The clock is ticking on David Fizdale's tenure as Knicks coach.
Team president Steve Mills, flanked by general manager Scott Perry, told reporters following New York's 21-point loss at home to the Cavaliers on Sunday that the front office is "not happy where we are right now." The Knicks are 2-8 and last in the Eastern Conference after the season's first three weeks.
Mills did offer a slight vote of confidence by saying, "We still believe in our coaching staff."
Steve Mills and Scott Perry address the media following tonights 108-87 loss to the Cavs pic.twitter.com/txltzvkpgq
— NEW YORK KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) November 11, 2019
That staff includes two former NBA head coaches as assistants: Keith Smart, who has led the Kings, Warriors and Cavaliers; and Kaleb Canales, who coached the Trail Blazers for 23 games in the 2011-12 season.
MOCK DRAFT: Knicks go guard at No. 1
A downcast Fizdale tried to argue that his 15th-place team's season isn't lost despite how it has looked on the court.
"We're two games from the 8th seed"
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) November 11, 2019
-- Knicks HC David Fizdale pic.twitter.com/in8MyyfZko
While factual, the Knicks being just two wins behind the eighth seed is not a sign the team is poised to improve dramatically. As he did with last season's 17-win squad, Fizdale has tinkered with the rotation, partly because of injuries and absences (Mitchell Robinson, Elfrid Payton, Dennis Smith Jr.) but also because the roster is misshapen after Mills and Perry failed to lure Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to Madison Square Garden in the offseason.
The execs used a lot of their cap space on short-term veterans Payton, Marcus Morris, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington and Reggie Bullock. They also signed power forward Julius Randle to a three-year contract. All of those players are trying to mesh with lottery picks RJ Barrett, Kevin Knox and, in the past few games, Frank Ntilikina. Suffice it to say, inconsistency has ensued.
The Knicks came into Sunday's game ranked 28th in the NBA in offensive rating and 22nd in defensive rating.
Morris tried to put the onus on the players.
"If I was the front office, I'd be upset, too," he told reporters (per video from SNY). "Our coaches do a good job. We've just got to be better. They're not the ones giving up 20-point leads in the first half. That's us. That's all on us. We have to own it. We have to be better." Morris added that Fizdale is a "frontline dude."
Fizdale, though, is aware of how things work in the NBA, despite his spin about playoff contention.
"I live in that sense of urgency. I don't need anyone to speak to give me a sense of urgency. I'm not cruising through this thing acting like I've got a bunch of time to get a team together," he said, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
