David Fizdale’s firing closed the book on all the New York Knicks coaches to be employed in the 2010s. How do they stack against each other this decade?
On Friday, the New York Knicks removed David Fizdale as head coach and replaced him with Mike Miller, who became the seventh coach of the 2010s. This followed a 4-18 record and teases of a coaching change being in the works for the previous three weeks.
The 2010s marked a wild time for Knicks coaches. Through the names that led the bench, some of them took this organization to the playoffs and others finished with the worst records in franchise history.
As this decade nears its end, and with not enough time to evaluate Miller’s coaching, it’s time to stack each Knicks head coach of the 2010s against each other:
6. Kurt Rambis (9-19)
Kurt Rambis was Derek Fisher‘s replacement for the final 28 games of the 2015-16 season, so there’s not too much to expand on. The team was a mess beforehand, and a 9-19 record did not show much improvement, even with Carmelo Anthony and a rookie Kristaps Porzingis.
Rambis remained on the staff through 2018, before taking a front-office role with the Los Angeles Lakers.
5. Derek Fisher (40-96)
While he does not own the worst winning percentage of these coaches, Derek Fisher’s tenure with the New York Knicks featured drama and terrible on-court play.
In October 2015, Fisher was involved in an altercation with former NBA player Matt Barnes, whose estranged wife was with the then-Knicks coach. Per the New York Post, it was as wild of a scene as anyone could have imagined:
"“Barnes went crazy. He got in his car and went to the house and went after Fisher,” one source said. “Matt then drove down there to beat the s–t out of him.”"
That was just off the court, though. For the actual team play, Fisher coached the 2014-15 Knicks to a franchise-worst 17-65 record. Granted, Carmelo Anthony only played 40 games, and Phil Jackson traded Iman Shumpert and JR Smith was basically nothing. Still, to find so few wins as a result, along with failing to integrate Jackson’s triangle offense, led to his quick demise.
Fisher stayed for the first 54 games of 2015-16, but he was shown the door after a 23-31 record. Per ESPN, the Knicks did not think he transitioned to coaching effectively.
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Fisher was also not ready to coach an NBA team, having jumped straight from playing games for the Oklahoma City Thunder. If not for Jackson’s call, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, this five-time champion would have stayed in the NBA for another year:
"“I was literally on the fence. Had [Phil Jackson] not called, then more than likely the pursuit of a sixth NBA championship would have called my name more than trying to go into coaching or TV at that time.”"
Now with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, Fisher has a second chance at coaching. However, his short tenure in New York highlights one of a few unsettling parts of this decade.
4. David Fizdale (21-83)
David Fizdale did not survive as long as Fisher, nor did he have as many wins, but the former was never given much to work with in his 19 months as New York Knicks coach.
2018-19 was deemed a “developmental” season for the Knicks. They started the young players after just five games, quickly realizing the state of the roster. Of course the talented top of the 2019 NBA Draft loomed, featuring Duke’s Zion Williamson, adding incentive to losing. Plus, the front office eyed the upcoming offseason of superstar free agents, using the Kristaps Porzingis trade to unload long-term salaries.
As a result, Fizdale tied Fisher’s franchise-low 17-65 record.
Never a doubt about his status, Fizdale returned for 2019-20, with a fresh roster in place. However, that, too, was questionably constructed. A glut of forwards was acquired, en route to a 4-18 record and an awkward press conference after his 2-8 start to the season. So, on Dec. 6, the Knicks fired Fizdale.
There are two sides to the coin, though.
Fizdale’s rotations were always in question. Even in the punted 2018-19 season, he struggled to stick with one group of players and consistently bounced others in and out of the rotation, including Frank Ntilikina. The same happened for 2019-20, as young players, sans RJ Barrett, took a backseat for the short-term veteran acquisitions. That included Allonzo Trier‘s continuous absences via coach’s decision and Kevin Knox‘s fading role.
The offense never came around either. A lack of ball movement plagued both iterations, leading to isolation basketball. Despite Fizdale preaching his desire to move away from this, it never happened. His use of Julius Randle didn’t help, as the $62.3 million man became a too-frequent facilitator, and he never seemed comfortable as the offense’s focal point.
