Derek Fisher will coach the Knicks

It is not officially official as of 5 PM Monday (Update: see below), but it is very nearly so according to multiple reports: Derek Fisher will be the next coach of the Knicks. Frank Isola has the first report and Woj has the details:

Derek Fisher is finalizing an agreement on a 5-year, $25 million deal to become the Knicks coach, league sources tell Yahoo.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 9, 2014

That's a bunch of money for a guy who wore a jersey just weeks ago, but remember that:

1. This is exactly what Phil Jackson wants-- an inexperienced, familiar guy amenable to being mentored and who will permit a lot of Triangular influence from above. Jackson, as far as we can tell, wants to coach as much as possible without having to travel or pace the sidelines. This is an unorthodox setup, but Fisher has presumably been chosen because he is, among other qualifying attributes, okay with it.

2. There's no salary cap for coaches. Fisher's salary affects nothing but James Dolan's giant sack of gold coins.

Once the Fisher deal is official, the next step is to assemble a staff. And a lot of names familiar to Jackson and anyone who's been paying attention the last few months are candidates:

Fisher's staff is very likely to include Kurt Rambis. Others in mix: Rick Fox, Luke Walton, Bill Cartwright.

— Howard Beck (@HowardBeck) June 9, 2014

I'm excited. I like a new face, and I love the idea of a bond between the lead executive and coach, even if that bond is unusually tight with unclear boundaries. I never liked Fisher, but I reckon the same cleverness and steadiness that made him so annoying as a player could make him a great coach. His growth will surely take some time, but I'm okay with that. LONG LIVE KING FISHER.

Oh, and please shave your beard, Derek. It brings back fresh, unpleasant memories.

Update: Okay, it's done.

The NY Knicks will hold a press conference tomorrow to make a major announcement.

— NY_KnicksPR (@NY_KnicksPR) June 9, 2014