Grizzlies fire David Fizdale day after Gasol benching

The Memphis Grizzlies appear to have made their choice.

The Grizzlies announced they fired head coach David Fizdale the day after he benched franchise center Marc Gasol in their eighth straight loss Sunday.

Associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will be promoted as the interim head coach. Bickerstaff coached the Houston Rockets on an interim basis to a 37-34 record in 2016, but he wasn't retained.

The relationship between Gasol and Fizdale was already strained coming into the season. The two reportedly got into confrontations in practice and a split was inevitable, according to Jonathon Givony of Draft Express.

Fizdale left Gasol on the bench for the entirety of the fourth quarter Sunday in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets, which led the typically stoic big man to make concerning comments to the press after Memphis dropped to 7-12.

"I do not know the why," Gasol said of the benching. "It's a first for me, trust me, and I don't like it one bit. I'm more (ticked) than I can show, and frustrated. ... If I'm not on the floor, then I'm not valued. I'm sure (the coaching staff) knew that would hurt me the most."

Fizdale was a well-respected longtime assistant coach with the Miami Heat before he joined Memphis in 2016. He guided the team to a 43-39 record, but they were bounced in the first round of the playoffs. That series produced one of many tremendous soundbites from Fizdale, as he blurted out "take that for data" in an all-time rant.