The sudden firing of ex-Knicks coach Derek Fisher less than two full years into his five-year contract wasn’t just about New York’s recent losing skid. Fisher had lost the respect of many of his players following an offseason fight with Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes at the home of Barnes’ ex-wife Gloria Govan.
The beginning of the end for Derek Fisher was his situation with Matt Barnes. Needless to say, that did not go over big in the locker room.
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) February 8, 2016
When the incident happened, Fisher lost “moral high ground” with his team, according to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and lost credibility as a “leader of men.” Fisher was Barnes’ teammate with the Lakers for several years. Now, Fisher’s coaching prospects moving forward look very bleak.
Tom Thibodeau Among Potential Replacements For Derek Fisher
Fisher is 40-96 in his coaching career. His first season with the Knicks was marred by an injury to Carmelo Anthony, and a concerted effort to tank the year for a high draft pick. However, Fisher struggled this year to get victories even though Anthony has been mostly healthy, and 7’3 rookie Kristaps Porzingis has been arguably the best rookie in the NBA. Fisher himself owned responsibility for the Knicks’ failures at the beginning of games.
“I’ll take some responsibility for it -- whatever is or isn’t happening -- so that we’re ready to play right at the tipoff,” Fisher said. “I think we have to figure that out.”
Matt Barnes Hints Fisher Should Watch His Back
Fisher couldn’t make it through the second year of his deal, despite having a five-year pact, and his mentor, Phil Jackson, running the organization and making all personnel decisions. That, plus the rumor spreading like wildfire that he does not command respect from his players, will make it very difficult for him to find a job as a coach moving forward.
And how does Matt Barnes feel about all this?
A photo posted by matt_barnes9 (@matt_barnes9) on Feb 8, 2016 at 9:13am PST
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