New York Knicks News: Derek Fisher Fired As Head Coach
New York Knicks News: The Knicks have fired head coach Derek Fisher, naming Kurt Rambis as his replacement on an interim basis.
The New York Knicks have hit a rough patch in recent weeks. After reaching the .500 mark with a 22-22 record in January 20th, the Knicks have been in a free fall. They have lost nine of their last 10 games since that point, with injuries playing a part in the team’s performance.
That is not an excuse good enough for the Knicks brain trust led by Phil Jackson, as he has decided to cut ties with his former player and first head coach hire in Derek Fisher. Fisher has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Knicks.
The Knicks have fired Derek Fisher, ESPN has learned. Management was disappointed with team's performance, decided change was needed.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 8, 2016
Based on performance alone, this is not a surprise as Fisher compiled an ugly 40-96 in his first two seasons as head coach. Last season Fisher received a pass with Jackson reshaping the roster and Carmelo Anthony being shut down in February, but this season there was a little more pressure as the Knicks added some NBA-level talent to the roster.
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There were rumors about three weeks ago that Fisher was on the hot seat despite the Knicks being right around the .500 mark. At the time, those rumors seemed like a lot of smoke and mirrors, as the Knicks were greatly improved from last season and looked to finally be putting things together this season. But, there seemed to be some truth to those rumors, as we are not even a month past that and Fisher is now out of a job.
The performance by the Knicks in the last 10 games was probably the last straw for James Dolan and Jackson, as the Knicks lost to the Denver Nuggets in a home game matinee Sunday afternoon. The team has been getting off to poor starts recently, putting themselves in too big of holes to dig themselves out of the rest of the game.
There have been plenty of knocks against Fisher as head coach, including his plays out of timeouts and rotations at times. 54 games into this season, the Knicks are still without a concrete rotation; there are no teams in the NBA that succeed playing more than nine guys consistently outside of blowout games.
In his place, the Knicks will turn to another Triangle Offense disciple in Kurt Rambis. Jackson said that he is not actively looking for a head coach to replace Fisher, as Rambis will be the head coach for the remainder of the season on an interim basis.
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Despite the unimpressive record, the Knicks should still be one of the premier places to work this offseason as a head coach. With Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis in place and some cap space this summer, the Knicks are in a good position to improve once again this offseason as they have this season.