New York Knicks: EWB Roundtable – Is Fizdale the right guy?
By Ed Stein
Currently, the New York Knicks own the worst record in the NBA. We asked our experts, is head coach David Fizdale the right man to lead the team.
This summer the New York Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry knew they had to get “their guy” to run the team. The duo endured one season of Phil Jackson’s guy, Jeff Hornacek, and that was enough. Over the five previous seasons, the team never had a record close to .500. In that period, the best NYC’s team could muster was 37-45 in 2013-14. All totaled they were 146-264, in that span, which translates to winning 35.6% of their games.
After a somewhat extensive and hectic coaching search, they found their man. Some of the more high profile candidates interviewed included Mike Brown, David Blatt, and Mike Budenholzer. Enter new bench boss David Fizdale. A 13-year assistant, Fiz finally got his shot to be the head man in 2016-17 with Memphis. He took the Grizzlies to the playoffs that year but only lasted 19 games the next.
So much of the optimism surrounding what was to be the next chapter of New York Knicks history has faded as the 2018-19 season has marched on. They have the worst record in the National Basketball Association at 13-52 and are a laughing stock. Their relationship with star center Kristaps Porzingas deteriorated and he was traded to Dallas. If not for the strong possibility of landing highly regarded Zion Williamson from Duke in the next draft, Knickerbocker faithful would be jumping from the blue seats to the cold floor below.
We asked our panel if the Knicks brass make a mistake this summer. Specifically, is David Fizdale the right man to lead this team?