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Knicks Notes: Fizdale, Hernandez, Mudiay, Kanter

May 7th, 2018 at 10:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Building a productive relationship with Kristaps Porzingis and devising a plan for his three point guards are among the questions facing new Knicks coach David Fizdale, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Fizdale plans to travel to Latvia in the near future to meet with his franchise player, who is rehabbing his knee injury there.

Juggling the minutes of Emmanuel Mudiay, Frank Ntilikina and Trey Burke will be a challenge for the ex-Grizzlies coach, Berman continues. Learning from his mistakes in Memphis, particularly in the way he dealt with veteran center Marc Gasol, is another thing Fizdale must do in order to be a success in New York, Berman adds.

In other Knicks-related news:

Former Magic assistant coach Jay Hernandez is a name to watch as Fizdale selects his staff, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets. He has a solid reputation in player development and player relationships after working with several NBA players as a trainer, Scotto adds.
Mudiay said the coaching change has energized the team, as he told Berman in a separate story. “Nobody has played with him yet over here except Troy Williams. But I’m not the only one excited. Everyone else is, too,’’ he said. Mudiay believes Fizdale, a point guard during his playing days, can help with his development.
Center Enes Kanter, who exchanged barbs with LeBron James this season, playfully challenged the Cavaliers superstar to sign with the Knicks during a Twitter Q&A session, Ian Begley of ESPN relays. “You really want to be king of New York? Come and prove it. I’ll see you July 1st, brother,” Kanter said in the Twitter video. James is expected to opt out of his contract this summer but the Knicks are an extreme long shot, considering their salary-cap issues and their rebuilding status.

Knicks Officially Name David Fizdale Head Coach

May 7th, 2018 at 2:38pm CST by Luke Adams

After reaching an agreement with him last week, the Knicks have officially named David Fizdale their new head coach, confirming the hiring today in a press release. Fizdale reportedly agreed to a four-year deal with the Knicks.

The Knicks’ announcement today includes quotes from president Steve Mills, who calls Fizdale a “great fit” for New York, and from GM Scott Perry, who praises Fizdale’s “championship pedigree, resiliency, and expertise in player development.” Team owner James Dolan also provided a statement of his own on the hiring.

“I would like to congratulate and welcome David to the Knicks organization,” Dolan said. “David is a bright and creative basketball mind who is highly respected throughout the NBA. I’m confident that Steve and Scott identified the right coach to lead this team to the success our loyal fans deserve.”

A longtime assistant in Miami, Fizdale won a pair of championships with the Heat and landed his first head coaching job in 2016 when he was hired by the Grizzlies. He led Memphis to a 43-39 (.524) mark in his first year with the club, but his relationship with Marc Gasol deteriorated early in the 2017/18 campaign, and he was fired 19 games into the season.

Fizdale was one of the most coveted head coaching candidates on the market this spring, meeting with the Suns, Hawks, Hornets, and Magic before accepting the Knicks’ job. Fizdale reportedly turned down a four-year offer to become Phoenix’s head coach, opting instead to succeed Jeff Hornacek in New York.

The Knicks met with 11 total head coaching candidates before reaching an agreement with Fizdale.

Former Cavs, Warriors, and Kings head coach Keith Smart, who worked with Fizdale in Miami and Memphis, is expected to join the Knicks’ staff as an assistant.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

More Notes On Knicks' Hiring Of Fizdale

May 6th, 2018 at 8:57pm CST by Luke Adams

In David Fizdale, the Knicks landed a coach who was coveted by multiple teams with job openings this spring, per Marc Berman of The New York Post. We’ve previously heard that Fizdale turned down an offer from the Suns and met with Hawks ownership. A source tells Berman that Fizdale was also a “frontrunner” for the Hornets and Magic positions.

So why did Fizdale opt for the Knicks’ job? Former Nets guard Elliot Perry – a current Grizzlies broadcaster and Fizdale confidant – tells Berman that he believes the former Grizzlies coach wants the challenge of being on a big stage in New York.

“That’s the one thing I mentioned to him,” Perry said. “You’re never off stage in New York as [the Knicks’] head coach. You’re not always on the stage in Memphis. He wanted the challenge. He thinks there’s talent there. He thought it was a good fit.”

In a piece for Newsday, Al Iannazzone examines why the Knicks felt that Fizdale was the right pick for their job, with one source downplaying the head coach’s tension with Marc Gasol in Memphis. “He gets along great with players,” that source told Iannazzone. “He’s a good developmental guy and is good at working with the players. He comes from Miami, where they put an emphasis on that. He’s still unproven as far as X’s and O’s. But he’s good with players.”

Knicks Notes: Fizdale, Lee, Porzingis

May 6th, 2018 at 10:14am CST by Arthur Hill

With David Fizdale being welcomed as the next coach of the Knicks, Marc Berman of The New York Post examines what went wrong for him in Memphis. Fizdale, who inherited a perennial playoff team, took the Grizzlies to the postseason last year before being fired after 19 games this season with a 7-12 record.

