NBA Rumors: Knicks eye Mark Jackson as a possible replacement for Jeff Hornacek

What's the story?

The New York Knicks might be thinking of replacing Jeff Hornacek with Mark Jackson as the head coach if Jeff has to leave.

In case you didn't know...

The New York Knicks front office fired Phil Jackson as the President and handed over the reins to Steve Mills before the start of the season.

The heart of the matter

There is no clear indication from the organization, but according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Knicks have their eyes marked on Mark Jackson as the new head coach if they feel like Jeff Hornacek might not be the correct man to run the show.

The critics could argue whether it is fully justified to make a coaching change so early as it was Phil Jackson running the triangle offense while Hornacek being the coach last season. But Hornacek himself is said to understand that his time could be short if no significant improvements are shown.

“Hornacek knows how the game works. In theory, he was not hired by Mills or Perry and without a strong allegiance to the front office he is therefore vulnerable. Maybe that’s why two coaches from different staffs told me they keep hearing Jackson’s name floated out as a possible successor when and if the Knicks were to make a change. Even Doc Rivers’ name is making the rounds even though he is under contract with the Los Angeles Clippers. That speculation could be based on nothing more than the Knicks’ history of hiring and firing head coaches the way the current While House administration discards staff members. But it’s out there.”

The next few months will be crucial for Hornacek as well as the Knicks and what happens on the court will certainly impact who will run things in New York in the future.

What's next?

The Knicks have just won two games out of the nine played in 2018 and are 20-25 on the season right now. Sitting in the 10th spot in the East, the Knicks are struggling to find consistency. They play the Utah Jazz on Friday.

Author's take

The critics are right in saying that firing Jeff Hornacek this early would be unfair. But Hornacek must make the Knicks perform cohesively and consistently in order to win the support of the Knicks' upper echelon. It will be interesting to see how things unfold in New York during the rest of the season.