He will have to rebound after an up-and-down start in Memphis
Fizdale’s short tenure with the Grizzlies included many high moments, like the team’s aforementioned competitive Spurs series. He was also instrumental in improving the team’s defense, which had slipped in the previous year under predecessor Dave Joerger.
But his time in Memphis came to a crashing halt when Fizdale fell out with star center Marc Gasol. The 7-foot Spaniard was reportedly upset that Fizdale opted to mold the Grizzlies in his own image by suggesting the team get rid of veterans Zach Randolph and Tony Allen. There are also multiple reports of a heated exchanges in the locker room and Fizdale diminishing Gasol’s achievements on the International level. But the major tipping point seemed to occur when Fizdale benched Gasol in the fourth quarter of an early season loss to the Nets last year.
“If I’m not on the floor, I’m not valued,” a frustrated Gasol told reporters after the game. “I’m sure [the coaching staff] knew that would hurt me the most.”
Memphis fired Fizdale the next day. There’s a lot of excitement around New York for the Fizdale hiring. But he will have to prove that the issues he had in Memphis with Gasol are behind him. Especially in dealing with Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis, another star European big man. It seems the relationship is off to a good start. Fizdale and his wife Natasha visited Porzingis’ family in Latvia this summer.
“We’ve talked about his rehab (from ACL surgery),” said Fizdale. “We’ve talked about how we want to play, our style of play. Talked a lot about the culture that we’re building. We wanna make sure that he comes back strong and healthy and we don’t want to rush it. We’ve had some really good conversations.”
