As the NBA regular season comes to an end, The New York Knicks are already looking in a new direction as head coach Jeff Hornacek was fired early Thursday morning. Following his return to New York after a 110-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, James Dolan and the Knicks organization informed the former Utah Jazz shooting guard that he will not be returning for the last year that was on his contract according to a report by ESPN.
Some early head coaching options for the Knicks according to ESPN’s league sources are Former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale, former Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt and former Golden State Warriors Head Coach and former Knicks Point Guard Mark Jackson.
Jackson seems to be the early favorite for Knicks fans as a former star player for the team as well as coaching the Golden State Warriors team that would win the NBA Finals one year after his departure. Jackson was largely responsible for the success of the team and was inexplicably let go after a 50 win season with the then up-and-coming roster.
Since taking over as head coach two seasons ago, Hornacek won 60 games and lost 104 which is good for sixth worst over that stretch according to ESPN. The Knicks finished this season 29-53, good for 11th place in the Eastern Conference. More front office changes are expected from the Knicks during this offseason as the franchise has struggled to put the pieces together to make the playoffs.
The Knicks were without star center Kristaps Porzingis for a lot of the season after he tore his ACL in early February which led to a string of losses.
