Matt Slocum/AP
According to ESPN, the New York Knicks have fired head coach Derek Fisher.
Fisher was hired last season by Knicks president Phil Jackson as part of a team and culture overhaul.
In Fisher's first year, the Knicks went a franchise-worst 17-65. This season, the Knicks are more respectable 23-31, but have lost nine of their last ten games, in danger of falling out of the playoffs.
Still, the move comes as a total shock, as Fisher's job seemed secure with Jackson in place.
The Knicks have placed an emphasis on a slow, proper rebuild, and it seemed Fisher's development as a head coach — after going straight from playing to coaching — would be met with patience.
However, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported that Knicks owner James Dolan was growing impatient with the team's recent struggles and disagreed with Fisher's recent comments that missing the playoffs this season would not be a big deal for the Knicks.
Early reports say that assistant coach Kurt Rambis will be the interim coach. However, with a loaded coaching market this offseason — Tom Thibodeau, David Blatt, Jeff Hornacek, Kevin McHale, to name a few — the Knicks will have a wide pool of candidates to look at. ESPN's Brian Windhorst said Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton (who coached the team this season while Steve Kerr was out) and former Nuggets coach Brian Shaw are expected to be the top candidates.
Fisher's record with the Knicks was 40-96.
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