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Knicks Rumors: Five reasons firing Jeff Hornacek would be premature

By Maxwell Ogden

SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 4: Head coach Jeff Hornacek of the New York Knicks coaches against the Sacramento Kings on March 4, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 4: Head coach Jeff Hornacek of the New York Knicks coaches against the Sacramento Kings on March 4, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 19: Frank Ntilikina #11 of the New York Knicks handles the ball against the Chicago Bulls on March 19, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 19: Frank Ntilikina #11 of the New York Knicks handles the ball against the Chicago Bulls on March 19, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

1. It’s A Process

This is essentially Part III of the previous two points that were made. The New York Knicks gave head coach Jeff Hornacek a crop of talent that had limited—and in most cases, no—experience playing together and essentially asked him to turn it into a sum of loose parts.

The first part of completing that process is helping players realize their individual potential, which Hornacek has unequivocally made strides towards doing.

The next step in the process is helping the evolved players come together as a team. It’s easy to say that it should all happen in one fell swoop, but the reality of the situation is that there were two massive curveballs that few coaches would have been able to connect with.

Not only did Kristaps Porzingis suffer a season-ending injury in early February, but second-leading scorer Tim Hardaway Jr. missed 20 consecutive games between December and January.

Knowing that to be true, it would be premature for the Knicks give up on this process. If the four focal points of the current vision are all having career years, and the likes of Trey Burke and Michael Beasley are revitalizing theirs, progress is being made.

At the very least, Hornacek should be allowed to finish the process that he started. Keep in mind: A part of that process is the coach growing, too.

Must Read: Five rumored candidates to replace Jeff Hornacek

It will be difficult to blame the New York Knicks if they believe they can hire the guy, but Jeff Hornacek has earned the opportunity to finish his contract.

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