From the jump, it was going to be an uphill battle for New York Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek. He inherited the team on a complete rebuild. Kristaps Porzingis got injured this year when they were looking like a playoff squad. And now his tenure with the organization has ended, even if he has one year left on the contract. This officially ends the Phil Jackson era in Madison Square Garden entirely, considering Jeff was hired by Phil when he was still president of the team.
Hornacek finished with a record of 60-104 in two seasons, which is the sixth-worst record in the league in that time span.
The organization is now looking to make a big splash in the offseason, not only by hiring a big name as head coach, but by going after big free agents to pair with Porzingis as he comes back from injury.
Among the names that are being thrown around to coach next include David Fizdale, David Blatt and Mark Jackson. It’ll be interesting to see who takes the job at this point, with plenty of work still to do to get the Knicks back to basketball prominence.
The Knicks have not made the playoffs in the past five seasons and are back in the lottery this summer, hoping that their young core can carry their franchise in the future. Especially with Porzingis being the leader and focal point to build the team around. Depending on who they hire as coach and who they can lure in the offseason, this team can end the postseason drought with the right moves.