KNICKS GET FIZZY WITH IT
Team tabs Fizdale as next coach at Garden following lengthy search
The Fiz rose to the top. Following an extensive coaching search that spanned coasts and continents, the Knicks agreed to a deal with David Fizdale, the Daily News confirmed. ESPN reported the contract is four years.
The 43-year-old L.A. native was a leading candidate from the start of the process, and, as The News reported, spoke with the Knicks before they even started conducting any of their 11 interviews. Nonetheless, Fizdale had interest from other teams and reportedly turned down a deal with the Suns so that he could become the 11th Knicks coach since Jeff Van Gundy resigned in 2001.
A couple of Knicks players expressed their excitement about the hire on social media.
“TAKE THAT FOR DATA,” Tim Hardaway Jr. tweeted soon after the news broke, stealing Fizdale’s famous phrase from a press conference two seasons ago.
“Welcome Fizz, to #Knicksway,” tweeted Ron Baker.
Fizdale represented the safe choice by beating out Mark Jackson, Jerry Stackhouse, Mike Budenholzer and David Blatt. Of the full list of interviewees — which also included James Borrego, Jay Larranaga, Kenny Smith, Mike Woodson, Juwan Howard and Mike Brown — Budenholzer is probably the most accomplished and carries a strong history in player development.
However, league sources believe Budenholzer will get the open job in Milwaukee if he doesn’t sit out the entire season while collecting money owed to him from Atlanta (he was fired by the Hawks with two years and over $14 million remaining on his deal).
The Knicks, unlike Milwaukee, are expected to lose a lot of games next season as they settle into their latest incarnation of a rebuild (will it ever end?). Kristaps Porzingis, who is rehabbing from ACL surgery, may not return at all next season, James Dolan claimed. Even if the Knicks have cap space in free agency — which they won’t should Enes Kanter opt into his contract — they aren’t a desirable destination for top names. Their best means of improvement is through the draft.
In fact, Fizdale expressed skepticism last season that free agents would choose New York with Porzingis out indefinitely.
“Guys would’ve went to go to New York to play with Porzingis,” Fizdale said on ESPN in February. “I thought they
would’ve been able to really recruit somebody in the offseason to go join that team. And now, I don’t know how many guys they’re going to be able to attract there knowing he’s going to be out that long.”
While claiming that Jeff Hornacek was behind the curve in relating and communicating, the front office set a mandate that the next coach would be more “understanding” of today’s player. Fizdale was lauded for his connection to players while an assistant in Miami during the Big 3 era, but feuded with Marc Gasol when he took over as head coach in Memphis.
As a result of the strained relationship between coach and European star player, Fizdale was fired just 19 games into his second season. He finished his season-plus in Memphis with a 50-51 record.
The Knicks, of course, have their own European star in Porzingis, and Fizdale has already made plans to visit him this offseason overseas, according to ESPN. That’s a trip never made by Hornacek, Phil Jackson or Steve Mills. A good start. But, as team captain Lance Thomas noted to The News on Thursday, there’s a lot of pressure and bad history to overcome.
“I am the longest tenured Knick so I’ve seen a lot come and I’ve seen a lot go,” said Thomas, who will welcome his fourth coach since being traded to the Knicks in 2015. “But New York is the biggest market in the world and with that comes a lot of expectations. New Yorkers are passionate and we want instant gratification, we want to win. And there’s nothing with wanting to have a fanbase behind you that really wants to win and see a team do so well. We just hope we can get somebody in that’s ready to turn it around.
“It’s a tough market for anyone. It’s tough for the players, it’s tough for the coaches, it’s tough for the front office, it’s tough for anybody involved in any franchise in the city. With that is a challenge, you got to step up.”