Former-New York Knicks Head Coach Derek Fisher Becomes NBA Analyst on TNT
By William Lee
Former-New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher will appear on TNT as an in-studio guest analyst this Thursday, as per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
TNT will have a double-header Thursday night, with the Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat to start off the night, capped off by a highly anticipated rematch between the San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors.
Fisher was fired by New York nearly two months ago, as the Knicks season quickly went down the drain. Once standing at .500, the Knicks went on to loss 9-out-of-10 games, prompting management to oust Fisher.
Besides the 23-31 record, many believed that Fisher’s altercation with Matt Barnes in October was also a contributing factor to his dismissal. Fisher was attacked by former-teammate and friend Barnes for dating his ex-wife Gloria Govan. The incident became public when Fisher called the police, for which Barnes called him out for per Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
"“We’re two grown men who should have handled two grown men’s business but he wanted to run and tell the cops and the NBA,”"
However, Knicks president Phil Jackson said the incident was not a contributing factor but did call the incident an “embarrassment” for the organization.
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Shortly after his firing, Fisher was seen publicly vacationing with Barnes’ ex-wife Gloria Govan.
Recently with a similar violation in trust between Los Angeles Lakers teammates D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young, Barnes decided it was a good time to attack Fisher once again… Posting a Fisher meme on his personal Instagram account, stating “Folks got the game so ass backwards these days you don’t know who to trust!”.
Recently, Fisher told his side of the story in an article he personally wrote on Sports Illustrated’s The Cauldron. This has kept a light on Fisher.
And it looks like Thursday night will be more of the same, as Fisher is trying to stay in the public eye. To stay relevant, possibly in hopes of landing another head coaching job.
It probably helps that the Knicks has only gotten worse since interim head coach Kurt Rambis has taken over. New York currently stands with a record of 31-47, with a record of 8-16 under Rambis’ helm.
Many former-NBA coaches and executives take on television/radio analyst jobs after being let go by their organization. This helps showcase their knowledge and personal philosophy on the game of basketball to future prospect employers, as well as keeps them around the NBA.
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Probably the most recent successful example of this is Steve Kerr. With a previous tenure at TNT, Kerr returned to television after stepping down as president and GM of the Phoenix Suns at the end of the 2010 season. Kerr then went on to become the head coach of the Warriors last season, winning the NBA Championship in his first year.
No doubt Fisher hopes that his gig at TNT can payoff in a similar fashion, and according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, he will also appear on NBA TV this week.
Honestly, the only reason I would want to watch is if Fisher is willing to open up about the Matt Barnes incident. Otherwise, as a Knicks fan, I am tired of Fisher…
"Fisher will be sharing the Inside the NBA stage with former teammate and recent Hall of Fame inductee Shaquille O’Neal, and it’s unclear if the topic of Matt Barnes is off limits."
Next: Gilbert Arenas Gives His Account of Matt Barnes–Derek Fisher Fight
But do not schedule your Thursday just to watch Fisher on TNT, you never know… Fisher might decide to spend more time with his family and all the sudden work as an analyst for ESPN and ABC instead…