As one of the most sought-after coaches on the market, David Fizdale was presented with multiple offers after interviewing for several vacant jobs.Despite being fired by the Memphis Grizzlies early this season following a 7-12 start to the campaign, his stock was still high after he led them to the playoffs in his first full year in charge.He had interviews with the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Suns in recent weeks.After weighing his options, the 43-year-old decided he simply couldn't turn down the bright lights of the Big Apple.Fizdale agreed a four-year deal with the Knicks and he described it as an opportunity and a challenge that was too good to pass up.
"It's the Knicks. What are we talking about?" Fizdale said about his decision to join the team, per ESPN's Ian Begley.
"To have an opportunity to coach for this franchise [and] to be a part of a rebuild that gets this place back to long-term winning, I couldn't pass that up. I just felt like I don't want to look back on my life and say I didn't take this chance.
"I don't know how it's going to turn out; I just know that I want to get to work," Fizdale added. "I have a lot of faith and confidence in my work ethic and my openness to learning and growing and taking [management's] support, and hopefully we can build this thing to where it should be."
Fizdale becomes the 29th head coach in the Knicks' history and was the first choice candidate for general manager Scott Perry and president Steve Mills.
The front office duo interviewed 11 candidates after firing Jeff Hornacek but it was coach Fiz that ticked many of the boxes during that process.
"We looked at his commitment to development, we looked at his personal integrity and we looked at his ability to communicate and partner with us," Mills said of Fizdale. "... It's important for us to work as a team and for us to grow together."
Ultimately, a clash with star player Marc Gasol led to his dismissal in Memphis but he is generally regarded as a players' coach.
Fizdale is hoping to learn from that situation and use it to become a better coach with the players in New York.
"It's my responsibility as a coach to get players to buy in and really to get them to collaborate and come together. And just for whatever reason we bumped heads on some things," he said. ".... Hopefully, I really grew from that and I can apply it to this situation."
He'll have a tough task turning the fortunes of the Knicks around, especially as superstar Kristaps Porzingis will face a lengthy spell out with a torn ACL.
But it'll be a long process for the organisation and it can only work if they give their new head coach enough time to build a winning culture.
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