Derek Fisher: Knicks Can Win 63 Games Next Season 'If We Really Want To'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It can only go up from here.
The dreadful Knicks are 15-63 with four games remaining on the schedule.
But there will be reason to believe following the worst season in franchise history. New York will have one of the top picks -- potentially the top overall pick -- in the 2015 NBA draft, and president Phil Jackson will have plenty of money to spend on top free agents.
So let's just say that first-year head coach Derek Fisher, despite what has been a nightmarish few months, is feeling hopeful.
"It can turn around quickly," Fisher said on Thursday. "It will turn around quickly. But we don't really have to put a number on it. We are 6-21 in games (decided) by six points or less this year. So we lost 21 games on two possessions. So we don't have to go from 15 to 36 next year. We can go from 15 to 63 if we really want to. But that is up to us."
When Derek Fisher says the Knicks "can go from 15 to 63 wins if we really want to" is that code for "hey Phil, get me some damn players."
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) April 10, 2015
Jackson is expected to have between $25 million and $30 million in cap space to play with this summer. And assuming the Knicks pick first or second in the draft, they will likely have either Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns on the roster next season.
Oh, and that Carmelo Anthony guy will return, too.
15 to 63 wins? Cavs added LeBron and Kevin Love to a roster that includes Kyrie Irving and they have 51 wins.
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) April 10, 2015
The Knicks will host the Bucks on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, and then will conclude their season against the Magic, the Hawks and the Pistons.