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New York Knicks hires former Oklahoma City Thunder player Derek Fisher to be its new head coach in hopes to end the franchise's 30 year drought of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Title.

Knicks' team president Phil Jackson made the announcement after firing former head coach Mike Woodson last April when the team did not made it to the playoffs for the first time in four years. He was also recently hired by the franchise in March.

"I can't say enough words about Derek because I've known him for quite a few years and we've gone through a lot of situations together," Jackson said.

39-year-old Fisher was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1996 NBA draft under head coach Jackson and has won five championship rings with the franchise. He mostly played for the Lakers but he played for the Thunders during the last three seasons.

Fisher said that "I've been preparing myself for this moment, being head coach on an NBA team, starting at six years old when I played my first organized basketball."

Fisher signed a five-year, $25 million deal with New York.

As new head coach, his next challenge is to convince, now free agent, Carmelo Anthony to stay with the franchise.

Carmelo was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the 2003 NBA draft third overall behind LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Darko Milicic of the Detroit Pistons. He was also a member of the 2004 USA Olympic basketball team where he played along-side Lebron, Dwayne Wade, Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan in Athens, Greece.

The Knicks' last appearance in the NBA Finals was in 1993, when they lost the championship to the San Antonio Spurs who is currently leading the 2014 NBA Finals 2-1 in their best-of-seven series against the Miami Heat.

TagsDerek Fisher, Phil Jackson