The 2014-15 NBA season was one of change for Derek Fisher and the New York Knicks franchise.
After spending the 2013-14 season playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Derek quickly made the transition from the court to the sidelines and the locker room to the office as he retired from the game and was immediately hired by his mentor Phil Jackson to coach the New York Knicks: a franchise that had undergone several roster changes in the offseason and only endured more throughout the year.
Only seven players who were on Derek’s opening day roster finished the season among New York’s 12 active players—and none of his starting five were in the starting lineup at season’s end.
It was a rough season, as Fish’s Knicks finished at 17-65, but even amid the struggles, Derek was left optimistic about the future of the franchise.
“It was obviously a difficult season for us as a team, and we were forced to deal with some realities,” D-Fish said after New York’s season finale. “I’m proud of these guys. We accomplished a lot internally, and I think we set some new standards for what we expect of players who play for this team and this organization.”
Derek’s Knicks fell in his coaching debut to the Chicago Bulls, who started and finished the regular season on the short list of Eastern Conference favorites. But it only took one more game for Fish to hit the win column.
After a home loss in the opener, the Knicks traveled to Cleveland, where they were facing the tall task of taking down four-time MVP LeBron James in his return to his hometown Cavaliers. But guided by a big night from their own star, Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks triumphed in a 95-90 final.
As expected, Anthony was the guiding force for the Knicks while he was on the floor, but various injuries had him in and out of the lineup throughout the year, but he still tallied 29 20-point games in 40 appearances before the All-Star break.
Unfortunately, his run was over after the break. He underwent season-ending surgery on his knee, passing the torch to the young Knicks for the remainder of the year.
An even bigger onus was on the shoulders of the young Knickerbockers, as several other key players departed throughout the year. Sharpshooter J.R. Smith and the team’s top on-ball defender, Iman Shumpert, were both dealt to the Cavs; and big man Amar’e Stoudemire was waived at the All-Star break.
The season did bring some high points: Wins over the Cavs; the Toronto Raptors; Fish’s longtime team, the Los Angeles Lakers; the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs; and the East’s No. 1 seeded Atlanta Hawks, but wth the team’s four biggest stars either gone or out of commission, Derek shifted gears and focused on developing his young players.
Second-year guard Tim Hardaway Jr. was one of the key cogs for Coach Fish as the season rolled along. He played in 70 games, starting 30, showing flashes of greatness through a handful of 20-point nights—but he was largely inconsistent.
Hardaway, who was also on Derek’s Summer League squad, then suffered a wrist injury that sidelined him for almost the entire month of March, but Coach Fish believes that to be one of the most important stretches of time in his young career. After sitting out, the Michigan product came back with pep in his step, and he closed the season with a combined 48 points in the team’s final two games.
“Tim learned a lot about himself and what’s possible out there on the floor when he was out with the injury,” Derek said. “I think he has been a different player since he’s been back. He’s attacking the basket, being aggressive, talking and communicating more on defense, which was a big area of growth for him.”
Derek also played a large role in grooming another young New York guard: rookie Langston Galloway. Galloway, too, was on D-Fish’s Summer League roster, but a four-year player out of Saint Joseph’s, he landed in the Development League.
He made his NBA debut on Jan. 7, tallying seven points in a loss to the Washington Wizards. He then followed that up, going toe-to-toe with MVP candidate James Harden and posting 19 points in just his second game in the league.
He didn’t stop there. Later in January, he registered his first 20-point game, tallying 21 in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans, which sparked the team’s only three-game win streak of the season. Not long after, he guided the Knicks to their fourth win in five games, posting 18 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Galloway went for 18 or more points 10 times, dropping numerous clutch buckets along the way—often resembling the clutch shooting his coach displayed in his playing days. He put the icing on his season in the form of a 26-point, six-assist, five-rebound outburst in a 112-108 win over the East’s No. 1 seed Atlanta Hawks in the penultimate game of the season.
Fish has lauded the fearless Galloway throughout the season, praising his toughness, attitude and work ethic as exactly the type of character he wants in his locker room.
“He continues to make plays and do what he’s shown the ability to do,” Coach Fish said of Galloway. “He can make shots and he’s tough minded. Through mistakes and different experiences out there on the floor, he just continues to keep coming back no matter what happens. That’s what’s impressive about him.”
The tough times have brought Fish and his Knicks closer throughout the year, and he has praised not just Galloway and Hardaway, but nearly every player on the roster throughout the year.
“I’m personally thankful for the guys on this team who continued to show up to work every day and continue to come into these games every night, despite being completely outmanned and outnumbered,” Derek said. “They didn’t show up not to try and win and not to try and do the right thing.”
Jason Smith, Lance Thomas, Cole Aldrich, Lou Amundson, Cleanthony Early, Quincy Acy, Shane Larkin, Andrea Bargnani, Alexey Shved and Jose Calderon have been among the Knicks how have come through with big contributions throughout the season, and Fish wishes they could all be back.
“Unfortunately, they can’t all be back. No matter what I think,” Fish said. “They understand that, and so I’m thankful for each and every one of them whether they are back or not. These guys will always be my first team, no matter what. Any success we have as an organization or I have as a coach will always start here, from these guys.”
Team president Phil Jackson talked about the mentality of Coach Fish during the break, and he said that Derek has already begun to instill the type of outlook and mental fortitude the franchise wants to build.
“I’m very proud of the way Derek has held himself together during this,” Jackson said. “It’s not easy to go through what he’s gone through. He’s done a really terrific job of continuing to coach and teach and that’s what we’re looking for. And so we’re moving forward in that regard.
“He’s been consistent about his coaching. He’s patient with the players. He hasn’t lost his temperament that I think is very much a part of who he is. The resolve and the character is stable. The fact he is optimistic is really important.”
Now, it will be up to Jackson and the rest of the Knicks brass to augment the N.Y. roster. With the second worst record in the NBA, the Knicks are guaranteed a Top 5 draft pick and have a 19.9 percent chance to win the top overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery.
A number of trades and free agency moves are also a possibility, if not a certainty. Fish would not comment on what moves he believes Jackson will or even should make, but he knows that if the Knicks follow the right general blueprint and philosophy, the franchise is destined for greatness.
“We all learned that being successful is on purpose. It’s intentional. It doesn’t just happen to you for being lucky or even for having talent,” Fish explained. “Very specific decisions and people have to be involved from top to bottom, and I think we learned that in a major way this year. We now have an opportunity, as we step away from tonight and into our offseason, to make the decisions accordingly, understanding that we have to be intentional about where we’re going and what we’re doing.”