David Fizdale is returning to the sidelines.
The ex-Knicks coach — an associate GM with the Jazz — is being lured back to the coaching ranks with the Suns, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Phoenix made a “significant financial play for Fizdale and drew upon his history with new coach Frank Vogel and GM James Jones,” per the NBA insider.
Also helping entice Fizdale back to his coaching roots is chance to work with stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on a title contender.
The 48-year-old helmed the Knicks for 104 games — a season and a half — from 2018-19, getting fired amid an eight-game losing streak and the franchise’s first consecutive 30-plus-point losses in Dec. 2019.
The Knicks held an 4-18 record at the time and the Knicks had their former G-League coach Mike Miller replace him on an interim basis.
His Knicks career finished with a 21-83 mark.
“I really was at the lowest place I’ve ever been from a mental health standpoint,” he said about the aftermath of his firing in an interview with The Undefeated.
The Knicks originally sought after Fizdale to be at the helm of a “patient build” for the struggling franchise, which all changed when Tom Thibodeau jumped on the scene in the 2020-2021 season.
“But it was after, when you go through the whole part of, ‘What could I have done different? Did I even deserve this job?’ You think like you were an imposter,” Fizdale said. “You felt like you got over on these people. You’re a fraud.”
During his 18 seasons as an NBA coach, he has worked with the Warriors, Hawks and Heat as an assistant before getting a shot at head coaching with the Grizzlies from 2017-19, guiding them to a 50-51 mark before heading to the Knicks.
He then spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant with the Lakers — with Vogel as his head coach — before taking a front-office job with the Jazz.
Now, Fizdale will reunite with Vogel, who takes over the Suns’ bench after Monty Williams was fired following a Western Conference semifinal loss to the Nuggets this season.
