0.4 seconds. A New York minute. The Fish that saved L.A. lasted a little longer than that. But a 23-31 start to year two with the Knicks was the final snake eyes for this coaches escape from New York.
As a Point Guard, backup leading player for Coach Phil Jackson’s three-peating and double-up champion Los Angeles Lakers, Derek Fisher was more clutch when it came to game winning than Kobe Bryant or even Robert Horry. The rings are on his fingers for multiple reasons. He’s a Lakers legend through and through. They should go ahead and just retire that number 2 jersey or at least the number 0.4 already.
Fresh out of retirement from the Oklahoma City Thunder lasted year, Fisher has already proven himself as a competent coach clutching at a future. His former Lakers courted him, but it was his former coach Phil Jackson who recruited him to the New York Knicks franchise he once played for as another real role player and now owns and runs.
Reeling Fish in it seemed like a Knickerbocker orange match made in purple and gold, basketball God heaven. And for the most part it was, as well as the student and master teacher mentoring learning curve it was always going to be from P-Jax to D-Fish. But this season the Madison Square Garden faithful have wanted to see more growth towards the brackets from the roots played in the partnership between superstar Carmelo Anthony and Rookie of the Year candidate Kristaps Porzingis.
Although this was far from Derek’s fault a change had to come. They tried to wait it out as long as they could in an iPhone impatient news feed trend of a sports world today. Now it looks like Coach Fish can go Fish. Get that Finals picture of Fisher looking up to Jackson crying ready as your next Jordan joke meme before it’s on someone elses timeline.
It must be hard firing a friend and former ally, even for the Zen Master. But it has to be easier hiring one. Amongst Jackson’s former players with coaching experience that the New York Knicks are looking at include the Lakers Brian Shaw (who almost replaced Jax in L.A. after the end of his second tenure) and the coach with the best start to the year Luke Walton (who filled in for former Chicago Bulls player Steve Kerr’s Golden State Warriors head gig when the coach was rebounding from back surgery).
Speaking of rebounding Bulls, even Dennis Rodman tried to worm himself into a job interview via Twitter, although we’re sure this world be a more combustible experiment than when Rodmam briefly played for the Lake Show and couldn’t choose between the jersey number 69 and 007.
Meanwhile in the interim another Lakers legend once coveted to coach for the franchise will take the Big Apple helm. Former 80’s Showtime spectacle hustler Kurt Rambis who formerly coached the Minnesota Timberwolves and was a part of Phil’s original staff moves up Fisher’s bench for his prime time on the pine. Although like Pat Riley in Miami we all know who we really want to come downstairs and take a bite out of this rotten core.
Speaking of 80’s Lakers greats, the grapevine is hearing that the show may soon be over for former Showtime slammer Byron Scott. With problems all over Lakerland maybe its time Kobe’s running mate from ’96 worked on his resume.
Besides he’s got a hell of a reference.
Time to go Fishing.
