Report: Timberwolves given permission to interview Grizzlies' Dave Joerger

Dave Joerger led the Grizz to a 50-32 record in his first season. (Christian Petersen/NBAE/Getty Images) In the wake of the recent shakeup in the Grizzlies'

Dave Joerger led the Grizz to a 50-32 record in his first season. (Christian Petersen/NBAE/Getty Images)

In the wake of the recent shakeup in the Grizzlies' front office, there have been rumblings about the job security of head coach Dave Joerger, who was brought in by ousted CEO Jason Levien.

But those rumblings appear to be more than just rumors. According to a report, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been given permission by the Grizzlies to interview Joerger for their vacant head coaching position.

Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the scoop:

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.

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.

Joerger was quite successful in his first season as an NBA head coach, compiling 50 wins to go along with a solid playoff performance that included taking the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games in the first round. In addition, Joerger's record likely would have been even better if his best player, Marc Gasol, hadn't missed 23 games due to injury.

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As noted by Zgoda, Joerger has far-reaching ties to the Minnesota area, as well as a pre-existing relationship with Timberwolves head of basketball operations, Flip Saunders. That would make him an obvious candidate to the job, but prior to the well-chronicled issues in Memphis, Joerger would seemingly have been unavailable after a successful debut.

There is some debate about just how appealing the Minnesota head coaching position is, especially with the Kevin Love sweepstakes taking full effect, but if Joerger sees the writing on the wall in Memphis, this may be his best move.

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