Derek Fisher blasts Knicks for lack of ‘character and integrity’

By Stanford Crissey | Mar 4, 2015

Feb 6, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher rubs his head against the Brooklyn Nets during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. The Nets defeated the Knicks 92-88. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /

Knicks coach Derek Fisher has had a long season, and is starting to get fed up with his players

It has been the most miserable season imaginable for the New York Knicks. They were supposed to be contenders; just two years ago they had the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They re-signed their star forward Carmelo Anthony, made some additions in the offseason (including hiring new president Phil Jackson, who has roughly one million championships as a coach–that’s a rough estimate), and had the benefit of playing in a weak conference.

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Instead, it’s been a train wreck, boat explosion, motorcycle crash… whatever transportation disaster you want to call it, it’s been that. The team is 12-47, half a game behind the 76ers, a team that is actively trying not to win.

Derek Fisher, the rookie coach of this derailed train, is starting to get fed up with his players, calling them out after a 38-point loss to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

“It was definitely not the level of character and integrity this group has been showing in recent weeks,’’ Fisher said. “That was the most disappointing part. It’s not necessarily losing the game but just the way as a group, we couldn’t find a way to compete.”

It’s not hard to see what has Fisher so frustrated, the Knicks’ last four losses have all been by 25 points or more. With Anthony out for the season and the team mired deeply in last place, it’s not hard to imagine that the team has given up, which is sure to frustrate any coach.

It was supposed to go differently for this team. They were installing the triangle offense, they signed Carmelo for five years, and were supposed to be surrounding him with talent.

Now Anthony is out for the year, and the five active players who have are getting the most minutes for the current Knicks all have negative VORP ratings according to Basketball-Reference; meaning that the team would be beter off playing free agents off the street than their current starters.

With the plane crash that the season has turned into, it’s fair to start wondering if Fisher will still be the coach next season. It’s become very, very clear that a complete rebuild is necessary, and Fisher, who had never coached or been as assistant coach before being hired by the Knicks directly after retiring from playing, may not be the coach to guide the team through a rebuild.

He may be close with Phil Jackson, but Jackson is going to have a lot of thinking to do about whether he made the right decision in choosing his coach. Meanwhile, Steve Kerr thanks God every day for the bullet he dodged.

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