Jeff Hornacek Brushes Off Slight By Derek Fisher
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork) -- Jeff Hornacek was clearly irked Tuesday that Derek Fisher suggested he's underachieving as Knicks coach, but he also took the high road in responding.
In an article published Monday on Bleacher Report, Fisher said he accomplished more with less talent than Hornacek has with the Knicks.
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"We were able to take a team that wasn't as talented as the team they have now, and we were much better and much further along than this group is that they have now," Fisher said in the article. "Because the foundation was being laid.
"That's different than just trying to coach basketball — and it takes longer. That's the part that you can't measure in wins and losses either. That's what we were doing the best at."
Hornacek did not appreciate the comments.
"There's enough analysts and reporters who like to talk about coulda, shoulda (in) what they did,'' Hornacek told reporters after the Knicks' Tuesday morning shootaround in Washington. "We don't pay much attention to it."
Fisher, whom the Knicks fired last February after a year and a half on the job, currently works as a studio analyst on Lakers broadcasts.
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Hornacek said he believes Fisher might be angling for another coaching job, but added that he would never resort to criticizing the job of another coach.
"I think he's also trying to push himself in a light that maybe someone else will give him a job,'' Hornacek said. "That's probably why he's putting it out there.''
The Knicks went 40-96 under Fisher and were 23-31 when he was fired last season. New York is 21-28 in its first year with Hornacek on the bench.
