Derek Fisher hasn’t even officially gotten any job offers from any teams in regards to a head coaching position but that hasn’t stopped the league for fining Phil Jackson for mentioning that Fisher may be a good candidate for the Knicks.
The NBA has fined Jackson $25,000 for singling out Fisher as a potential fit for the Knicks’ head coaching vacancy while Fisher was still playing for the Thunder:
ESPN has learned that Knicks president Phil Jackson has been fined $25,000 for tampering with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Derek Fisher
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 2, 2014
Jackson was quoted as saying that Fisher would be “a person that’s on my list of guys that could be very good candidates for this job.”
After the Thunder were knocked out of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs, Fisher acknowledged that the Knicks job was intriguing:
“There’s for sure huge layers added to [the decision]. The personal relationship and professional relationship that I’ve had with Phil Jackson over the years, and being in the position that he’s in. And also, with the Lakers having an opening, it for sure adds layers to it.”
Fisher has always been the consummate professional but the amount of hype he’s receiving as a head coaching candidate is a bit puzzling. He’s never coached at any level and while point guards seem to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to getting coaching chances without previous experience (Mark Jackson, Jason Kidd, Steve Kerr) that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are any better at understanding and teaching the game of basketball than anyone else.
After all, the Zen Master himself was a forward during his own playing days.
Still, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Fisher coaching in some capacity next season. He’s apparently already on Jackson’s shortlist and while that doesn’t mean anything definitive, (see Steve Kerr) if Fisher does end up in New York we’re sure that Phil Jackson will find that $25,000 fine to be worth it.
[content_block id=134357]
