The Knicks have agreed to hire David Fizdale as their next head coach, the Daily News has confirmed.
The deal is for four years, according to ESPN.
As the Daily News has reported, the Knicks contacted Fizdale before they started doing interviews and he was always a top candidate. The L.A. native had met with other clubs about their openings and was a hot prospect even after getting fired last season in Memphis because of a fallout with Marc Gasol.
The 43-year-old will be New York's 11th coach since Jeff Van Gundy left the team in 2001. Since that time, the Knicks have won just one playoff series and have been one of the worst teams in the NBA. They went 60-104 in two seasons under Jeff Hornacek, who was fired at the end of the regular season.
The Knicks interviewed at least 11 candidates: Fizdale, David Blatt, Jerry Stackhouse, Mike Budenholzer, Mark Jackson, Mike Brown, James Borrego, Jay Larranaga, Mike Woodson, Kenny Smith and Juwan Howard.
When the Knicks fired Hornacek, they set a mandate for the next coach to "understand" today's player while establishing better communication and relationships.
Fizdale was popular as an assistant with Miami for eight seasons _ particularly with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade _ but also butted heads with Gasol.
.png?w=600)
