Ian Begley, SNY.tv | Twitter |

The Knicks have fired head coach David Fizdale, SNY's Ian Begley confirmed. The news was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

At 4-18, the club is on pace for the worst season in franchise history and has lost eight consecutive games.

New York fired Fizdale on Friday, a day after a 37-point loss to the Denver Nuggets. In their previous game, the Knicks had lost by 44 points to the Milwaukee Bucks.

After spending $70 million in free agency, the Knicks expected to be more competitive this season. The team's poor record, and recent blowout losses, showed that those expectations weren't being met. New York was 7-15 at this point in the season last year, three games better than this year's record. So Fizdale was held responsible for the poor start.

It is not yet known who will take over for Fizdale.

Team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry hired Fizdale after interviewing nearly a dozen candidates in 2018. They felt that he would be able to connect with players well and develop the Knicks' young core.

Mills, Perry and Fizdale had high expectations for the team entering free agency last summer. The club had cleared cap space in trading Kristaps Porzingis, who requested to be moved out of New York. But the Knicks missed on their top free agent targets, instead signing veterans to short-term deals and inking Julius Randle to a three-year contract.

Fizdale expressed optimism about the roster prior to the season and throughout the season. The group was competitive in some games, but trailed by at least 20 points in nine contests.

Fizdale was the Knicks' 11th full-time head coach since the 2000-2001 season.

Some people in the organization worried that Fizdale was losing some of the players, per SNY sources. Players publicly backed Fizdale throughout the season.

The Knicks also dismissed assitant Keith Smart, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Knicks assistants Mike Miller and Pat Sullivan are candidates to become interim head coach, league sources tell ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski.

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