Joerger Declines Minnesota Job, Will Stay in Memphis

[jonathanlambert33]

UPDATE: POST #7

The Wolves' coaching search has a late entry, and probably a frontrunner at that:
The Wolves have been given permission to talk to Memphis coach Dave Joerger and will probably do so by the end of the week, according to a league source.

Joerger grew up in Staples, Minn., and goes way back with Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders.

Joerger as a young coach nearly 20 years ago often attended Flip's Wolves practices at Target Center and took notes.

Joerger's Grizzlies team won 50 games last season but he's currently in the middle of a mess in Memphis, where ownership suddenly fired much of its front office earlier this week.

Bottom line, according to the source: Joerger wants out and Grizzlies ownership wants him out, but Joerger doesn't want to leave the rest of his multi-year contract on the table and the team doesn't want to pay him off.
The Grizzlies on Monday fired CEO Jason Levien and assistant general manager Stu Lash, but kept general manager Chris Wallace, VP of basketball operations John Hollinger and, at least for the time being, Joerger.

Levien promoted Joerger -- who won titles everywhere he went in the sport's minor leagues before taking an assistant's job in Memphis in 2007 -- last summer after the team couldn't reach contract terms with head coach Lionel Hollins and the two sides parted ways.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/260114421.html

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Who's gonna wanna go to Memphis after the way they've treated their last two coaches?

 

[BwareDWare94]

Exactly. I mean, look what Joerger did this season. The dude actually maximized his roster. He wasn't scared to put Tony Allen on the bench in favor or a higher powered offense. About the only thing  I think he did wrong was not let Ed Davis get into a groove in the regular season. Davis was coming on in his last season in Toronto. It's kinda shameful that Memphis can't find a use for him.
 
Memphis NEEDS to target Trevor Ariza and add another shooter/defender to their roster. Tayshaun Prince shouldn't be starting in the NBA anymore.

 

[elcheato]

What happened in Memphis? Was it just the firing of the front office execs?
 
The Hollins firing was definitely justified, and I don't hold that against them. He bashed the front office on multiple occasions, and basically dismissed their approach to basketball.

 

[Pugz]

this team is going down down down

 

[BwareDWare94]

this team is going down down down

 
All of these owners, I wonder if that's actually worse for a team than a singular owner.

 

[Big Bid'Ness]

 
David Aldridge ‏@daldridgetnt 2m
Whoa: Dave Joerger, per source, has declined the Timberwolves' offer and will remain coach in Memphis.

 

[bosoxlover12]

That's not what happened
 
Minnesota doesn't want to pay for compensation. Joerger realized he isnt going to be a Wolves coach. 

 

[BwareDWare94]

This will end up being the best decision of his career. Coaching Minnesota is a job that should be avoided.
 
I bet Flip ends up coaching, but not because he wants to.

 

[Pugz]

flip should just hire a guy to a two year deal until he can build a good enough team.

 

[BwareDWare94]

It's getting to the point that I wouldn't mind seeing this team contracted.

I mean, they've got everything you possibly want but the product. Great facility, fantastic name, logo, unis, but nothing that actually matters. No coach. No real, actual two way superstar. About the only guy with that kind of potential on the current roster is Ricky, and he'd have to have an offensive epiphany in order for that to even be possible.