NY Knicks, Budenholzer almost reached agreement before Fizdale hire
Head coach Mike Budenholzer nearly came to an agreement with the New York Knicks before the team hired David Fizdale.
It’s water under the bridge now –and a lot of losses, too – but the New York Knicks nearly came to an agreement with Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer before hiring David Fizdale to lead the team in 2018.
In fact, an agreement with Budenholzer, who was a lead candidate at the time, became so intense that people expected to join him in New York were searching for places to live in the city, as detailed by Ian Begley of SNY:
"“Some people who would have come with Budenholzer to New York were talking about places to live in the city because they felt Budenholzer was close to taking the job.”"
Mike Budenholzer found a suitable alternative to the New York Knicks job
Budenholzer had genuine interest in the Knicks job, before being hired by the Milwaukee Bucks, where he won NBA Coach of the Year in 2019, and with the help of Giannis Antetokounmpo, has established one of the elite teams in the NBA.
Just two years after hiring Fizdale to a five-year multi-million dollar contract, the Knicks are in search of a new coach yet again. President Steve Mills, who hired Fizdale, is gone, but general manager Scott Perry remains. However, new president Leon Rose will probably make the final call on who leads the team he is now in charge of turning from laughingstock into contender. The Knicks are expected to pursue a variety of candidates, some with familiar names to Knicks fans.
The Knicks went a pitiful 21-83 under Fizdale, both a result of his inability to maximize young talent on the Knicks roster, and the front office’s determination to preserve cap space in pursuit of superstar free agents.
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When the 2019-20 season was shutdown due to the novel coronavirus, former Westchester Knicks coach Mike Miller was leading the bench at Madison Square Garden. While he has done an admirable job in an impossible situation, he is not expected to keep his role as bench chief.