SPANISH HARLEM – The New York Knicks formally introduced their new head coach, David Fizdale on Tuesday and before I get into the pros and cons of the hire, I want to say that I like this decision. Steve Mills and Scott Perry interviewed 11 candidates for the position and it was an opportunity to choose the person they felt best fit this team and organization going forward. It was a chance to pick THEIR guy and it was the right move to make to get away from the stench of Phil Jackson era, who hired Jeff Hornacek. While I like the move to change coaches, Fizdale does have some baggage to deal with from his days as head coach of the Memphis Grizzles. Today I will talk about some of those issues and also include reasons they got the right man for the job.
THE CONS
Inexperience – David Fizdale has been a head coach for a total of 101 games before the Grizzles decided to fire him. While he has a lot of experience as an assistant in the NBA with teams like Atlanta and Miami, he was never the lead guy until his opportunity with Memphis. Its certainly a risk to hire someone like Fizdale when you have guys like Mark Jackson and Mike Budenholzer out there with more experience and accolades but the Fiz did take his team to the playoffs in his first season. Its’s not to say that he won’t be a great head coach with the Knicks but I’m sure some fans wanted someone with more experience.
Marc Gasol – For those that don’t know, the biggest reason for the Fizdale firing was his issue with Marc Gasol. They didn’t see eye to eye on things and that lead to a riff that only the best player on the team could win. Many have speculated that that could lead to a problem with Kristaps Porzingis since he is a international player, much like Gasol. Its definitely a logical question to have yet somewhat naive to think that he will always have issues with foreign players. A problem with your best player is not something you want from your head coach and that will be heavily scrutinized when Pozingis comes back from injury.
THE PROS
Defense – Something this team hasn’t done well is play defense and while Hornacek preached defense as much as the next guy, the Knicks were one of the worst defensive teams in the league during his time here. Fizdale’s background includes his time with the Miami Heat and Erik Spoelstra, who is a disciple of Pat Riley. We all know how good the defense was when Riley was coach of the Knicks and we all know how good defensively the Heat are with players that nobody knows about. Spoelstra has taken a bunch of guys that you wouldn’t know played basketball and made them a playoff contender and if Fizdale can bring that same development to the Knicks, this team will certainly improve.
Free Agents – While I don’t think guys will be running to be a part of the Knicks this upcoming season, it certainly helps to have a head coach that is well respected by some of the best athletes in the league. When guys like Lebron James and Dwayne Wade swear by you, it’s only going to help make this team an attractive location once again. It will help even more if Fizdale can make this team competitive again and having a new age coach that is well liked by those that have come across him, should make this a destination that is worth looking at. I’m not saying that he will bring James or Wade to New York but players talk and it can only help to have those guys as a reference.
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