Getty Derek Fisher, coaching the Knicks
You’ll forgive Knicks fans if they have blocked out the fact that Derek Fisher was ever the head coach of the organization. But it did happen, even if it was a less-than-palatable time for the organization, which had just handed the reins over to franchise icon Phil Jackson, who no longer wanted to coach the team but was willing to run it from afar.
After Jackson fired coach Mike Woodson in 2014, Jackson moved to hire Steve Kerr, his former Bulls player who had been an analyst for TNT. It appeared a deal with Kerr was all but done when he changed his mind and, instead, decided to go off and coach a young guy named Stephen Curry with the Warriors. Jackson tabbed Fisher, another of his former role-playing shooters (Fisher was a Laker, of course), to take the job that Kerr spurned.
It did not go well. Fisher went 17-65 in 2014-15, a year that saw only six players healthy enough to participate in more than 50 games. Those six were: Travis Wear, Cole Aldrich, Quincy Acy, Jason Smith, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Shane Larkin. That pretty much explains the 17-win season.
Still, Fisher always appeared overmatched by the job in New York, and was fired during his second season, replaced by Kurt Rambis. He was 40-96 as Knicks coach, second-worst in franchise history ahead of only Larry Brown.
As Fisher said in 2017, “We both didn’t know exactly what we were doing. Being the head coach is not like playing. Being president is not like being the head coach.”
Fisher Taking Job With Crespi Carmelite
Now, he is back in the ranks of coaches, though he is not quite in the NBA anymore: Fisher, it was announced this week, will coach Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino, California.
Fisher said in a statement that he was happy to be able to get into teaching young players the game. That is consistent with what he’s done recently—he spent last year coaching middle-school boys.
“My family and I are thankful and grateful for this opportunity to join the Crespi Family,” Fisher said. “We want to thank Dr. Kenneth Foersch, Dr. Liam Joyce, and Athletic Director Brian Bilek for their professionalism and collaboration. Coaching and teaching is a true passion and I look forward to continuing this focus on the next generation of young student-athletes.”
Fisher was an excellent role player over 18 years in the NBA, and during that time, seemed to establish himself as head-coaching material. He went to the Knicks bench just one year after he retired as a player for the NBA, and might have benefitted from some time as an assistant coach before being thrown into the fire of coaching the Knicks.
Fisher Did Not Last Long in the WNBA
Fisher did not have much more success in the gig he took on after his Knicks job, coaching the Los Angeles Sparks, where he was also the team GM. The Sparks held their own during Fisher’s first two seasons, which were cut short by Covid-19. But L.A. fell to 12-20 in his third year and in his fourth season, despite the addition of WNBA star Liz Cambage, the Sparks got off to a 5-7 start and Fisher was fired.
Fisher, who won five NBA championships in his career, is back in the coaching game, and will face a pretty stiff challenge at Crespi. The team went 18-12 last year, and faced powerhouses like Sierra Canyon, Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks).