The Knicks Make a Surprisingly Smart Move by Hiring Good Coach David Fizdale

There were some other things that I was going to talk about today, but finally, mercifully and thankfully, the New York Knicks made a right, and proper, decision.

The announcement of the hiring of David Fizdale as their new head coach might be the best news Knicks fans have heard since they found out they were going to be able to draft Patrick Ewing. This is a big deal. This is a great hire. This is the exact guy that the Knicks need to make them relevant again. Fizdale is a great NBA coach. He has proved that at every stop. How he got fired in Memphis was a raw deal. He didn't deserve that. He did more with that team than anyone, myself included, thought. He had them deep in a series with a very good Spurs team. He made Zach Randolph better. He got Marc Gasol to fully buy in. Mike Conley became a should be All Star under him. He took marginal players, like Tony Allen, and turned them into quality players. He was also a bench coach for the Heat when they had their big three, and he did wonders with them. He and Spoelstra really figured out how to work with those three guys, and I give Fizdale a ton of the credit. He convinced Dwayne Wade that it was LeBron's team. He got LeBron to be highly efficient. He had Chris Bosh do all the little things that the Heat needed at the time. These guys listened to him because he is a players coach. He makes himself available and works with their strengths.

Now, what the Knicks have in Fizdale is a great coach that can squeeze the best out of his players. Now, they have to get more guys around him. Fizdale will do wonders with Kristaps Porzingis when he returns to full health. Porzingis is already great, but Fizdale will tweak his game ever so slightly, and he will be that much better. Frank Nkilitina will become an even better defender, at which he is already very good, and his offensive game will grow. Nkilitina is also super young, so he has a ton of room to grow. Those are the 2 guys I feel like Fizdale should build around. And, until they get some big name guys, he will squeeze the best out of the players currently on that team. Tim Hardaway Jr will become much more efficient. Fizdale will get him to stop taking so many dumb threes, and he will become a better passer. Trey Burke, who was lighting it up at the end of the year, should thrive under Fizdale. He will never be lottery pick good, but he will become a capable NBA backup, which is his best case scenario. Kyle O'Quinn can become a very poor man's Zach Randolph. He has a similar game, he just isn't as good offensively. That could change. Courtney Lee is going to be a dynamite shooter and defender under Fizdale.

The Knicks will be much better, and have a much better record in Fizdale's first season. I know that may sound crazy, because this team was awful, but they were also in tank mode at the end. They were playing guys that had no right to be on an NBA floor. Fizdale won't go for that, and he will get guys that can play. If you get a starting five out there for him that consists of Porzingis, Ntilikina, Hardaway Jr, O'Quinn and either Burke or Emmaunel Mudiay, I wouldn't be shocked at all if they are fighting for a playoff spot, especially in the East. I'd go so far as to say they could even push for a 6 or 7 seed. I could see Fizdale getting 40 plus wins out of that group.

Then, in year 2 or three, watch out. As I mentioned before, guys, stars, want to play for someone like David Fizdale. He has a very tight bond with LeBron James. Now that Fizdale is in New York, I wouldn't be shocked if they become a possible destination for him. He likely wouldn't join the Knicks, but they are now a factor after hiring Fizdale. Say LeBron chooses to stay or go elsewhere, that doesn't mean the cupboard of stars that would want to play for him would be bare. I wouldn't be surprised if Marc Gasol would go there to reunite with him. I see the Knicks as a spot for Kawhi now. I feel like he'd love to play for Fizdale. I could see a young guy that has all the tools, just needs the coaching, Julius Randle, joining to learn under a great head coach. The possibilities are endless.

I love this hire. I haven't said much good about the Knicks since this website started, because they haven't done much right, but this hiring of Fizdale is an absolute homerun. I can finally, without hesitation say, good job Knicks front office. You finally did something right, and you will reap the benefits much sooner than expected. What a solid move.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on all the internet.

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