The Memphis Grizzlies got off to quite the lethargic start this season as they were 3-6 and head coach Dave Joerger was reportedly in danger of losing his job. The Grizzlies now have won their last three games and are back to .500 at 6-6 and it doesn't seem like Joerger's job is in any danger anymore and it may not have ever been. It is being reported that Joerger was a big part of the Grizzlies getting Mario Chalmers and that was a sign that Joerger's job was never really in too much trouble, according to Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Tillery reports that Joerger "pushed hard" to trade for Chalmers and since the Grizzlies eventually got Chalmers owner Robert Pera was likely not losing his patience just yet. The reports previously had stated that Pera was not going to deal with the losing much longer and that he was not afraid to make a major change but that never came to fruition as they made a trade with the Miami Heat for Chalmers and have not lost since.
From the beginning the idea of firing Joerger didn't seem to make much sense as he is under contract through next season with a team option for 2017-18, plus he has been great for Memphis since taking over. Joerger has coached the Grizzlies for two plus seasons and has had 50 wins in both of his full seasons to this point which included two playoff appearances and losing in the Western Conference semifinals to the Golden State Warriors last year.
The Grizzlies definitely needed some sort of change but it didn't need to be at the head coaching spot and that has been shown by the spark Chalmers has given them in their first three games. Beno Udrih, one of the players Chalmers was traded for, is a decent backup point guard but he cannot do as many things or be as spectacular as Chalmers can so the trade for the Grizzlies made a ton of sense and so far so good.
Chalmers is averaging 18.7 points, which is tops on the team, in his first three contests with the Grizzlies while shooting 52 percent from the field and 58 percent from three. Chalmers' PER is 39.8 and while it is an extremely small sample size the change of scenery seems to have done him wonders as well. This all started with Joerger supposedly being on the hot seat but it ended with him reportedly getting a player he really wanted in a trade and providing a spark to the rest of his team while all but ensuring that he keeps his job.
