Report: Knicks Held Players-Only Meeting Before David Fizdale Was Fired

The New York Knicks fired head coach David Fizdale on Friday after just 104 games at the helm. 

Before the dismissal, Knicks veterans (notably forward Marcus Morris) called for a players-only meeting prior to the team's practice, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic, with messages that the team needed to play "harder" and "more together" with Fizdale potentially on the verge of losing his job:

The Knicks never received a chance to act on those sentiments under Fizdale, however, as the coach was fired alongside assistant Keith Smart following the team's Friday practice.

Fizdale went just 21-83 for the Knicks in one full season and 22 games into his second campaign. He signed a four-year, $22 million contract before the 2018-19 campaign.

Stepping into the Knicks' head coaching job is a Herculean task for anyone these days, and Fizdale was no exception as the team struggled to a league-worst 17-65 record last year and a 4-18 mark so far this season.

The Knicks have made the playoffs just four times in 2001-02. Every season has been a losing one outside of a three-year stretch from 2010-11 to 2012-13.

The Knicks team Fizdale stepped into in 2018 was (and still is) in the midst of a significant rebuild. They had grand designs of striking gold in a star-studded 2019 free-agent class but missed out on all of the big names.

Instead, the Knicks collected an excess of power forwards (e.g. Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Marcus Morris and Taj Gibson), and the result has been a team that doesn't shoot or play well together.

Although the team could have arguably played harder and better with the talent Fizdale was provided, the Knicks entered this season with low expectations (Danny Abriano of SNY.tv reported that the Knicks' over/under win total was 27.5) that they don't appear ready to meet.

Off the court, Charania noted that there has been "finger-pointing" regarding who to blame for the team's floundering start. The fault doesn't rest with one person alone, but the result is a Knicks team that may challenge for the league's worst record in two consecutive seasons.

The Knicks will now be led by interim head coach Mike Miller, who recently guided the G-League's Westchester Knicks from 2015-2019. He was called up to be an assistant on Fizdale's staff this year.

Miller, 55, was a collegiate head coach for 13 seasons at Texas State and Eastern Illinois. He amassed a 162-209 record and led Texas State to the NCAA tournament in 1996-97. The Westchester Knicks went 108-92 under his watch.