What Hiring Jeff Hornacek Means?
The Call That No One…Called!
On the evening of Wednesday May 18th, 2016 Phil Jackson hoodwinked the entire media and fanbase around the NBA.
As you can expect, things got salty…fast!
Those are just the tame ones. There are a ton more articles, interviews, videos, tweets from “experts” and fans alike that take the trolling and reaching to whole new levels. People were connecting dots that simply were not there.
Why you ask were they getting so salty (worked-up/bitter)?
To answer that I’d have to take you back to prior regimes in charge of trying to better the New York Knicks. It included Scott Layden, Isiah Thomas, Donnie Walsh and Glen Grunwald. All were General Managers (GMs) or Presidents of the Knicks organization. All failing miserably at it (apart from one 54 win Season).
The missing link between them?
They all had more leaks than a rusty faucet in Edward Snowden’s bunker. The media pundits loved being able to access the inner workings of Madison Square Garden. Knowing almost every move, and being able to speculate to their hearts’ content.
It was good for business, but bad for the organization. Countless trades would fall through because the other GMs were irate when the media caught ahold of it. Or even worse, the rival GMs would use the media leaks to up the asking price in trades. Nothing like a panicked fanbase to land you a 1st round draft pick.
This regime — helmed by Jackson, though would put a squash to all of that. Quietly plugging any and all leaks. The perfect example came most recently during last year’s 2015 NBA Draft.
So many reports had “sources” claiming a wide range of Knicks’ rumors. The team were picking guards like Emmanuel Mudiay or Justice Winslow, trading the pick for veteran superstars, or even moving down for additional picks if the draft didn't shake out their way. In the past these would have been given some credence, due to the aforementioned leaks. Some of these rumors even bore fruit from time to time. But, under Jackson their wells were as dry as the Sahara.
The team ended up picking a foreigner — Euro, Kristaps Porzingis — out of left field.
How may you ask does this relate to the hiring of Jeff Hornacek as their new Head Coach?
It's easy. The journey for media and fandom were the same for both events last year and this. Let’s take a look:
- A myriad of options were presented by journalists depicting who they thought the Knicks would choose. The route they thought would be taken was held-up on the foundation of “sources” — who were later disproved, and likely never existed.
- As time went on they were getting worried. Once the main options weren’t getting any traction, they turned things up a notch by generating fear, restlessness, and anxiety among the fanbase. Utilizing various social media platforms and articles to drum up ideas of indecision among management. Sometimes even straying from the subject to talk about unrelated or personal matters of management, just to get their jabs in. There was Jackson's so called “vacation” during the coaching search for example — it was later revealed that he was visiting his brother who had fallen ill.
- Next came the shocking announcement of whom Jackson had settled on as his new head coach. The connection here was that Jackson had subtly hidden who he was targeting all along within all of the chaos. Keeping everything “close to the vest”, and his inner circle. There were only one or two rumors of Hornacek’s interview, and there were only one or two rumors of Porzingis’ interest from New York.
The Zen master (Jackson), liked it that way. He liked keeping his opponents guessing — when he was a player, when he was coaching, and now running an organization. He was always cerebral in his approach. Playing chess, while others were playing checkers.
Hornacek was an unlikely final candidate, with the likes of David Blatt, Frank Vogel, Luke Walton, and interim coach Kurt Rambis all having direct connections to Jackson, his beloved Triangle Coaching System, or in Blatt’s case: to the organization, as a fellow Princeton alum of Knicks GM Steve Mills.
No one in the New York media pegged Hornacek’s interview as nothing more than a formality, meant to appease the public and star Carmelo Anthony. Why would they? Hornacek had no connection to Phil or his “coaching tree”. Therefore — according to them — he wasn’t real.
But, as usual, the New York sports’ reporters had gotten it wrong. Hornacek did have “an in” with Jackson. Multiple “in’s” in fact.
Hornacek played and worked for Jerry Sloan and the Utah Jazz. Sloan as many know, is one of Jackson's most revered fellow NBA personnel. Always having high praise for the fellow coach and anyone associated with his famed FLEX pick-and-roll offense — which shared many traits of Jackson's own Triangle offense.
Hornacek also played for Phoenix Suns’ head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons, where they ran degrees of— you guessed it — the Triangle offense. Fitzsimmons was also a disciple of Tex Winter, the credited architect of said offense. Winter was also the one who deployed the Triangle for Jackson during his LA Lakers’ coaching days.
During Jackson's time as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, he was enamored with Hornacek’s demeanor and playing style, wanting to pair him with Scottie Pippin and Michael Jordan. He lucked out then. Jackson also lucked out last year on coaching candidate Steve Kerr, who would go to win the championship with the Golden State Warriors. Here's what Kerr had to say of Hornacek (whom he once played with in Phoenix):
“I’m a big fan,” Kerr said Saturday at Chesapeake Energy Arena, where he prepped his Warriors for Sunday’s Western Conference finals Game 3 against the Thunder. “I was a teammate of Jeff’s in Phoenix, played against him my whole career.
“I thought he did a phenomenal job in Phoenix. That first year he got them to within a game of the playoffs in a loaded conference in a year when they were supposed to be a high lottery team.”
“This guy has a great knowledge of the game, great feel, and he’s a really top-notch human being. I thought he was a great choice.”
Hornacek was one of five candidates mentioned above to be considered for the job. A job that opened up after the Knicks fired Jackson protege Derek Fisher in February, 2016 — one week after the Suns fired Hornacek.
Players around the league liked Hornacek because of his fast-paced up-tempo style, calm demeanor, and smarts when it comes to the game. All things Anthony was looking for as well. Hornacek is what Mike D’Antoni — another former Suns and Knicks coach — should have been.
Hornacek is also a great developer of talent. He's able to get the more out of players than most people. Which is why he was originally brought initially as a consultant for the Jazz years ago. Players who didn't have a perimeter game before, were suddenly having career shooting years. That comes from Hornacek’s years of experience as a deadly shooter in the NBA.
Something Knicks’ youth like Porzingis, Jerian Grant, and Tony Wroten can surely benefit from going forward. something star Anthony wants to see more of, thus spreading the floor offense and taking opponent's defensive pressure off of him.
Here are more signs of that championship pedigree connection:
- Steve Kerr in Year 1: Rookie Coach, Former Player, Champion
- Luke Walton: Rookie Coach, Former Player, Champion
- Jeff Horneschek: Rookie Coach, Former Player, Champion
All laid back yet, disciplined (ala Phil). All winners in their first year.
Hornacek even was runner-up Coach of the Year (COTY) in 2014, after taking those same Suns to 48 wins in a stacked Western Conference during a year when they were projected to win 25 games at most — and it was his first head coaching gig. They were a fun team to watch with their dual guard blitz offense.
Of course this is all in-theory, based upon past performance. Which as we all know is never a real indicator of future performance. This may or may not even become fruitful for the Knicks.
But…it is another step in the right direction. This, after many years — and regimes — in the wrong one.
— Dharam Raghubir
