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New York Knicks: 5 reasons David Fizdale is an excellent hire

By Kenneth Teape

SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 25: David Fizdale of the Memphis Grizzlies talks to the media during a press conference after Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the San Antonio Spurs of the 2017 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2017 at AT
SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 25: David Fizdale of the Memphis Grizzlies talks to the media during a press conference after Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the San Antonio Spurs of the 2017 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2017 at AT /
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New York Knicks: 5 reasons David Fizdale is an excellent hire
Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images /

4. Learning from past mistakes

Fizdale had a great first season with the Memphis Grizzlies. He led them to the postseason, the seventh consecutive season Memphis had qualified. However, his second season there did not go well.

Fizdale was fired after 19 games. The team was in the midst of an eight-game losing streak and Mike Conley had been sidelined with an Achilles injury. The last nail in the coffin for Fizdale was that he and star player Marc Gasol did not see eye-to-eye.

Gasol had been reluctant to play the offense that Fizdale wanted to implement. His final straw was being benched in the fourth quarter in a game against the Brooklyn Nets. Fizdale was unable to get on the same page with Gasol, losing the power struggle and consequently, his job.

During his interviews with the Knicks, Fizdale stressed that he was going to learn from his mistakes in Memphis and improve as a head coach in New York.

"“I really just want to get back on this sideline and take what I learned from this last situation and really try to apply it to the next organization,” Fizdale said. “I’m not faultless in all this stuff. I don’t want to sit here and act like that. I have mistakes that I made and things that I want to grow from and learn. So whatever kind of team that is — whether that’s a contender or a young team trying to be a contender or a young team trying to develop — I’m ready to face it all.”"

In the Big Apple, Fizdale’s relationship with Kristaps Porzingis will have a lasting impact not only on his standing but the outlook of the organization for years to come.

Porzingis skipped his exit meeting at the end of the 2016-17 and it did not sit well with some people within the organization. Jackson reportedly fielded trade offers for him prior to the draft. Fizdale is hoping to avoid those problems and be on the same page with his star player, as he plans on going to Latvia to meet with him in the near future.

That is a good first step in developing what will hopefully be a fruitful relationship between Fizdale and Porzingis.

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