New York Knicks set to hire Jeff Hornacek as coach

Jeff Hornacek, who never guided his team to the playoffs in 2 1/2 years as head coach of the Phoenix Suns, will be the next head coach of the New York Knicks, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday.

Bleacher Report first broke the story.

Hornacek, 53, was fired by the Suns on Feb. 1 when the team was 14-35. The previous two seasons, he produced 48-34 and 39-43 records.

Derek Fisher was replaced as the Knicks' coach on Feb. 8 after a 23-31 start to his second season. New York went 17-65 in his first year.

Interim coach Kurt Rambis guided the Knicks to a 9-19 mark down the stretch this season.

After the season, the Knicks reportedly had interest in Golden State Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton, former Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel and former Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt. In addition, Rambis was viewed as a front-runner due to his longtime relationship with Knicks president Phil Jackson dating to their time with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Walton wound up accepting the Lakers' head-coaching job.

Despite the presence of high-scoring forward Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks have endured three consecutive losing seasons. They have won one playoff series since the 1999-2000 season.

Anthony led the team again this season with an average of 21.8 points per game. Forward Kristaps Porzingis finished second in Rookie of the Year voting this week after averaging 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Hornacek enjoyed a lengthy playing career as an NBA guard. The Suns' second-round draft pick in 1986, he spent six years in Phoenix. He then was with the Philadelphia 76ers for 1 1/2 seasons before playing 6 1/2 season with the Utah Jazz.

He made the 1992 All-Star team with the Suns. Hornacek reached the NBA Finals in consecutive seasons with the Jazz in 1997 and 1998, losing each time to the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan.

In 1,077 career games, Hornacek averaged 14.5 points, 4.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds.