Fisher could work out at Garden
DEREK FISHER became an innocent bystander in the phenomenon known as “Linsanity” two years ago when he faced Jeremy Lin and was torched by the unheralded Knicks point guard.
Lin finished with 38 points on that February night, including a spin move around Fisher that sent Madison Square Garden into delirium. It was a signature moment for Lin and a night Fisher and the roadweary Lakers would rather forget except for what happened after the game. When the final buzzer sounded, Fisher walked toward the baseline near the Knicks bench and embraced James Dolan.
Fisher is expected to talk with Phil Jackson this week about possibly becoming the next head coach of the Knicks. Fisher, who hasn’t ruled out returning to Oklahoma City for one more season, has several important decisions to make: Does he still want to play? Does he want to coach? Does he want to move his family from Los Angeles to New York?
Those are all factors that could prevent Fisher from becoming Jackson’s first significant move as Knicks president. The issue of whether Fisher wants to work for Dolan may not be as big of a problem for Fisher as it obviously was for Steve Kerr, who was close to joining the Knicks before agreeing to coach Golden State.
Fisher and Dolan, the Chairman of Madison Square Garden, have a history dating back to the NBA lockout in 2013 when they sat on opposite sides of the labor negotiations. There were reports that Dolan and late Lakers owner Jerry Buss were visibly annoyed by the hard-line demands of certain owners, including Cleve-land’s Dan Gilbert and Phoenix’s Robert Sarver. Fisher found an ally in Dolan, and according to a source, Fisher believes he can be successful working at the Garden with Jackson and under Dolan.
Kerr was skeptical of the Garden culture and made several calls to current and former MSG employees to get a better understanding of why the Knicks have experienced mostly failure since Dolan came into power. Kerr’s broadcasting partner, Marv Albert, told the Daily News last month that he warned Kerr about the perils of working at MSG.
Once the Warriors made Kerr an offer of $25 million over five years, the decision to say no to Jackson, which is something Kerr agonized over, became that much easier to make.
On Tuesday, Dolan tried to distance himself from having any influence with Kerr’s decision by saying in a radio interview that “I have no idea who (Jackson) is talking to” as it relates to coaching candidates. It was widely reported for weeks that Kerr was Jackson’s top choice. Dolan, however, pleaded ignorance.
“Well, I’ll tell you what, Phil asked me not to tell anybody, I have a picture of it on my phone, for my birthday in me, my family gave me a T-shirt – ask Phil,” Dolan said on WFAN. “I have not asked about the coaching search on purpose. I told him, ‘I’m here for you if you need me, if you don’t need me, that’s fine, too. I’ve got a lot to do.’ ”
According to a source, Kerr was concerned that Dolan would eventually interfere as Dolan had previously done with former Knicks president Donnie Walsh. Before Kerr met with Jackson face-toface, the Daily News reported that Jackson and Dolan had already clashed over staff changes. ESPN New York later reported that Dolan rebuffed Jackson’s wishes of making changes to the medical staff.
On Tuesday, Dolan seemed to indicate that Knicks GM Steve Mills, and not Jackson, is in charge of the medical staff. When asked if Jackson is working out like he expected, Dolan answered: “Pretty much. He’s gotten in, he’s taking control, he and Steve (Mills) are working really well together. (The) big (thing) for me, pieces of the operation I knew Phil wouldn’t have time for; D-League (team), developing players, everything down to medical staff. Phil has a great guy underneath him, actually right next to him. I think I’ve got the right team in place managing it. We’ll see how it turns out. "
When asked if he and Jackson have had any issues, Dolan replied: “Not that I’m aware of.”