The New York Knicks have fired head coach David Fizdale. In the wake of the firing, assistant coach Mike Miller will assume head coaching duties. Additionally, Keith Bogans (promoted from the G League) will serve as an assistant under Miller. Fizdale posted a 21-83 record in less than two seasons with the Knicks, including a 4-18 start to the 2019 season.
David Fizdale Fired by New York Knicks
The Knicks hired Fizdale prior to the start of the 2018 season in hopes he would turn the dumpster fire Knicks into a legitimate NBA franchise. However, owner James Dolan decided to pull the trigger after just 21 wins in 104 tries. Fizdale joins a long list of coaches who failed to get the job done in the Big Apple. He finished with the worst record in team history behind Larry Brown (23-59) and Derek Fisher (40-96).
Knicks have fired David Fizdale, per @wojespn pic.twitter.com/xIDBV04tih
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 6, 2019
The firing comes as no surprise as the Knicks flaunted the second-worst record in the league behind only the injury-ridden Golden State Warriors. A change had to be made, and, in Dolan’s eyes, Fizdale was the only reasonable patsy. Fizdale may have actually come out as the winner in the transaction, though. The franchise owes him the full remainder of his $22 million contract, and he no longer has to coach the Knicks.
Since Dolan’s first full season as the owner (1999-00), the Knicks have had an NBA-high 12 head coaches. Now, they’ll get to add a 13th name to that illustrious list in the midst of a six-year playoff drought that will undoubtedly turn into a seven-year drought by June.
The news simply continues a bad streak for the Knicks in recent history. First, they lost the Zion Williamson sweepstakes to the New Orleans Pelicans; however, they grabbed a great consolation prize in RJ Barrett. Then, they struck out in free agency. Instead of signing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, they walked away with Julius Randle and Bobby Portis. Now, they are once again in the head coaching market.
The Knicks have been an irrelevant franchise for more than half a decade. If the right leader isn’t put in place to turn the ship around, they will remain in the cellar for years to come.
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