Yahoo Finance Report: Fired Knicks coach David Fizdale returning to ESPN as NBA analyst
David Fizdale isn’t going to jump back into coaching just yet.
The former New York Knicks coach is set to return to ESPN later this season as an NBA studio analyst, according to SNY. It’s not clear yet when Fizdale will join the network, or where exactly he will contribute.
Fizdale was fired from the Knicks earlier this month after a rough 4-18 start to the season. Knicks assistant Keith Smart was also fired the same day. Assistant coach Mike Miller was then named the interim coach. Fizdale was in his second year at the helm when he was fired, having gone 17-65 last season.
The 45-year-old has served as an NBA analyst in the past, most recently in a short stint during the 2017-18 season. Fizdale previously led the Memphis Grizzlies for a season and a half, compiling just a 50-51 record before he was fired — which sent him to ESPN before he took the head job in New York. Fizdale also spent 13 seasons as an assistant in the league, most notably with the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat.
Though Fizdale’s firing seemed imminent for some time, he did receive plenty of support from across the league since he was terminated — even from Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who said he too would have been fired had he been the coach of the Knicks.
The Knicks have gone just 3-5 since Fizdale was fired. They have yet to hire a replacement, though reportedly have several high-profile candidates that are interested in the job — including San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon. Hammon, the first full-time female assistant coach in any of the four major male professional sports leagues in the United States, would become the first woman head coach in the league should she be hired.
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