3) David Fizdale (2018 – 2019)
When David Fizdale was hired, it felt like everybody surrounding the Knicks were on a wink-wink deal.
His first season with the team was a disaster, according to the standings. The team finished 17-65, tying their worst record in franchise history, but it also earned them the right to have the highest odds in the NBA lottery that promised a generational talent in Zion Williamson.
The Knicks were bad under Fizdale, but it didn’t matter. They were young, had traded their superstar player in Kristaps Porzingis for cap space, and they were going to need plenty of it because all of the top free agents were ready to flock to New York.
Then nobody came. And the Knicks landed third in the lottery.
After a disappointing summer, Fizdale got off to a 4-18 start this past season (it seems impossible to call it this current season anymore), and was fired just 104 games into his five-year contract with the team.
It wouldn’t be fair to say it is entirely Fizdale’s fault for the Knicks finishing with the worst record in the NBA during the games he coached, but as the man leading the bench, he has to take plenty of blame. When Mike Miller took over for him in early December, he was able to get a lot more out of a roster many considered too “flawed” for any coach to manage.