A man from Deer Lodge, Montana and a man from Little Rock, Arkansas navigated extremely different paths to the top of the NBA world. In 2000, these two men intersected in Los Angeles where they helped the Lakers raise five championship banners. After four years apart, Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher are together again on the biggest stage in the mecca of basketball, New York City.
Jackson is the most decorated head coach in NBA history with 11 championships. Fisher captured five titles as the point guard for the Lakers and now enters his first season on the sidelines. This begs the question: How exactly will these two highly successful men coexist in New York?
The first step is to understand Jackson’s mindset heading into this inaugural season of collaboration.
“I see a role simply as a guy who is willing and ready to offer support, willing and ready to step into a private session if there is need be, and talk about alternative things that can happen on the basketball court,” Jackson explained. “I have been helping him conduct these workouts that we’ve had here on this court, so I’ve kind of gotten through a coaching jag that I’ve had and realized that it’s not my role to be on the court.”
One would understand the temptation for Jackson to inch towards the coach’s seat. However, Jackson is now the president of the New York Knicks and completely immersed in the day-to-day duties of player evaluations, trades, drafts, and the overall direction of the franchise from a basketball perspective. We’ve already seen a significant six-player trade, the selection of a highly regarded draft pick in Cleanthony Ealry, the essential re-signing of Carmelo Anthony, and the hiring of Fisher during Jackson’s short tenure in the Knicks front office.
“This is where a young man [Fisher] steps in and has the energy to lead the team moving forward. I’m very willing to share what I have and that’s why I’m here, is to flesh out what I’ve accumulated over 30 years of coaching and what I can give back to this team and the game,” Jackson reassured.
Fisher has been described as a floor general, a natural leader, and a player with a propensity to hit clutch shots. These attributes should help him thrive as a head coach. Additionally, Fisher shares Jackson’s belief in the Triangle Offense, which is an important factor in the pursuit of cohesion from the front office down to the hardwood floor. The former point guard pulled back the curtain and described how exactly the two are working together prior to the start of the 2014-15 campaign.
“Our communication on the basketball stuff has just kind of been organic,” Fisher acknowledged. “Phil has been at some practices and there are things that we talk about on the sideline, maybe in practice. He’s joined us during practice and other than that we don’t really force it.”
It was certainly difficult to imagine Fisher as anything but a head coach during his two-week run in Las Vegas with the Knicks Summer League squad. From the onset, Fisher handled the media with ease, commanded respect from the team, and implemented the Triangle Offense in a short amount of time. This was the first time Jackson and Fisher worked together in the president-coach capacity. The two seemed completely at ease with the relationship.
“One thing about Phil that I’ve known for a long time, especially playing for him is that he is not a micromanager, so I knew taking this job it wasn’t going to be a situation where he was going to be constantly pulling my strings, he’s confident in my ability to try and lead this team. At the same time, what better resource for a new coach to have than one of the best coaches to ever do it right over your shoulder, talking to you and giving you advice along the way,” Fisher stated.
Only time will tell if the Jackson-Fisher marriage will eventually deliver the Larry O’Brien to New York. While both parties share the ultimate goal, they are confident and clear on the separate lanes they must run in order for the Knicks to succeed.