J.B. Bickerstaff milled around his backyard, cleaning up the toys and sticks his children had scattered around the lawn, when Ed Stefanski called. As Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace simultaneously relieved David Fizdale of his head coaching duties, Stefanski’s message to Bickerstaff felt far more like déjà vu than opportunity: Would you be interested in becoming the Grizzlies’ interim head coach?
The Rockets offered Bickerstaff the same temporary role when Houston fired Kevin McHale just 11 games into the 2015-16 season. Word came minutes before Houston’s morning shootaround, with a game looming just hours later that night.