The Memphis Grizzlies finally sound ready to rebuild with new coach Taylor Jenkins

The uncomfortable moment finally arrived about 25 minutes into the introductory press conference for new Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins Wednesday.

The moment when the Grizzlies’ 30-year-old executive vice president of basketball operations and their 34-year-old coach were presented with the gory statistics: Four different coaches in four years and five since owner Robert Pera took control of the franchise in 2012.

“From the front office perspective, from the organization perspective," said Zach Kleiman, the executive VP of basketball operations, “want to make very clear we’re taking the long view on this. We’re not going to get there overnight. It’s going to take a lot of obstacles and failure along the way.”

Hold on. Did he really say what I think he said?

Did he almost use the ‘R’ word nobody related to the Grizzlies dared utter the past couple years, even as it became painfully obvious to so many who follow and support this franchise?

Why yes he did.

Because the biggest takeaway from Wednesday’s event is that the Grizzlies finally sound ready to rebuild.

“To get there, to get there over time, establishing Taylor as our partner to work with us on this, the organization has made a significant commitment to Taylor, a long-term commitment,” Kleiman said. “We’re collectively vested in making sure we get to that sustainable special place that we’re building toward over time.”

Frankly, it’s about time.

When’s the last time we went through an entire Grizzlies press conference without hearing the phrase “Grit ‘N Grind?” Yet that’s what happened Wednesday, and that’s exactly what needed to happen.

Z-Bo and Tony left two seasons ago. Marc Gasol is gone, and Mike Conley is probably on his way out, too. Even if Kleiman declined to address the “rumors and speculation” that the Grizzlies will once again shop their star point guard like they did at the trade deadline.

The Jaren Jackson Jr. and (presumably) Ja Morant era will officially begin next Thursday, and it will likely involve more losses than wins the first couple years. Better to prepare the fan base than give them false hope, which is exactly how the last two seasons played out.

Here’s the catch, of course: Though this new front office and its new coach talked a lot about the vision they have moving forward, and repeated buzzwords like “competitive” and “collaborative” and “basketball acumen,” they were short on specifics.

About the only glimpse we got was when Jenkins said defense would be a priority and he favors the sort of pace-and-space offense that has taken over the NBA, “where the ball is poppin’ and hoppin.'”

But at least there seems to be a vision of some kind. At least Tayshaun Prince sat up there alongside Kleiman and Jenkins on stage, a not-so-subtle message that there are more than law degrees and analytics whiz kids running the organization these days. At least, they seem to be realistic about where this franchise sits in the NBA pecking order right now.

“We’re not going to make broad proclamations of winning ‘X’ amount of games,” Kleiman said.

Which, of course, is exactly what Pera did about a year ago, when he said there was no reason the Grizzlies couldn’t win 50 games last season.

As it turned out, there were lots of reasons.

As it turned out, Pera decided to completely re-organize his front office. Again.

As it turned out, he decided to fire another head coach.

Then he hired a new one with an Ivy League degree, a basketball career that ended after high school and an initial press conference that showed there’s more to him than his résumé suggests.  

Because the most striking image Wednesday happened almost immediately, as Jenkins thanked everyone who helped him get to this moment. He got choked up upon mentioning the assistants he worked with in Milwaukee and Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer.

“This will be the toughest part,” he said. “Basketball is an amazing sport. It creates relationships that last a lifetime.”

Here was the every-man who brought his wife, his four kids, his parents, his brother, his in-laws, two high school teammates and his high school coach to this coronation.

Here was the man hailed for his ability to connect with players and executives alike, who created a viral moment by restraining the Bucks bench from leaving the sideline when none of them was actually attempting to leave the bench during the NBA playoffs.

Here was the coach you could barely find on Google a couple days ago, who missed his connection from Milwaukee Tuesday because of maintenance issues and had to spend the night in Atlanta.

Next time maybe the Grizzlies will pony up to fly their head coach private.

But the good news is, if you trust what was said Wednesday, the next time might not be for awhile.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto