Report: New York Knicks hire Derek Fisher as head coach

By Josh Hill | Jun 9, 2014

May 15, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Derek Fisher (6) rests on the bench during game five against the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Grizzlies defeated the Thunder 88-84. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

We all saw it coming and the buzz was in the air that Derek Fisher could be leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to start his career as a head coach in the NBA. That very thing happened on Monday afternoon as the Knicks decided now was the time to act and hired Fisher to a mammoth $25 million deal.

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For those keeping score at home, that’s significantly more than $1.39 million Fisher made with the Oklahoma City Thunder this past season. It’s also much more than he would have made if he had chosen to stay in the NBA and play another year at the veteran’s minimum.

Derek Fisher is finalizing an agreement on a 5-year, $25 million deal to become the Knicks coach, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 9, 2014

This is the hire we all thought the Knicks were going to make when Steve Kerr was the name we were talking about, but he ended up bolting for a better situation in Oakland with the Golden State Warriors.

As for Fisher, he leaves a successful but flawed team in Oklahoma City to head up a team that he will be running with his former head coach, Phil Jackson. As we all expected, Jackson hired a guy he could control and groom in his image, and Fisher seems more than open to learning the was of the Zen Master Force.

Fisher also has the background of having played in the types of schemes that Jackson will be running, meaning he’s one of the few perfect coaches int he NBA to be able to teach the Triangle schemes as well as implement them.