New York Knicks Will Wisely Hire Jeff Hornacek As New Head Coach

After yet another substandard campaign laden with disappointing developments including the firing of head coach Derek Fisher, the New York Knicks had an incredibly important task at hand in hiring their next leader.

Since he took over for Fisher this winter, interim head coach Kurt Rambis was said to be favored by team president Phil Jackson, and was expected to keep the job. But common sense (thankfully) prevailed, as new reports suggest the Knickerbockers will land an outside influence with the imminent hiring of Jeff Hornacek.

Report: Knicks to hire Jeff Hornacek as head coach. https://t.co/vxM5aissqE pic.twitter.com/yreYI01dJe

— theScore (@theScore) May 18, 2016

Hornacek, 53, got a raw deal with the Phoenix Suns earlier this season, as he lost his job after the team had a terrible first half. But the truth is, there was only so much he could do with a roster that was devastated by injuries to its two best players in Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe. Hornacek finished his two-and-a-half year tenure with the Suns at 101-112, which is respectable considering the adversity he faced.

With the Knicks, Hornacek faces an equal share of challenges. The team has some talent in place with Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis leading the way, but isn’t built to run the triangle offense that the aforementioned Jackson has forced it to adapt to. A number of additions will have to be made in the 2016 NBA Draft and free agency for this team to even sniff the playoffs coming off a 32-50 season.

The hiring of Hornacek is a solid start, but Jackson and Co. have an abundance of work to do still in order for the move to pay dividends on the court.