Former NBA player Brevin Knight, who serves as a broadcaster in Memphis, suggests that Fizdale tried to infuse too much of an uptempo approach into a veteran team that was comfortable with its “grit and grind” philosophy.

“It’s hard to give a true assessment of him as a bench coach because he was trying to change a culture when he came to Memphis,’’ Knight said. “It wasn’t just him running his offense. It was almost a hybrid of what he would’ve liked to have done — coupled with guys who were comfortable and accustomed to doing something else for so long.’’

Fizdale also had a long-running feud with center Marc Gasol, which raises concerns about how he might relate to Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis. Knight said Fizdale had a “learning experience” in Memphis about coaching international players after years with the Heat where LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh served as team leaders.

There’s more news today out of New York:

Knicks guard Courtney Lee, who remains close to some of his former Grizzlies teammates and has heard the inside story of Fizdale’s time there, is ecstatic about his new coach, relays Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “Even in his time in Memphis, you can tell he was focused on a team or getting better — whether it was holding your best player accountable or your worst player accountable,” Lee said. “He wasn’t afraid to be confrontational and get his message across. So that’s a quality I like about him.”
Fizdale’s plan to travel to Latvia to meet with Porzingis is the latest sign that the Knicks are committed to building the franchise around their young star, notes Ian Begley of ESPN. The rift between Porzingis and the organization that caused him to skip his exit meeting last year hasn’t been fully repaired, Begley adds. Porzinigis is eligible for a five-year, $157 million extension this summer, but it’s uncertain whether the Knicks are willing to commit to that while he’s recovering from a torn ACL.
It’s now up to Fizdale to end the cycle of coaching changes in New York, writes Mike Lupica of The New York Daily News. The Knicks have employed 11 coaches in the past 14 years, he adds, and nearly all have left with damaged reputations.

Juwan Howard Unlikely To Join Fizdale In New York

May 5th, 2018 at 7:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Heat assistant Juwan Howard isn’t expected to join David Fizdale’s staff with the Knicks, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now.

Fizdale may want to bring Howard aboard, but he remains under contract to the Heat. They would have to give him permission to leave, which Begley calls “highly unlikely.” Howard, who also interviewed for the head coaching job in New York, worked with Fizdale for several years in Miami, both as a player and a fellow assistant. He has been a Heat assistant since his playing career ended five years ago.

Begley confirms that Keith Smart, who worked with Fizdale in Memphis and Miami, is expected to join his staff. Another strong candidate is Clippers assistant Mike Woodson, who also interviewed to be the Knicks’ head coach and expressed a willingness this week to be part of Fizdale’s staff if he got the job.

Another possibility Begley mentions is Adam Johansen, a scout for the Grizzlies who also spent time with the Heat while Fizdale was there.

Fizdale Likely To Bring Smart On As Assistant

May 5th, 2018 at 9:23am CST by marksuleymanov

David Fizdale is joining the Knicks as the team’s next head coach and now the focus will be on the rest of his staff. Marc Berman of the New York Post reports that NCAA champion Keith Smart, who was an assistant coach in Miami and a part of Fizdale’s staff in Memphis, will likely join the Knicks as an assistant.

David Fizdale Notes: Assistants, Reactions, More

May 4th, 2018 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

With David Fizdale and the Knicks in agreement on a four-year contract that will make the former Grizzlies coach the new head man in New York, Fizdale will now be tasked with filling out his coaching staff.

Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com recently suggested that Fizdale could recruit some of his old Grizzlies assistants to join him elsewhere, and Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News agrees with that assessment, tweeting that a list of potential Knicks assistants should start with Bob Bender, Keith Smart, and Nick Van Exel.

Meanwhile, Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype attempts to identify a few more candidates to join the Knicks as assistants, including Juwan Howard, who spent plenty of time with Fizdale in Miami.

Here are a few more items related to the Knicks’ decision to hire Fizdale:

An NBA source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post that the Knicks are prepared to open cap room this summer in the event that LeBron James shows any interest in heading to New York. While Fizdale has a good relationship with James and it may technically be possible for the Knicks to create cap space, that scenario is an extreme long shot. As Mitch Lawrence of Forbes writes, the Knicks hope Fizdale’s popularity among NBA players with help them in free agency, but they’re probably looking ahead at least to the 2019 market.
Before he accepted a four-year offer from the Knicks, Fizdale turned down a four-year offer from the Suns to become their new head coach, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
There has been no shortage of praise for the Knicks’ decision to go with Fizdale. As Marc Berman of The New York Post relays, ESPN analyst Chauncey Billups referred to Fizdale as the “best coach on the market,” while Jalen Rose called him the “right fit” for the Knicks. Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post agrees that Fizdale is the right man for the job, and Enes Kanter told Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic that he likes the ex-Grizzlies coach “a lot.”
Still, not everyone is bullish on the Knicks’ hire. Dan Feldman of NBC Sports believes the optimism on Fizdale is misplaced, arguing that there are still too many issues within the Knicks’ organization to expect success from any new head coach.
Ian Begley of ESPN.com takes a look at the next steps for Fizdale and the Knicks as they attempt to turn the page on years of dysfunction.

