Knicks Fire Coach David Fizdale After 4–18 Start to Season

The Knicks have fired coach David Fizdale, the team announced Friday.

As a result, assistant coach Mike Miller has been promoted to interim head coach.

The moves come during a turbulent season for the Knicks, who lost 129–92 to the Nuggets on Thursday night.

Fizdale was at the team's practice on Friday and addressed the rumors surrounding his future with the franchise.

"I don't think about that stuff," Fizdale said, per the New York Post. "I don't think about it at all. I go into–every day is I come in here, I see 17 guys that I've got to make better and I see a team in Indiana that we've got to try to go out and beat. I take it day-by-day that way. Even if we were on a 16-game winning streak, I would be going about it the same damn way. Just focused on that."

Questions have been raised over Fizdale's job security after president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry addressed the media in a surprising press conference in November to discuss the team's early-season struggles.

"We have patience and we believe in coach and we believe in the group that we put together," Mills said. "But we also know, as Scott and I have said a number of times, we need to find a way to have a consistent level of effort and execution."

Wojnarowski previously reported that Mills had started to build toward the eventual firing of Fizdale.

In addition to firing Fizdale, New York dismissed assistant Keith Smart as well. 

The Knicks are 4–18 and have lost eight straight games. The Warriors (4–19) are the only team with a worse record in the NBA.

Fizdale was 21–83 in less than two full seasons at New York's coach.

With Fizdale out, Miller is set to take on the highest-profile job of his young coaching career. Miller was hired as the head coach of the Westchester Knicks G-League team in 2015. 

For the past four seasons, he led the Westchester Knicks of the G League’s bench, finishing with a 108-92 record. Miller took home the 2017-18 NBA G-League Coach of the Year award, following a 32-win season.

New York is back in action on Saturday when it hosts the Pacers at 7:30 p.m. ET.