New York Knicks: Why Jeff Hornacek Isn't Such A Bad Hire

With Jeff Hornacek‘s agreement to become the New York Knicks head coach, fans, and other people have been in a frenzy.

Many preferred former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, former Knicks player and New York native Mark Jackson, and even David Blatt, who was very successful with the Cavaliers, going to the NBA finals last season. But it seems the candidate that was desired by Knicks fans the most was Frank Vogel who had a winning record (58%) with the Indiana Pacers and is a New Jersey native. Hornacek may not have been the appealing pick, but the hire is not as bad as it seems.

It’s been pointed out frequently that Jeff Hornacek has a losing record as a head coach (101-112). However, that record doesn’t tell the whole story when it comes to Hornacek’s coaching skills. In Hornacek’s first season as the Suns head coach, he led the team to a 48-34 record. That 2013 to 2014 season, his team nearly made the playoffs, being the ninth seed with a young team in a tough western conference. While the team didn’t make the playoffs, the Suns accomplished good things that season. They led the league in fastbreak points with 18.7 and were eighth in offensive efficiency and three-point percentage at 37.2%. Playing in an offense that helps produce more fastbreak points would definitely benefit New York as they were ranked dead last in that category the past four seasons.

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Not only did Phoenix accomplish impressive team goals, but many players had the best season of their careers from 2013-2014. Goran Dragic, Gerald Green, P.J. Tucker and Miles Plumlee all had their best seasons, as did Eric Bledsoe until he got injured. Hornacek was runner-up for coach of the year as he transformed a team that was 22-57 the previous year, to a team with a 48-34 record. The team was thought of as a solid young core on the rise. Then the 2014 offseason is when the roster started to ruin.

Suns general manager Ryan McDonough oddly signed Isiah Thomas in a sign-and-trade deal from Sacramento. It was a puzzling move as the team already had enough guards, and were very successful in a two point guard system, which included Bledsoe and Dragic. With a logjam at the guard positions, and Bledsoe, Dragic, and Thomas all being too talented to not get consistent minutes, Hornacek had no choice but to use a three point guard lineup with those guards at times. With the lineup not being so successful, McDonough had to help get rid of the problem he started, and trade away some of the guards, choosing to trade Dragic and Thomas, then acquiring point guard Brandon Knight from the Milwaukee Bucks. Even after the trades, too much damage was already done to the team, and they ended with a 39-43 record that season.

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This season, the team was able to go back to a 2 point guard lineup with Bledsoe and Knight, and the backcourt looked promising. But unfortunately injuries to both of those guards, and starting center Tyson Chandler, ruined the Suns season and Hornacek was eventually fired. Overall, it would be more accurate to analyze Hornacek’s coaching ability off the 2013-2014 season than opposed to the next two seasons, as constant injuries and poor moves made my management ruined Hornacek’s team.

As it pertains to the Knicks, Hornacek isn’t such a bizarre hire. Hornacek doesn’t run the triangle offense and is questionable as a coach on the defensive side. However, Phil Jackson and other staff who know the triangle can help Hornacek improve his knowledge of the offense, and the Knicks can hire a solid defensive assistant coach, to help on defense. More importantly, most of Hornacek’s system is based off the playbook of the legendary coach, Jerry Sloan, where Hornacek has served as a player and assistant coach for him. In 2011, Jackson showed his admiration for Jerry Sloan’s system, stating “He had a system and the system was effective”, and that “they played the kind of basketball that was admirable”.

A hybrid-triangle offense is likely possible, as Hornacek runs a lot of high screen plays and Porzingis would flourish in those scenarios. Hornacek also runs some flex, and the flex offense itself involves some triangle based sets, so the Knicks do have options. Similar to Hornacek’s two point guard lineup with Bledsoe and Dragic in 2013, a two-point guard lineup with Jerian Grant at PG and Tony Wroten at SG could be very possible, which would add a lot more tempo for the Knicks. Obviously, Grant and Wroten are not as good as what Hornacek had in Phoenix, but it would be the best the Knicks could do while they still have over 20 million dollars in cap space this offseason to sign or possibly trade for a solid guard.

Carmelo Anthony and Robin Lopez are seen by many as not having a great role in Hornacek’s offense, but they can fit in just fine. Miles Plumlee, who started most games at center in the 2013 season for Hornacek, played decent, averaging 8.1 points and 7.8 rebounds, and he’s less of an offensive threat than Lopez is. Anthony will find his way to get looks, and can be a threat as the primary ball handler in Hornacek’s frequent high screen plays. Hornacek can also be a huge help in the shooting category as the Knicks were only 19th in 3 point percentage this season. Not only does Hornacek’s offense help promote more three-point shots, but the former sharpshooter can help with player’s shooting stroke, as his first NBA coaching job in 2007, was a special assistant coach for the Utah Jazz in 2007 to 2008, where his designated role was to help players improve their shot. He greatly improved Andrei Kirilenko‘s three-point shot specifically that season, as Kirilenko shot a career best, 37.9%, where he was only on average a 28.8% three-point shooter in all of his previous seasons.

Next: 2015-16 Knicks Team Grades

Even with all the possibilities for Hornacek as the Knicks coach, New York needs to sign talent this offseason. With Knicks estimated to have around 27 million dollars in cap space, they have enough money to sign a high profile free agent. But with Jackson as president, high-quality free agents are rumored to be hesitant to sign here. While they aren’t star players, strong possibilities could be signing players like Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee, and Mirza Teletovic, who have all played under Hornacek in Phoenix. Bledsoe would be a great trade acquisition, but his proneness to injury and New York’s lack of trade assets make it unlikely. The personnel moves this offseason will ultimately determine how successful Hornacek will be as a head coach.

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New York Knicks: Why Jeff Hornacek Isn’t Such A Bad Hire

By Ade Hennis | May 20, 2016

With Jeff Hornacek‘s agreement to become the New York Knicks head coach, fans, and other people have been in a frenzy.

More from Empire Writes Back