Fizdale’s time in New York was hardly perfect, but some of it was not his doing. His tenure wasn’t memorable, however, and will mark just another footnote of this decade.
3. Jeff Hornacek (60-104)
Between Fisher and Fizdale, Jeff Hornacek signed on as New York Knicks head coach from 2016-18. It wasn’t exactly memorable, but this team showed signs of being competitive for part of his tenure.
The 2016-17 team had a healthy Carmelo Anthony, a rising Kristaps Porzingis and competent surrounding pieces in Courtney Lee and Justin Holiday. This was not a playoff team, but hardly the NBA’s worst group. However, Hornacek was forced to run the triangle, which never found its rhythm after Phil Jackson’s implementation in 2014.
Not only that obstacle, but Hornacek dealt with Derrick Rose‘s disappearance from the team and an injured, underperforming Joakim Noah, whose free-agent contract quickly became regrettable.
By 2017-18, the odds stacked against Hornacek. He dealt with the fallout of the Anthony trade, Noah’s off-court antics, Porzingis’ torn ACL and a lingering dismissal since the Steve Mills-Scott Perry regime replaced Jackson in the front office.
Before Porzingis’ Knicks-ending injury, Hornacek’s team had 23 wins and a chance at being a fringe playoff team. They won just six games afterward, finishing with a 29-53 record.
There was potential for Hornacek with the Knicks, but not making the playoffs and the awful finish to 2017-18 was his demise.
2. Mike D’Antoni (121-167)
Based on his overall resume, Mike D’Antoni should be the New York Knicks’ top coach of the decade. There was potential for greatness, and this team had terrific offenses, but the quick results did not arrive.
D’Antoni sat through two 50-loss seasons to open his Knicks tenure. Everyone knew the organization awaited the 2010 offseason, spending two years reorganizing the roster to make Amar’e Stoudemie’s acquisition possible.
Once D’Antoni’s old superstar from Phoenix arrived, New York was finally an interesting basketball team. Depth pieces were around Stoudemire, too, making this group competitive and fun. The Carmelo Anthony trade of 2011 seemed to undo that, however, and began the steady break-up between the coach and team.
Anthony and D’Antoni never meshed, leading to an uncomfortable decision: trade Anthony or fire D’Antoni. Given the price the Knicks paid to acquire this superstar, this innovative offensive coach resigned.
Before this parting of ways, D’Antoni’s offense led to “Linsanity,” the most unlikely NBA story of the decade, when Jeremy Lin rose from no-name to star for three weeks. This system always helped point guards, but Lin’s output for that stretch was magical.
The Knicks only had one playoff series under D’Antoni. If not for the messy relationship with Anthony, they could have found more success together. Instead, it happened with the next man on the list.
1. Mike Woodson (109-79)
Mike Woodson did not coach the most games for the New York Knicks this decade, but he was the only one of the six to have a winning record, finishing with a .580 winning percentage, the third-highest mark in franchise history.
Upon D’Antoni’s resignation, Woodson went 18-6 as the coach for the rest of 2011-12, taking the Knicks to the playoffs. They lost in the first round, but the momentum was high around a head coach that had a successful resume, including three playoff appearances with the Atlanta Hawks.
The 2012-13 Knicks had higher expectations. With Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, Tyson Chandler and a collection of role players, this group found 54 wins, marking the only time of this decade and the first instance since 1999-00 that any Knicks season topped 50 wins. The same went for them advancing past the first round of the playoffs. Obviously, all seemed well.
2013-14 was a letdown, with a 37-45 win and missing the postseason. Woodson had to coach through the awful Andrea Bargnani trade, an injury-plagued season for Chandler and a roster of aging veterans in high-profile roles. However, the beginning of the end happened with the firing of general manager Glen Grunwald and opened what became a miserable final half of the decade.
Per The Athletic, Knicks owner James Dolan hired a consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, for “reorganizing” the way his sports teams, the other being the New York Rangers, operated. Their hiring was the reason for Grunwald’s exit. Months later, Phil Jackson was hired as president of basketball operations and he brought in his own guy at head coach.
Woodson’s abrupt end was avoidable and he deserved a longer run as Knicks coach. It wasn’t granted to him, and he has yet to become a head coach for another team.