Five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher is about to embark on a whole new journey next season—as a head coach for the New York Knicks.
Phil Jackson, president of the Knicks’ basketball operations definitely has a good relationship with Fisher especially in their times together back in Los Angeles. Together with Kobe Bryant, they both thrived in his triangle offense which led them to five rings. And of course, the great Michael Jordan won three rings under the same offense and coach as well. So clearly, this offense has made many teams scratch their heads.
That being said, it’s no wonder he (Fisher) was chosen by Jackson to fill in the vacant head coach position. An intelligent person who’s not just very familiar with the triangle system, but also someone who shares the same ideals and goals with him will hopefully lead to the same success he had had in the past in LA.
Now with his first season as head coach fast approaching—a plethora of criticisms and high-expectations are on the former Lakers guard. According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, he recently stated that he is not Phil Jackson and neither his puppet:
Knicks rookie coach Derek Fisher said he is not a Phil Jackson clone or puppet and has learned plenty from other marquee coaches. …
“I’m not Phil Jackson, that’s for sure,” Fisher said Friday in Tarrytown. “I am not going to try to be or even pretend to be. I’ve for sure taken a lot of the basketball experiences and knowledge and life experiences and knowledge from working for Phil for so many years. So there will for sure be some things I will try and channel.”
“At the same time, I’ve learned a lot from other coaches, other men, other people that inspire me, other great leaders, other great athletes, great people that I’ll also channel.” …
“There will be some boundaries that we have to have within our relationship,” Fisher said. “But at the end of the day Phil is running this department.”
Obviously he’s not Phil Jackson, but surely he’ll be getting most of his tricks from his playbooks and other experiences with him. It’ll take some time before Fisher can go on his own accord as a coach in the league. He still needs to earn the full trust of both Jackson and all of his players.
The Zen Master will still be pulling some strings by the sidelines and Fisher will have to deal it until he figures everything out–and he will for sure.
Benjamin Felix Santos is currently a senior college student from the Philippines. An aspiring NBA writer, who bleeds the purple and gold. His love and passion for the game will never die.
You may find his other musings at the Lake Show Life.
Follow him on twitter: @biefsantos
