Tim not happy with Horny ax
Tim Hardaway Jr. did not cosign with the Knicks on their reasons for canning Jeff Hornacek, which the front office vaguely explained as, among other things, a need for better communication and connection with the players.
“I can’t wrap my thoughts around what the management thinks,” Hardaway Jr. said after his exit interview. “All I know is that Jeff was great to the guys, he’s a players’ coach. And like I said, I succeeded through all aspects (under him). Even through adversity, he was there.”
Hardaway Jr. enjoyed the best season of his career under Hornacek, averaging 17.5 points despite missing about onequarter of the games because of a stress reaction. The Knicks lost 53 games, however, and management cut Hornacek while proclaiming the coach didn’t create enough accountability and consistency.
GM Scott Perry added “the timing was right for a new voice,” but Hardaway noted that he’s already heard four different such voices in the NBA – including three with the Knicks (Hornacek, Derek Fisher, Mike Woodson).
“Someone new in there? There’s been someone new in there a lot,” Hardaway said. “Since I’ve been in the NBA I’ve played for four different people. I don’t know how much more you can go. I understand Jeff was Phil (Jackson’s) guy. And these guys come in and you know probably have something else in place or in store. So I can’t answer (if a new voice would be helpful).”
Asked what kind of coach the Knicks need for success, Hardaway said his experience in New York makes him unqualified to answer, so he’s leaving it to management.
“All three years I’ve been here have been losing records. This would be going on careerwise, my fifth coach. So I don’t know,” he said. “If management says accountability for the guys is important for the ball club, then someone that can lead in that aspect and can show it throughout the entire season, I guess.
“It’s all up to management, what they want to do. I’m on board with their decisions.”
Courtney Lee had passionately defended Hornacek during the season, challenging a reporter to explain how the coach could be responsible for injuries. The only player to echo some of management’s thoughts was Michael Beasley, who said of Hornacek, “He did some things good, he did some things bad.
“It’s difficult for anybody (to have an uncertain job status all season). You get into a position where you’re doing things not to mess up,” Beasley added. “You’re thinking not to mess up, but at the end of the day you’re still messing up.”
As the Knicks look for a replacement, they’ve already contacted the representatives of Jerry Stackhouse, as the Daily News reported, and plan to do the same with David Fizdale, David Blatt, Mark Jackson and Jay Wright (if they haven’t contacted them already).
Hornacek went 60-104 in his two seasons as a coach and was fired in the Westchester airport early Thursday morning. The 54-year-old guided an enormously flawed roster but failed to distinguish himself, which was necessary to keep his job since management had always wanted to bring in its own coach.
Regardless of whether Mills and Perry were justified in firing Hornacek, Hardaway Jr. said he hopes they don’t have to make that move again. No organization has cycled through more coaches than the Knicks since the turn of the century.
“It would be great to have a coach I could have for more than two years, you know,” Hardaway said. “So um, with that being said, I hope whoever is next coach can come here and make a statement and let everyone know he’s all in.”