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Tom Thibodeau had a difficult second season leading the New York Knicks, with the team missing out on the playoffs due to months of inconsistency and questionable rotation decisions.
Large swathes of Knicks fans have begun to lose faith in their team’s coach, and many would be happy to see him relieved of his duties in the coming weeks. But, as history tells us, the grass isn’t always greener. Finding the right coach is a difficult and tedious process, and even when you think you’ve nailed it, there are no guarantees.
Take David Fizdale as an example. When the former Memphis Grizzlies coach was originally announced by the Knicks in 2018, everybody thought he was the perfect fit for how the team wanted to move forward, and the style of basketball they wanted to play. A 21-83 record over 104 regular-season games soon changed people’s minds, and the Knicks were looking for yet another new coach.
Now, in a weird turn of events, Fizdale is rumored to be one of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ primary coaching candidates. According to Mo Dahkil of Bleacher Report, Fizdale, who was with the Lakers as an assistant this year, isn’t the team’s first choice coach but is a candidate receiving consideration.
“Even though Fizdale was Vogel’s assistant this past season, he wouldn’t necessarily coach the same way. The Lakers need to look no further than what happened across the hall after the Clippers replaced Rivers with Ty Lue. Before Fizdale took over the Grizzlies in 2016-17, they were 20th in defensive rating. During his lone full season with the team, they jumped to seventh,” Dahkil wrote.
Fizdale is a Long Shot
The Lakers aren’t going to jump the gun on their next coaching hire. Similar to the Knicks, Los Angeles is in a precarious situation, where a few bad roster decisions could derail the franchise for the next four or five years.
Luckily, New York has youth to lean on, but the Lakers have little-to-no assets in the cupboard and will be reliant on the trade market to replenish their aging, and failing roster. Of course, when you have a star-studded lineup, the type of coach you appoint is very specific. In the NBA you have three primary types of coaches: Developmental, tactician, and players coach.
Each type of coach has its own lifespan within a team’s development cycle. Fizdale is yet to prove which category he belongs in, but judging by his time with the Knicks, he is most certainly not a developmental coach.
So, perhaps the former two-time NBA championship-winning assistant would be more suited to managing egos and overseeing a coherent system run by veteran talent? But is his voice big enough? And resume deep enough?
With so many big personalities in the locker room, and a rabid fan base eager for post-season success, Fizdale might find himself a little over his head in taking the Lakers role, which is why he is probably a long shot to surpass the interview stage.
Careful What you Wish For
Sure, the Knicks have struggled this season, and Thibodeau’s reliance on aging veterans has been a primary source of frustration. But, we’re just a year removed from one of the best seasons in recent Knicks history, so perhaps it’s worth seeing how the coaching staff pivot this off-season before making any final decisions.
After all, it may have come too late into the year, but Thibodeau did begin to give the Knicks’ younger players a chance towards the end of the season, and they all started to show signs of development.
Having a coach who will push the likes of Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, and Miles McBride to improve their games on both ends of the floor is only going to raise New Yorks’ ceiling in the long run. And if things don’t work out, you can always pivot to a new coach during the season – it’s not unheard of.
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