Report: Knicks fire Hornacek
Another season without playoff basketball at Madison Square Garden didn't end without repercussions, as the New York Knicks reportedly fired head coach Jeff Hornacek after returning home late Wednesday from their season-ending victory in Cleveland, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Hornacek had one year remaining on his contract. Associate head coach Kurt Rambis was also reportedly relieved of his duties.
Citing league sources, Wojnarowski reported the Knicks plan to contact former Memphis Grizzlies coach David Fizdale, former Cavaliers coach David Blatt, who has since returned to coaching in Turkey, former Warriors coach and Knicks star Mark Jackson, and Raptors G League head coach Jerry Stackhouse.
The Knicks missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, with Hornacek at the helm for the last two. New York compiled a 60-104 record under Hornacek, including 29-53 this season.
Despite showing promise through the season's opening months, winning 10 of their first 17 games and entering the new year with a .500 (18-18) record, the Knicks were buried by a horrendous 1-17 stretch from late-January through mid-March.
Making matters worse, star big man Kristaps Porzingis, who led the Knicks to a respectable 22-26 record when in the lineup, underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL in February.
Hornacek was the Knicks' 10th head coach in the last 16 years, during which the franchise has just one postseason series victory.