Earlier this month, the New York Knicks hired David Fizdale to replace Jeff Hornacek as the team’s head coach.
Hornacek coached the Knicks for two seasons, amassing a record of 60-104 (.366). The Knicks missed the playoffs both years, and had middling draft slots in each year—the worst place to be in the NBA.
They had the No. 8 selection in the 2017 draft, taking Frank Ntilikina, and they will select ninth in the upcoming draft on June 21.
The Knicks interviewed many candidates for the job, and many were rumored for the position, including Mike Budenholzer, Jerry Stackhouse, and David Blatt.
After listening to Fizdale’s introductory press conference on May 8, it sounds like the 43-year-old will place an emphasis on developing young talent. He called out Emmanuel Mudiay, specifically, saying that they were going to “get to work.”
Hopefully GM Scott Perry and President Steve Mills are in lockstep with Fizdale on this emphasis. The Knicks, historically, have not placed much emphasis on developing their youth, trying to fix their problems by signing veterans. The new regime appears much more willing to hit the reset button, building from the ground-up, but that depends on what moves they make this summer.
It seems as good a time as any for the Knicks to finally develop their young talent, and try to acquire more. Kristaps Porzingis has a torn ACL. Nobody knows exactly when he will be ready to return, but reports have indicated that the Knicks might be willing to have him sit out the entirety of the 2018-19 season, get fully healthy, and put themselves in a better position to have a really high draft pick in 2019.
With Porzingis out, the Knicks can focus on their other young players and try to get them more playing time, something Hornacek always seemed reluctant to do. The Knicks, although they haven’t had any elite youth in recent years besides Porzingis, do have some talent that will be worth investigating this year.
Frank Ntilikina was selected in the lottery last year, and he will just turn 20 on July 28. He’s a baby! Ntilikina is still younger than many players entering this year’s draft.
Frank Ntilikina is younger than Deandre Ayton, Mohamed Bamba, Michael Porter Jr., Miles Bridges and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – and most other first-round prospects.
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) May 18, 2018
He has elite defensive potential and could develop his offensive skill-set tremendously this year, given enough playing time.
Damyean Dotson was a second round draft pick last year by the Knicks, and he looks like he could very well develop into a solid piece for a team as a “3 and D” guy.
Emmanuel Mudiay was once a highly touted prospect as a member of the 2015 draft class; many wanted the Knicks to take him with the fourth pick (which they decided to use on Porzingis). So far, he has not lived up to that potential in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets, but consistent playing time and some work with Fizdale could unlock some of the potential that so many saw in him just three years ago.
As an assistant with the Miami Heat (during their Big-3 era), and as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, Fizdale was loved by his players—but ultimately, he lost his gig in Memphis due to an issue with Marc Gasol, and the Grizzlies picked him over Fizdale.
Fizdale seems to be doing well so far in New York. He had a strong press conference, and the players already seem to be taking to him. He took Ntilikina, Dotson, and Mudiay to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Boston earlier this week to show them playoff basketball atmosphere. Whether or not that’s a worthwhile move is unknown, but it’s definitely a cool idea, if nothing else.
The new coach is also off to a great start in his relationship with franchise cornerstone Kristaps Porzingis. He reportedly spoke to KP earlier in the week, and when he was initially hired, there were reports that he planned to travel to Latvia to meet KP in person to discuss his rehab. Porzingis spoke glowingly about Coach Fizdale.
Just had a great conversation on the phone with Coach Fiz. Man im excited!!!!! Lets gooo!!! ??
— Kristaps Porzingis (@kporzee) May 24, 2018
Ultimately, his quality as a coach will be decided in a few years after we can properly analyze his player development, but so far, he seems to be on the right track.
Featured Image via: Flickr/Pablo BM
