Report: Grizzlies get permission to interview Heat assistant David Fizdale
As the Memphis Grizzlies search for their next head coach, they'll get a chance to talk to Miami Heat assistant David Fizdale.
By
Zach Harper
•
1 min read
After the pseudo-drama of the Dave Joerger coaching situation over the last three years, the Memphis Grizzlies are onto their next hire. They fired Joerger, who had been coach for three years and in the organization since 2007, this past week after more disagreements regarding the team's direction and management. Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace and owner Robert Pera are looking for the franchise's third coach in nine years.
One of the places they'll be looking is the Miami Heat's sidelines. Lead assistant David Fizdale is one of the targets of the Grizzlies' coaching search and Memphis has received permission to talk to Fizdale in the near future, according to Marc Spears of The Undefeated.
The Grizzlies have received permission to interview Heat assistant head coach David Fizdale in the near future, sources told @TheUndefeated.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) May 14, 2016
Fizdale is regarded as one of the top assistant coaches in the NBA and has been on several teams' radar since LeBron James joined the organization in 2010 and the team eventually became back-to-back NBA champs. He's been with the organization since 2008 and was an assistant for the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors prior to working his way up from the Heat's video room.
He was loosely linked to the open Cleveland Cavaliers' coaching job back in 2014 before they hired David Blatt. With the idea that LeBron could be heading back to Cleveland, he was a natural link considering their bond in Miami. However, he said at the time he wasn't interested in the coaching searches of other teams because he was too focused on the Heat in the playoffs. With the dynamic of the Heat lessened since LeBron's return to Ohio, maybe now is the time for him to finally take over the sidelines for his own team.
Fizdale is regarded as one of the favorites for any player that is on his team. He has always seen before games working players out and spending those free moments laughing and talking with anybody from the other team. He's well-liked around the NBA, and his knowledge of the game is highly respected. His style of being player friendly could bode well in Memphis if he decides to take on that job. But you have to wonder if the possibility of Mike Conley bolting in free agency could make that situation not as desirable.
