New York Knicks rumors suggest that Derek Fisher’s job is not completely safe.
Being hired as the head coach of the New York Knicks in 2014, Derek Fisher looked to bring his winning ways to a leadership position after 19 seasons as a point guard in the NBA.
The first season wasn’t the prettiest, however, as the former five-time NBA champion led the Knicks to just a 17-65 record and a fifth place finish in the Atlantic division. It seemed like an uphill battle would be ahead for Fisher, but the start of the 2015-16 season has been completely different.
New York is no longer the laughing stock of the NBA after a 20-21 start, sitting in 10th place in the surprisingly-competitive Eastern Conference, just one game out of playoff positioning, Fisher seems like one of the better young coaches in the league. He has brought his title-winning experience to the Big Apple in the hopes of making the Knicks great again.
However, his job security is wavering, according to Brian Windhorst and Zach Lowe of ESPN, transcribed by Dan Feldman NBC Sports:
"Windhorst:I’m going to wave a yellow flag on Derek Fisher, as well."
"Just hearing some rumbling that there isn’t a lot of – it’s not all rainbows and lollypops there. Just a yellow flag, not a red flag.Lowe:I agree with you that there’s some rumblings. I haven’t heard them maybe like you have."
Phil Jackson knows a thing or two about basketball, so the fact that he’s still the head coach of this franchise is telling of the belief that the former head coach has in Fisher. It’s unclear what the “rumblings” are in the locker room that Lowe and Windhorst are hearing about, but they know more as insiders than many.
They wouldn’t just spread rumors like this if something serious isn’t happening behind closed doors despite an uptick in success already this year.
Heck, Fisher has already won more games this season, 20, than he did all of last year and there’s still 41 games to go. He’s done a whale of job this season with Carmelo Anthony mixed in with Kristaps Porzingis and other young players.
The future of the Knicks is unclear, but if Fisher is fired, who would be the next best option at head coach? It might take some time before they find someone who could fill the void at that position if Fisher is let go and it would be a somewhat shocking move.