The Knicks Have Fired Jeff Hornacek
ESPN- The New York Knicks dismissed coach Jeff Hornacek early Thursday morning, league sources told ESPN. Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry informed Hornacek of his firing upon the team’s return to suburban New York following a flight back from Cleveland, where the Knicks beat the Cavaliers 108-95. Hornacek had one year left on his contract. Kurt Rambis, associate head coach under Hornacek, was also dismissed. In two seasons with the Knicks, Hornacek went 31-51 and 29-53.
Nothing like waking up to feed your infant son at 3 a.m. only to find out that a Woj Bomb about your team waiting for you. Or actually can this even be considered a Woj Bomb? The Jeff Hornacek Era was about as forgetful an era as there has been in Knicks history. Most Knicks fans welcomed him with open arms because he was not a cucklord like Derek Fisher or literally the worst coach statistically of all-time like Kurt Rambis. He was Phil Jackson’s mulligan and was the captain of the ship during one of the weirdest seasons in Knicks history (the Derrick Rose trial/disappearance, Melo #StayingMe7o, and the entire Phil fiasco to end the year) and well as one of the most forgettable (this bland, shitty season). At least the Knicks got one last win to kick their already barely living lottery chances in the dick before the season ended.
Hornaeck will also be remembered as the guy that allegedly called New York’s son Kristaps Porzingis a pussy, got into a shouting match with Joakim Noah before Noah got exiled from the team during his $72 million ski masking of the franchise, drove people crazy with his rotations neglecting some of the intriguing younger players on the team, and was able to lead the Knicks back to where they belong, which is NBA Lottery Purgatory, literally the worst place in all of sports. WONDERFUL!
At least we will always have the newspaper headlines.
Goodbye Abby, we hardly knew you.
And goodbye Kurt Rambis, we never liked you.
Actually that one time you liked a porn picture on Twitter was pretty funny.
But then you claimed you were hacked, which was lame as fucked and you were always Phil Jackson double agent spy with the worst coaching resume I have ever seen anyway.
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Saying a coach was a big part of the last four seasons of Knicks basketball is one of the meanest things you can ever say about somebody.
Play him off, Mikhy!
Now that Hornacek is gone, where does that leave the Knicks? Well it leaves them with needing a new coach for the 12th time during Jim Dolan’s 20 year reign of terror. Think about that for a minute. The Knicks average a new coach more than once every two years. What a fucking JOKE this franchise has become. And that’s before we get into the nitty gritty of the most recent seasons.
As usual, the most enticing part of the Knicks job will be the money and “prestige” associated with it. I put prestige in quotes because, again, 11 coaches in 20 years and two playoff appearances is a joke. The team’s only superstar (no offense Michael Beasley) is a 7’3″ glitch that just so happens to be coming off of ACL surgery and may not be rushed back next season. So expectations will be low, even for the Knicks.
On the bright side, the next coach will have a chance to work with Scott Perry, a GM that may actually know what he’s doing. But they will also have Steve Mills acting as Team President. Cue the chart with all the highlighted years Mills has been associated with the Knicks!
Now cue the picture that sums up how I feel every time I see the Knicks record whenever Mills is anywhere near the franchise!
Woj’s article mentions a few potential candidates that will likely grow over the next few weeks.
Former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale, former Cavaliers coach David Blatt — now coaching in Turkey — and former Warriors coach Mark Jackson are among the candidates the Knicks are planning to contact, league sources told ESPN. New York also plans to contact Jerry Stackhouse, the head coach of Toronto 905, the Toronto Raptors’ G League affiliate, according to sources.
David Fizdale gets me excited because he seems to be a well-respected, good coach. But he also seems wayyyyy too smart and qualified to take a job with this dead end franchise. The thought of Fizdale being the coach of the Knicks excites me for a multitude of reasons, no matter how unlikely it is.
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Damn that dude is cool. Way too cool to be coach of the Knicks in the shape they are in.
Mark Jackson will be the popular choice for nostalgic Knicks fans, but he is also the current answer to the trivia question “Who was the only guy that could stop the Warriors from making the NBA Finals?”
Jerry Stackhouse intrigues me because he is a name that is a little off the radar and it’s always nice to have a coach that could beat up any other coach in the league.
David Blatt seems like the perfect name to be linked to the job since he is a buddy of Mills and as we know with the Knicks, a lot of the times it’s who you know more than what you know. You can tell me that he is actually a good coach and things fell apart because him and LeBron didn’t mesh. That’s fine. Whoever gets hired next will probably be gone in 2 years anyway as the Wheel of Misery continues to spin in New York.
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Another name I have already heard floated is Jeff Van Gundy, who is 1A or 1B with Jackson for those same nostalgic Knicks fans. I personally wouldn’t wish for him to come just because I want to remember the Jeff Van Gundy Era fondly with him coaching his dick off, hanging onto the leg of Alonzo Mourning during his fight with LJ, and being the last bastion of hope for the Knicks outside of when Donnie Walsh actually had this franchise moving in the right direction. I also think JVG is way too smart to come here as long as James Dolan owns the team.
Actually fuck it, the Knicks should check in with the Mets and see if they can hire Mickey Callaway and use him from November-March. He has turned the Mets from a mess owned by some of the cheapest owners in the Majors to the best team in baseball in a couple of weeks. God knows what he can do for an owner that looooooves spending money. Or not. I don’t know. It’s late, I’m tired, and I have to keep a newborn baby alive.