The latest Daily Knicks roundtable looks back at the now-former New York Knicks coach, David Fizdale.
On Friday, Dec. 6, the New York Knicks fired David Fizdale, who spent the past 19 months as the head coach. Accumulating a 21-84 record, it became the worst winning percentage in franchise history, even with Derek Fisher’s troubling year-plus from 2014-16.
Fizdale’s time in New York was short but enough to reminisce on. In this latest Daily Knicks roundtable, the staff looked back on this brief era at Madison Square Garden:
Teresa Powe
David Fizdale will be remembered for the players, who I sometimes refer to as “throwaways,” he helped develop: Noah Vonleh, Mario Hezonja, Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway, Jr. and of course Emmanuel Mudiay. All of them left New York better than when they arrived. Unfortunately, it couldn’t only be for the players he wanted to develop.
Frank Ntilikina’s play since Fizdale’s firing has been nowhere near as good since. He was the player’s friend, and I believe, cared for them deeply. He went first to California to meet with Ntilikina to help him with his confidence and gave him help on how to keep himself healthy. It must have helped because Ntilikina broke out at the FIBA World Cup.
Unfortunately, that was not enough.
Fizdale will also be remembered for not having any consistency, strategy to win or identity for his team. All of the ills cannot be placed on the front office, but there is enough blame for this atrocious beginning to spread around.
Fizdale is the perfect rebuild coach. It wasn’t his fault that the superstars didn’t come to New York. It’s not the first time. Changing the onus to winning with the vets in Plan B and stopping the growth and development of the young ones on the team will also fall on him whether he was told to do so or not.
Once this all simmers he will definitely be coaching again. The NBA needs David Fizdale types around.