The New York Knicks have tried to land a superstar for years. From pursuing LeBron James' free agency in 2010 to being linked to stars like Donovan Mitchell and even Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Knicks appear to be home to one of basketball's biggest stars and a perennial championship contender. But, that effort to acquire franchise-changing talent hindered the Knicks for several years.
In an interview with Fan Duel TV play it backFormer Knicks coach David Fizdale looks back at the 2018-2019 season, where New York went 17-65. According to him, the team was trying to land either Zion Williamson or Ja Morant in the 2019 NBA Draft, while also trying to land Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
"I was totally on board with the plan we came up with, and I thought this was the deal and this was the way to go about it. It didn't work out... losing all the games, sacrificing our record to get Zion Williamson or Ja.
He added, "That summer our guys thought KD and Kyrie were definitely coming to us, but it didn't work out."
The Knicks have had some productive role players on the team, such as Luke Kornet, who is emerging as a backup center with the Spurs this season. Tim Hardaway, Courtney Lee and Enes Kanter have had productive years in the league and Kristaps Porziņš, though battling injuries, recently helped the Boston Celtics win the 2024 NBA title.
But Fizdale believed the roster construction was not really conducive to winning.
"When you look at that roster as a whole, all solid players, but when you put them on the floor together, the pieces weren't working... If I were doing it again, I would have struggled more to make a team early on and not cash in on my record."
Overall, Fizdale brought a different take to the conversation about tanking. The tanking discussion has been a big one throughout the season, and Fizdale offered a different perspective on it.
"That's the hard part for coaches when you agree to tank. When you tank, you have to build something big. Not everything that happens is considered a tank... That's not the formula."
