MIAMI _ David Fizdale left plenty behind when he moved on from his role as Erik Spoelstra's lead Miami Heat assistant in 2016.
Including, apparently, any sense of patience from management and ownership.
First there was a playoff season with the Memphis Grizzlies in his head-coaching debut in 2016-17. And then, working with one of the worst front offices in the NBA, a dismissal by the Grizzlies 19 games into 2017-18, at 7-12.
Now, with the New York Knicks, Fizdale has been asked to guide a radical roster remix, almost all with an eye toward future contracts, simply because of the nature of their current contracts.
The rub is what Fizdale has been asked to work with is eerily similar to what Spoelstra had to endure at the start of 2016-17 with the Heat.
That was when, in the wake of losing out on their longshot bid for Kevin Durant in free agency the Heat moved ahead with short-term deals with Wayne Ellington, James Johnson, Dion Waiters and a trade for Luke Babbitt.
The early results were as could be expected with a group of imperfect strangers, including an 11-30 start.
All the while? Crickets from the Heat front office and ownership. Because there was confidence in having the right man in charge on the bench.
The second half of that season? A 30-11 finish.
Putting aside the fallout of the contracts extended to Waiters and Johnson in the wake of that revival, it was an example of knowing what the team was getting into in July 2016 and of the risks attached, including, as proved to be the case, players eventually maximizing their value in 2017 free agency.
In many ways, this 2019-20 Knicks roster is the embodiment of that 2016-17 Heat mix, all the way down to how it was put together in the wake of the Knicks' own failed free-agency pursuit of Durant.
So Bobby Portis got a two-year deal that includes a team option for the second year. Julius Randle got a three-year deal that is non-guaranteed in the third season. Marcus Morris got a one-year deal. And Taj Gibson, Elfrid Payton, Reggie Bullock and Ellington got two-year deals with non-guaranteed second seasons.
Just as that 2016-17 Heat team stood, it essentially is a team of independent contractors, all better off renting than owning, with little security from the Knicks or commitment toward the Knicks beyond this season.
What the Knicks have gotten is a payoff in the standings commensurate with the commitments offered, Thursday's victory over the Dallas Mavericks notwithstanding.
Yet thrust into the fire less than a month in is Fizdale, who well may ultimately prove to be the equivalent of an NFL coordinator getting in over his head in a lead role.
The reality is there never was enough time to get a read on that reality in Memphis, nor, seemingly will there be in New York.
Because in Memphis, management that no longer is in place needed a scapegoat.
And now in New York, the front office duo of Steve Mills and Scott Perry also need a fall guy after their failure to make any headway yet again in free agency.
When your best player is Mitchell Robinson or Kevin Knox, what exactly are you expecting? Unless the goal is player development, as the Heat pursued with 2017 draft picks Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, in the wake of coming up short with their 2016-17 mix.
If Fizdale was hired as a win-now coach, there is nothing in place to win with.
If he was hired as a developmental coach, then the veterans signed in the offseason only convolute the situation.
In retrospect, Fizdale could have found himself in a far better place had he taken the Atlanta Hawks job that eventually went to Lloyd Pearce in the 2018 offseason, a place without the lurking of Mills and Perry. There, he could have grown into the job, with a franchise that seemingly appreciates the value of nurturing.
