New York Knicks: Culture is already changing, says Damyean Dotson

New York Knicks shooting guard Damyean Dotson is already seeing a change within the organization this offseason.

The New York Knicks have been the butt of plenty of jokes over the years. They are as dysfunctional as they come in terms of organizations, but they are looking to change that.

New York has undergone an overhaul in the leadership positions. In the front office, Scott Perry is now general manager and Steve Mills is team president. They are replacing Phil Jackson, who had a disastrous tenure with the organization. On the bench, things have changed as well.

David Fizdale is taking over as head coach, replacing Jeff Hornacek. Fizdale is the fifth coach that will man the sidelines for the team in five seasons. That kind of turnover is never a good thing. Building chemistry and continuity is important in the front office and coaching staff as it is with the roster on the court.

The Knicks are hoping those improvements come with Fizdale on the sideline. He has been the head man for the Knicks only a few weeks, but he is already doing his part to improve and learn from his past mistakes.

For an organization that has struggled as long as the Knicks have, any positive steps are nice to see. It will take some time to truly get things back on course, but New York is certainly heading in the right direction. Shooting guard Damyean Dotson is one player that has noticed.

Dotson was selected by the Knicks with the No. 44 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He saw firsthand just how dysfunctional that the Knicks can be. However, he has noticed a difference already in the few weeks since Fizdale was named head coach.

Dotson was one of the three players, along with Frank Ntilikina and Emmanuel Mudiay, that watched an Eastern Conference Finals game between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fizdale brought the young players there, and Dotson called it a great experience. Not even some heckling from Boston fans could ruin the experience for Dotson and his teammates.

"“I had only been to two NBA games before as a fan,” said Dotson, a native of Houston. “And then going into TD Garden for a playoff game and seeing the passion of the fans and hearing them boo LeBron [James] and the Cavs. We even got booed.“I was wearing a Knicks jacket, and a couple of fans recognized me, Frank and coach and told us how the Knicks stink,” Dotson said. “Coach talked to us the entire game, pointed things out. ‘You see this. You see that.’ We saw LeBron hold his teammates accountable and watched the young Boston guys compete and go at LeBron. It gave us insight that age doesn’t matter, as long as you compete.”"

It was an excellent first impression made by Fizdale. You can’t know for sure, but an educated guess would say that is not something that would have happened under the previous regime.

Fizdale has been endearing himself to his new players, as star power forward Kristaps Porzingis expressed excitement as well after a phone call with Fizdale.

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In a phone interview with the New York Post, Dotson spoke highly of his new head coach as well.

"“Coach is a great guy,” Dotson told The Post in a phone interview. “He knows what he is talking about. Very detailed and makes sure everyone is on the same page, feeding off each other and together. He’s big into making sure we come together, play together and believe in each other. That we produce, play hard and scrappy. All the things that you want a coach to do. He inherited that mindset from [Pat] Riley and [Erik] Spoelstra. He has instilled a great culture in himself and wants to put that into our team.”"

With a new regime in place, Dotson has a chance to put a rocky rookie season behind him. The Post added that Fizdale has plans for Dotson this upcoming season despite a logjam at the shooting guard position.

At 6’5″, Dotson has the size to become a great 3-and-D player. Coming out of college, defense and 3-point shooting were thought of as his strengths. While he struggled to showcase that consistently last season, Fizdale sounds like he is going to give the former Oregon Duck and Houston Cougar a chance to play.

Dotson himself admitted that his rookie season was only decent, but did learn a lot in his first season in the NBA.

"“My rookie year was decent,’’ Dotson said. “I wasn’t super consistent and I need to be more consistent with knowing my role and defensive assignments. Sometimes I slipped up on assignments. I learned a lot throughout the season about what I need to get better at. I think it showed toward the end of the season when I was getting more playing time. The G League experience was also great for me. It helped my confidence, showing me that I belong. I was also able to score the basketball and grab rebounds and play like I did in college.”"

Dotson averaged 18.2 points, knocking down 38.5 percent of his 3-point attempts, with the Westchester Knicks. He also added 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 35.5 minutes per game. With the NBA team, Dotson averaged only 4.1 points, on 32.4 percent from 3-point land, with 1.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.3 steals in 10.8 minutes per game.

With the Knicks looking at a rebuilding season, Dotson should receive more opportunities this season than he did last season. Gaining that confidence in NBA games that he had in the G League will go a long way in improving his performance.

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It sounds like Fizdale is going to do what he can to ensure that Dotson plays with that same confidence to help him unlock his potential.

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