Storyline: Luke Walton or Brian Shaw should be Phil Jackson’s next hire as head coach of the NY Knicks. And once he makes that hire–no matter who it is–Phil needs to be patient. Written by Taylor Odenat. Follow Taylor on Twitter @TDSSports
Before February 8, 2016 four NBA head coaches had lost their jobs. Now that number has increased to five–Derek Fisher. Phil Jackson fired his former player as coach of the struggling New York Knicks. When Phil Jackson came aboard, he hired Fisher with the hopes that he would teach the Knick players the ways of the triangle offense. After all, Fisher played point guard for Jackson spanning nine seasons+. However, the New York Knicks are doing worse than they were prior to hiring Fisher, as a replacement for Mike Woodson, in the 2014-2015 season.
Courtesy: NY Post
The Knicks have always been a dysfunctional organization–and for several reasons. They have a front office lead by one of the most hated men in sports; they’re trying to execute a system that doesn’t fit their players; they’re devoid of first round draft picks; and the player to whom they gave an extension over the summer ’14 hinders them from making forward progress. The firing of Fisher just adds to the flawed organization that’s in New York.
The failure of the Knicks isn’t on Derek Fisher himself; he’s being used as a scapegoat by Phil Jackson and the front office. The Knicks organization gave Fisher a team that wasn’t very gifted–on offense or defense–and expected him to coach that team to a winning record. The Knicks have no depth and lack of offensive production past Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis, and Arron Afflalo.
Fisher shouldn’t have to take full responsibility for the disappointing Knick’s season. Porzingis continues to make noise but, besides his exciting play since being drafted, the Knicks don’t have another player to develop. Anthony will continue being the offensive stopper he has been for his whole career. Don’t be fooled by his career high 4.2 apg this season, he’s still very capable of constant isos and inefficient jumpers.
Hopefully Phil Jackson has some sort of plan in place to revive the New York Knicks and release them from their three- season playoff drought. Firing his head coach wouldn’t be the first step in that direction for the sake of continuity but, if he has a better option lined up, then maybe the decision was for the best.
Courtesy: Sportsgrid.com
The current pool of fired head coaches does not lack experience. This season the NBA has seen Kevin McHale get fired by the Rockets; Jeff Hornacek get fired by the Phoenix Suns; David Blatt get fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers; and Lionel Hollins get fired by the Brooklyn Nets.
Of those coaches only Jeff Hornacek hasn’t made the playoffs. In addition to those contenders, Jackson can also choose among the defensive-savvy Tom Thibodeau, the inspiring Mark Jackson, or from assistants who are just waiting for that career-altering phone call. There’s also the option of going with another one of his former players–and that may be his best bet at this point.
Luke Walton or Brian Shaw should be Jackson’s next hire as head coach. Granted, neither has been a head coach for a long period of time. Walton had only been an assistant prior to being named interim coach of the Warriors for half of this season, while Shaw has only been at the position for a season-and-a-half with the Denver Nuggets.
But if Jackson desires his team to run a system that few coaches know how to run, then he’s going to have to slightly lower his standards. Additionally, once he makes the hire, he can’t turn around and fire that hire at the first sign of trouble. He needs to be patient.
Steph seemed to enjoy his time with Walton as his coach. And while Shaw’s track record with players isn’t the best, he deserves another opportunity as head coach.
