Welp Knicks fans, it doesn’t look like we’re getting a coach anytime in the immediate future. Once Steve Kerr went with the Warriors, it’s been clear that Phil Jackson wants to talk to Derek Fisher. The problem?! It’s not on Fisher’s mind — he’s in the middle of the playoffs — trying to win a title with the Thunder.
Check out what he had to say about the open position…
Via YahooSports:
What are your thoughts on the Knicks job?
Obviously, it’s humbling. It’s flattering. But Phil knows better than anybody at this time of year that singular focus that you have to have, and that’s what I’m trying to do for myself and for this team. My future, regardless of what it is, I’m not concerned about it until after these playoffs are done.
You’re friends with Phil. You wrote on your blog you’re still very close. Has he been talking to you through the playoffs a little bit just seeing how things are going?
No. We touched base right before his official press conference when he accepted the job. And since then, we haven’t spoken. Obviously, he’s busy in terms of trying to make the changes he needs to make there. But I have a day job as well, and I think he respects that more than anybody. He taught me a lot about how to operate during this time of year. We talk every offseason. I’m sure we’ll talk again when the season’s over. But I don’t have any intentions on reaching out to him. And I think he respects the space that I’m in right now as well.
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In talking with USA Today’s Sam Amick, Fisher swore up and down that the idea of coaching the Knicks hasn’t even crossed his mind, something that seems almost impossible even for the most single-minded of competitors:
“I literally have not given any thought,” Fisher told USA TODAY Sports when asked specifically whether he wants to be a coach. “I’ve kept all my options open for years for that reason. I’ve been asked for more than a decade what I’m doing next.
“(But) I think you have to want to do anything you decide to do that requires the type of time and effort that coaching requires. You go through your process at the appropriate time, and then you decide from there.”
