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New York Knicks: With Derek Fisher Out, What’s Next For The Knicks?

By Kyle Baranko

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Now that Derek Fisher is out as the team’s head coach, we dive into what’s next for Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks

The New York Knicks sent shock waves around the NBA on Monday with the firing of head coach Derek Fisher. New York came into the season with high but possibly unreasonable expectations for this young, sparse roster: to make the Eastern Conferences playoffs for the first time in two years.

At this point in the season, the Knicks sit squarely outside of the postseason picture with a 23-31 record. Fisher did flash some potential of developing into a successful NBA coach. Overall, he worked well with world-class scorer Carmelo Anthony and helped rookie Kristaps Porzingis make significant strides in his first NBA season. But in the end, Knicks President of Basketball Operations Phil Jackson decided that Fisher wouldn’t work long term.

Jackson chose Fisher for the job because of their close relationship and his familiarity with the triangle offense. Jackson, also known as the Zen Master, coached the former point guard during his time with the Lakers in the early and late 2000s. They won five titles together and ran the triangle to perfection.

With the Zen Master ready to take more of a behind the scenes role as President, Fisher seemed a natural fit to inherit the responsibilities of executing the basketball philosophy on the court.

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But for whatever reason, Fisher no longer fits Jackson’s long-term vision. If the Zen Master is set on keeping the triangle a relevant part of the Knicks future, his list of capable coaches is short and unimpressive.

The triangle, which emphasizes slow pace and a steady diet of midrange jump shots, is anathema to the fast, analytics-driven mindset of the modern NBA. It is widely regarded as outdated, which means those willing to implement are all former players or assistant coaches of Jackson himself.

Brian Shaw, another former player, is a possibility but failed miserably during his one stint as a head coach in Denver. Kurt Rambis, who was an assistant coach for the Lakers and is now the interim head coach for the Knicks, is also a possibility but was a disaster during his only head coach job in Minnesota.

If Jackson really wants to run the triangle, the only real option is Luke Walton. He played for Jackson on the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers teams at the end of the last decade and is now an assistant coach for the dynamic Golden State Warriors. Walton led the Warriors to a record-setting hot start as he filled in for the ailing Steve Kerr at the beginning of this season. Jackson will be willing to splurge this summer in the inevitable bidding war (other teams, like the Lakers, have expressed interest), but it is unclear whether Walton will be within reach.

Fisher didn’t work out, but he can try it again with Walton or maybe Rambis if he does well enough by the end of this season

Perhaps Jackson would be better served to expand his horizons and pick one of the high profile candidates that Knicks fans are clamoring for. Tom Thibodeau is widely regarded as the best coach available after successful assistant and head coaching gigs throughout the league. Most recently, he led Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls to five straight playoff appearances from 2010 to 2015 after installing his signature defensive system.

Thibodeau’s experience developing young stars, like Rose, Joakim Noah, and Jimmy Butler, would mesh perfectly with New York’s blossoming Latvian sensation Kristaps Porzingis. Coach Thibs could quickly make the Knicks relevant again.

However, if Jackson hires Thibs, it would mean forfeiting his on-court influence, a sacrifice that he might not be comfortable making. Despite technically acting as president, the Zen Master still likes to delve into X’s and O’s more than the average front office, a realm usually delegated explicitly to coaches.

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Thibs is already too established to be comfortable with this situation; he could easily take a job elsewhere and look for a dual coach-GM role, as Doc Rivers did with the Clippers or Stan Van Gundy in Detroit. There is no way that would happen in New York. This is why he is probably going to hire someone young who he can develop into his protégé.

Fisher didn’t work out, but he can try it again with Walton or maybe Rambis if he does well enough by the end of this season. We’ll find out this summer.

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