At the time of this writing, it appears Taylor Jenkins sits firmly atop the Milwaukee Bucks' coaching wish list. Jenkins makes plenty of sense for the Bucks, who desperately need to nail their next hire after the Doc Rivers disaster. However, if they go through with it and give Jenkins the keys to their franchise, they must be prepared to pull the plug on their Ja Morant interest.
Morant and Jenkins clashed in Memphis
While Jenkins saw a lot of success nurturing and ultimately helping blossom the young Grizzlies into a fearsome foe for several years, things turned sour near the end of his tenure. Players didn't like the schemes being put into place. Despite being in the playoff picture, the Grizzlies fired Jenkins with nine regular season games to go in 2025, ultimately siding with the players.
Morant, a two-time All-Star and the face of the franchise, was reportedly among those who lost their faith in Jenkins, as highlighted in a piece by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Tim MacMahon, and Michael C. Wright. With his role ever-changing and the guard's numbers not living up to the heights they had previously been at, Morant was seemingly ready for a change.
"The internal perception was that players, most importantly Morant, had tuned out Jenkins."
Despite their success, the relationship between Jenkins and Morant clearly deteriorated towards the end of their partnership.
There will not be a Jenkins-Morant reunion in Milwaukee
Milwaukee's interest in Morant was well-documented this past season. Looking to make a splash at the NBA Trade Deadline, the Bucks reportedly expressed a desire to bring the star guard in, but they couldn't get over the finish line. While some wondered if they could reignite that interest this summer, hiring Jenkins—if it does indeed happen—should ultimately put that question to bed.
The Milwaukee Bucks had plenty of locker-room disconnect this past season with Doc Rivers at the helm. While Giannis Antetokounmpo's uncertain future plagued this team, Rivers seemingly losing a good chunk of the group along the way also hurt this team mightily. They don't need another headache right off the bat by bringing together a player and a coach who don't see eye to eye.
For now, nothing is set in stone. The Milwaukee Bucks have not hired Jenkins. They have not traded for Morant. Everything is still up in the air. Yet, no matter how things play out, the odds of seeing them join forces once again, this time in Milwaukee, feel like the ultimate long shot.
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