The New York Knicks need to be all-in on David Fizdale

The New York Knicks have hired David Fizdale to be their 11th head coach since 2001. Whether management is all-in on the head coach will be critical to the Knicks’ long-term success.

The New York Knicks have found their guy.

Monday afternoon, the Knicks announced – via their twitter PR account – the hiring of David Fizdale as their new head coach.

And for the Knicks, it’s imperative that they’re all-in on Fizdale if they aspire to achieve any sort of success down the road.

Last season, the Knicks missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season and head coach Jeff Hornacek was a casualty of their 29-win trial. After roughly three weeks of head-coaching searches and rumors, president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry felt Fizdale was the right individual to take over – and understandably so.

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Fizdale comes to New York with 11 years of assistant coach, two years of associate coach, and 101 games of head coaching experience under his belt. He’s a defensive minded coach who is vocal, expressive, and not afraid to go out on a limb about situations concerning his team.

Unfortunately for Fizdale, his latest coaching stint – as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies – ended in flames. After starting last season 7-12, Fizdale’s Grizzlies were underachieving, and the head coach got the boot. An immense part of the Grizzlies’ motive in doing so was the head coach supposedly budding heads with star center Marc Gasol by refusing to give him star treatment; management ultimately chose Gasol over Fizdale. Them doing so may have been a bit of an overreaction based on the season being just 19 games young as well as it being Fizdale’s second year as head coach.

Nevertheless, Memphis had their reasons to act, no matter how harsh the decision may have appeared. But the Knicks cannot afford to give up on him so early.

Fizdale gives the Knicks the defensive-minded head coach they’ve been deprived of since Mike Woodson. In his first year with Memphis, the newly-hired Fizdale got the Grizzles to buckle down on the defensive end. Surrendering the third fewest points in the NBA (100.0), the Grizzlies were capable of shutting down the best of the West under Fizdale’s rein.

And the team’s failure to duplicate that start from the get-to, along with his relationship with Gasol, were the primary reasons why Fizdale was fired. Now, did Fizdale get a raw deal? Sure, you could make a legitimate argument about such treatment when, in fact, you want every player to be treated and viewed the same. Could the situation Fizdale encountered with Gasol potentially present itself with Kristaps Porzingis?

Even if it did, Fizdale is going above and beyond in getting to know the Latvian sensation. By flying overseas to meet with Porzingis, the head coach is giving off the vibe that he wants to establish a healthy relationship with his players – which is a comforting sign for the Knicks. With that said, turning around this team isn’t going to be as simple as having a healthy relationship with a star player.

Fizdale inherits a rebuilding Knicks’ team that has a number of questions marks, the most detrimental one being the health of Porzingis. After suffering a gruesome ACL tear in February, Porzingis’ status for this season is uncertain. Whenever he returns, Fizdale will be challenged with incorporating the big man into his system and avoiding repeating his past mistakes.

Along with Porzingis, the Knicks have soon-to-be second year point guard Frank Ntilikina, the flashy Trey Burke, and shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. – who are all critical to the team’s future. Other players under contract, for the moment, include: Courtney Lee, Troy Williams, Emmanuel Mudiay, Damyean Dotson, and Joakim Noah, to name a few.

The Knicks will also have a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and roughly $18 million in cap space if and when centers’ Enes Kanter and Kyle O’Quinn opt-out of their contracts. There is certainly talent on this Knicks’ roster, but it still combined for just 29 wins last season, and has a ways to go, in terms of growth, before being a playoff threat.

The Knicks likely aren’t going to be a playoff team next season; their core is young and developing, and Porzingis’ health is uncertain. Hornacek was fired after the Knicks played up to their underwhelming expectations.

With Carmelo Anthony getting traded just hours before Training Camp and an unproven roster in place, Hornacek was viewed as a man in a position to fail. Then, he lost Porzingis for the year in February and was without Hardaway for an extended period of time due to injury. Regardless of the circumstances he started and finished the season with, Hornacek was fired.

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Mills and Perry gave themselves the chance to hire a head coach of their choosing, and they decided on Fizdale. The two of them must garner patience if winning in the foreseeable future is an aspiration. It’s going to take some time for the Knicks to blossom into a Conference threat, but if they miss the playoffs in back-to-back seasons under Fizdale (which is certainly possible), management cannot be immature and fire a coach once more.

Sticking with the plan, trusting Fizdale’s coaching style, and management exhibiting patience will make-or-break the new head coach’s stay in the Big Apple.