Immediately following the conclusion of the 2017-18 NBA regular season, the New York Knicks reportedly dismissed head coach Jeff Hornacek.
The New York Knicks have completed a 2017-18 NBA regular season that left fans in a continued state of disarray. There were signs of progress both on and off the court, but a 29-53 record prevented the Knicks from ending what’s now a five-year postseason drought.
As the franchise prepares for an offseason that it hopes will redefine its identity, the first casualty of the new regime’s rebuild has been revealed.
New York endured an injury-plagued 2017-18 NBA regular season that saw each of its two leading scorers miss at least 25 games. It was an evaluation period nonetheless, as the first-year front office attempted to determine which pieces it could move forward with.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Knicks general manager Scott Perry executed his first major decision of the 2018 offseason by dismissing head coach Jeff Hornacek.
Knicks dismissed coach Jeff Hornacek, league sources tell ESPN. Management informed Hornacek of decision upon returning to New York late tonight.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 12, 2018
The Knicks later confirmed the decision via the public relations team’s official Twitter account:
Jeff Hornacek relieved of head coaching duties pic.twitter.com/MZuNDNOgms
— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) April 12, 2018
Hornacek completed two of the three years on his contract, but the Knicks ultimately decided that a fifth full-time head coach since the beginning of the 2011-12 season will be needed.
Whenever a new general manager is hired, the expectation exists that they’ll hire their own head coach. The idea is to create a symbiotic relationship between the coach and front office, which often begins during the recruitment and hiring processes.
Unfortunately for Hornacek, the injuries to his top two players weren’t enough to convince Perry that the Phil Jackson hire deserved another season at the helm.
It isn’t necessarily a condemnation of Hornacek, but instead evidence of Perry’s desire create a more symbiotic relationship with a hire of his own choosing.
Whether or not you believe Hornacek was the right fit, he endured what can only be described as an unfavorable set of circumstances in New York. Jackson was criticized for undermining his coach by imposing his own system and creating off-court drama that Hornacek was forced to answer for in 2016-17.
In 2017-18, the front office provided Hornacek with a roster that featured Jarrett Jack, Frank Ntilikina, and Ramon Sessions as his best options at point guard. In an era that requires high-level point guard play, the talent level was simply insufficient.
It wasn’t until the Knicks were five games below .500 in mid-January that the organization called up resurgent floor general Trey Burke.
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In the end, the context of Jeff Hornacek’s 60-104 record as head coach of the New York Knicks couldn’t save him from the organization’s rebuilding efforts. Thankfully, through all of the adversity, he remained refreshingly professional.
Thank you for all you contributed, coach Hornacek. Once a Knick, always a Knick.