Phil Jackson Selects Derek Fisher To Coach New York Knicks

AP

Derek Fisher's offseason didn't last long and he will be reuniting with former coach Phil Jackson after accepting the coaching position for the New York Knicks.

Derek Fisher is only ten days removed from being knocked out of the playoffs at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs and will already begin working on next season.

The hire comes after rumors spread through the NBA like a wildfire that Phil Jackson would look to hire his former multi-champion point guard (Even the NBA got wind and fined Jackson $25,000 for talking about Fisher while he was still under contract with the Thunder).

Jackson made the decision to pursue Fisher after another one of his multi-champion point guards, Steve Kerr, decided to coach the Warriors over his Knicks.


Fisher's contract is reportedly a 5-year $25 million contract, and will be confirmed Tuesday during what the Knicks scheduled as "a major announcement."


Fisher had a few options and spent the previous week deciding which he would choose. It was said that the Los Angeles Lakers, who Fisher spent 13 of his 17 year career with, also were interested in Fisher's services. Fisher was also considering lacing them up for another season or taking a front office job.


This will be the second coach in as many years who will be making their coaching debut in the very next season after retiring (Jason Kidd hired was hired as the coach of the Brooklyn Nets less than a month after retiring). Oddly enough both of these coaches are in New York.

                                             

If Kidd's first season is any indication as to where Fisher will be then we should be in for some great basketball in the eastern conference (Kidd, who had a sluggish start, turned things around by New Years and coached the Brooklyn Nets to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference). Kidd's veteran-led Nets made it to the second round of the playoffs before losing to the Miami Heat.


Phil Jackson had always intended to bring in a young coach that he could mentor and have an on-the-court presence at the Knicks training camp and practices. Jackson was also searching for a coach who he had a close relationship with and after his first option, Kerr, accepted the Warriors position he let it be known that the coaching search would be on hold until Fisher's playoff run was over.


Fisher and Jackson will put together the rest of the coaching staff and are said to be considering a few of Jackson's former players and assistants (Bill Cartwright, Luke Walton, Ron Harper, Kurt Rambis, and Jim Cleamons).


We should expect to see a lot of media attention on the Knicks next season, even more than the normal New York City professional sports attention, with all eyes on how Jackson and Fisher interact and play their respective roles.


Of course this is only to be expected when the greatest coach in the history of professional sports is running a team in the largest media market in North America.