David Fizdale Agrees To Become Knicks Head Coach

May 3rd, 2018 at 4:46pm CST by marksuleymanov

David Fizdale has agreed to a deal to become the Knicks’ new head coach, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Fizdale will sign a four-year deal with New York, Wojnarowski adds.

Fizdale was a popular head coaching candidate this spring, as the Magic, Hawks, Suns, and Hornets interviewed him for their vacancies. As it turns out, Fizdale recently turned down an offer from Phoenix to become the Suns’ head coach because he wanted the Knicks’ job, per ESPN’s Marc J. Spears.

The Knicks fired Jeff Hornacek at the end of the regular season, ending his two-year stint as head coach. Despite having another year left on his deal, Hornacek was the odd man out as the team’s new regime of president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry rebuild the franchise.

We relayed yesterday that Fizdale had gained serious traction to become the Knicks’ next head coach. Fizdale was among 11 candidates that New York considered throughout the process. Former Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, former Cavaliers coach David Blatt, and former Warriors coach and analyst Mark Jackson were reportedly finalists.

Fizdale will become the Knicks’ 11th head coach since the 2001/02 campaign, ESPN’s Ian Begley notes. New York is seeking stability in the role and the organization hopes the 43-year-old Fizdale can provide it. As part of his new job, Fizdale is expected to travel to Latvia soon to meet with Kristaps Porzingis, Wojnarowkski noted.

Fizdale coached the Grizzlies to a 43-39 record during the 2016/17 campaign, but the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Fizdale was relieved of his duties 19 games into this season as Memphis struggled to win while the head coach’s relationship with All-Star Marc Gasol reportedly deteriorated.

Before he joined the Grizzlies, Fizdale served as an assistant coach with the Warriors, Hawks, and Heat. He was part of the Heat organization for eight seasons, helping the team reach four NBA Finals, winning two of them. Despite his issues with Gasol in Memphis, Fizdale had been endorsed by several of his former players, including future Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade.

“He’s a phenomenal coach — everyone has seen that in the job he was able to do in Memphis [last season],’’ Wade said. “I definitely think his name will be in the running for a lot of jobs. He’s going to bring to a team his work ethic, a great offensive-minded coach, but has defensive principles from Miami [president] Pat Riley has installed in every coach that’s come here.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hawks Interview Jay Larranaga

May 3rd, 2018 at 11:42am CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga recently interviewed for the head coaching position with the Hawks, tweets ESPN’s Chris Forsberg. We passed along Atlanta’s interest in Larranaga earlier this week, and it appears the organization was able to quickly work out the details of an interview.

The field of candidates has become crowded after the Hawks parted ways with Mike Budenholzer last week. Nate Tibbetts, David Fizdale, Jarron Collins, Darvin Ham and Stephen Silas have all either interviewed or have interviews scheduled. Atlanta is also rumored to have interest in Spurs assistants Ime Udoka and James Borrego.

In addition to his playoff duties with the Celtics, Larranaga has been busy on the interview circuit, Forsberg adds. He met with the Knicks and reportedly made a strong impression during his interview with the Hornets.

Keep up with all the latest coaching developments with our 2018 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker.

Woodson Willing To Serve As Assistant To Fizdale With Knicks

May 3rd, 2018 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Mike Woodson is among 11 candidates who interviewed for the Knicks’ head coaching job, but he would be happy as an assistant if David Fizdale is hired, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post.

Fizdale is reportedly among the favorites, along with Mike Budenholzer and David Blatt, as the Knicks get closer to a decision. Woodson is currently the top assistant with the Clippers, but Doc Rivers isn’t certain to return next season and Woodson said he would listen if offered a similar post under Fizdale in New York.

“I love David. I gave him his first job on the bench — I know he worked one season before in Golden State,” he said. “We’re very close. I’m sure he would call.’’

Fizdale, who is set to interview with the Magic, has also talked to the Hornets and Hawks, along with the Suns, who will fill their vacancy with Igor Kokoskov. Fizdale spent four seasons as Woodson’s assistant in Atlanta and they share an agent, so they have a good working relationship.

If Fizdale does come to New York, he may not have access to all the assistants he had in Memphis, which decided to keep interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Berman adds. That group is made up of Keith Smart, Bob Bender, Nick Van Exel, Greg Buckner and Adam Mazarei. Heat assistant Juwan Howard, who worked with Fizdale in Miami and interviewed for the Knicks’ opening as well, could be a candidate for Fizdale’s staff.

Woodson called his interview with Knicks president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry a “great meeting,” adding that “everyone’s just waiting.”