Jeff Hornacek believes he’ll be back with the New York Knicks next season, despite what has been a rocky tenure thus far.
Jeff Hornacek remains outwardly confident that he’ll be back with the New York Knicks next season. This really shouldn’t come as a surprise because he has a year left on his contract and does anyone really expect him to say anything different?
In response to a question regarding the possibility of him coming next season, Hornacek told Newsday’s Al Iannazzone, “I still have next year so unless they tell me something different.”
Hornacek undoubtedly has some major blemishes during his tenure with the Knicks. But he’s trying to look at the big picture. He would go on to tell Iannazzone:
Everybody wants to win, but in the NBA it’s not easy to win. We got off to a good start with those guys. Then with injuries were we deep enough to top guys to overcome that? Obviously we weren’t able to. But that doesn’t mean that we haven’t improved. Guys are getting better, trying to improve their competitiveness. Going into when we get KP back and our draft pick, and maybe free agency, we can be in better shape next year.
He’s trying to keep forging ahead, despite the tailspin the team has been in since Kristaps Porzingis’ injury. But it’s about more than the injuries to KP and at one point, Tim Hardaway Jr.
Hornacek is optimistic that he can weather this storm, but the ship is encountering significant swells. The Knicks have fallen off a cliff after a surprising start to the season, they have been one of the worst teams in the league on the road, and the Joakim Noah situation has been ugly for everyone involved. Since taking over the reins in New York, Hornacek has amassed a record of 55-91.
It’s still a toss-up whether or not Steve Mills and Scott Perry will bring the embattled coach back. He’s saying the right things, but that might not be enough to save his job.
