 2014, caught many throughout the league off guard.
LeBron James tweeted that Fizdale, who was one of James’ assistant coaches in Miami, was “the fall guy” for Memphis. Dwyane Wade said he “needs answers.”
Ex-NBA player Stephen Jackson got into a public feud with Grizzlies’ forward Chandler Parsons over Fizdale’s dismissal and rapper Jermaine Dupri seconded James’ comments when TMZ cameras caught him outside a Los Angeles nightclub.
Malone believes Fizdale, who gained notoriety during the 2017 playoffs when he delivered one of the best walk-off one-liners ever from a head coach in a postgame press conference, will be back in the league soon.
Fizdale was also one of the coaches who spoke out against Donald Trump’s controversial statements about the white nationalist march in Charlottesville and petitioned for the removal of Confederate monuments in Memphis earlier this year.
“Every experience is a learning experience. We as head coaches know the rules going in, that if you’re looking for a secure job, this is not the job for you,” Malone said. “And it’s an unfortunate situation. But the good thing is Fiz has shown to everybody in this business that he’s more than capable of being a head coach and he’ll get that opportunity once again.”
