of the 2018–19 season, controlling owner Robert Pera announced a restructuring of the Grizzlies' basketball operations department: "In order to put our team on the path to sustainable success, it was necessary to change our approach to basketball operations". J. B. Bickerstaff was relieved from his duties as head coach and general manager Chris Wallace was reallocated to a role exclusively in player scouting. Jason Wexler was announced as Team President and Zachary Kleiman was promoted to general manager/EVP of Basketball Operations. On June 12, 2019, the Grizzlies announced Taylor Jenkins as the team's new head coach. With the second pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the Grizzlies selected Ja Morant. Additionally, they received Brandon Clarke after he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 21st pick, and then immediately traded to the Grizzlies for the 23rd pick (via the Utah Jazz) and the Grizzlies' 2024 second-round pick. The Grizzlies rebuilt their roster with a young core consisting of Morant, Clarke, Allen, Dillon Brooks, and Jaren Jackson Jr. Following the suspension of the 2019–20 NBA season, the Grizzlies were one of the 22 teams invited to the NBA Bubble to participate in the final eight games of the regular season. They finished in ninth place in the Western Conference and had a chance to make it to the 2020 NBA playoffs, needing to win two games against the Portland Trail Blazers to advance. In the first and only play-in game, the Trail Blazers defeated the Grizzlies 126–122. At the conclusion of the season, Morant, who averaged 17.8 points and 7.3 assists per game, was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, earning 99 out of 100 first place votes on the ballot. Morant and teammate Brandon Clarke were also named to the 2019–20 NBA All-Rookie First Team. The Grizzlies finished the COVID-shortened 2020–21 NBA season with a 38–34 record, earning them the ninth best record in the Western Conference and a chance to make the NBA playoffs through the play-in tournament by winning two games in a row. The Grizzlies did so with a 100–96 victory over the 10th-place San Antonio Spurs, at home on May 19, 2021 followed by a 117–112 victory over the 8th-place Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on May 21, 2021, to claim the Western Conference's 8th seed behind 35 points from Morant. The Grizzlies' first-round match-up pitted them against the Utah Jazz,