The New York Knicks hired David Fizdale despite his known history with center Marc Gasol, which led to his eventual firing 19 games into his second season with the team.
The Knicks boss noted he doesn't blame the Spaniard for his firing during his Tuesday introductory press conference.
“We had some moments I pushed too hard,’’ Fizdale said of the Gasol mess, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. “I probably should’ve done more research and spent more time to getting to know the person, knowing what ticks and what doesn’t tick and how to get through to him. We had some good moments. It wasn’t like he played like a slouch.”
“I took what I learned from that and other things I did wrong. I did a lot of things wrong. I was a rookie coach. I screwed up timeouts, when to call time outs. I made bad subs. … I don’t want to blame (Gasol) for getting me fired. I don’t think that’s fair.’’
Fizdale reportedly admitted his fault in the matter to Knicks brass during his interview, giving the front office enough confidence that he would learn from his experiences and right his wrongs with this franchise.
But the young coach had bittersweet thoughts about his new budding star, Kristaps Porzingis, who will likely have some more work to do before rejoining the team, following an ACL surgery.
“I’m so sad he’s hurt,’’ Fizdale said. “I have to be patient on that one.’’
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