The New York Knicks have fired Derek Fisher just a few days before the All-Star break. Ken Berger confirmed reports of Fisher being ousted from the Knicks' coaching position this morning as Kurt Rambis will take over as interim coach. The team announced the firing Monday morning.

In just his second season as the Knicks coach, Fisher and his staff have coached the Knicks to a 23-31 roster, which was a vast improvement over the disaster that happened at Madison Square Garden on a nightly basis last season. But apparently that's not enough for Phil Jackson and James Dolan, as the Knicks have fallen off course lately and dropped from competing for a spot in the East playoffs to now sitting 12th in the East and five games behind the 8-seed.

From the Knicks:

New York Knickerbockers President Phil Jackson announced today that Derek Fisher has been relieved of his coaching duties. Associate Head Coach Kurt Rambis has been named the interim head coach.

Fisher, who was originally hired on Jun. 10, 2014, finishes his Knicks coaching career with an overall record of 40-96 (.294).

Rambis becomes the 27th head coach in franchise history. Originally hired as the team’s associate head coach on Jul. 7, 2014, the 18-year NBA coaching veteran starts his second-stint as a head coach, after leading the Minnesota Timberwolves for two seasons from 2009-10 through 2010-11 (56-145). The Terre Haute, IN native was a member of eight NBA Championship teams, all as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers (four as a player and four as a coach or executive). Rambis becomes the fifth former Knicks draft pick to coach the team (third round, 58th overall in the 1980 NBA Draft).

This comes as a shock to almost everybody in the NBA world with Fisher being one of the hand-picked coaching options for this team after they couldn't get Steve Kerr to take over in 2014. Fisher was asked to implement the Triangle Offense, weather the bad 2014-15 season as the Knicks prepared for a big summer in 2015, and then get back to competing for a playoff spot.

However, since climbing to .500 at 22-22, the Knicks have lost nine of their past 10 games with their only win during that stretch being over the lowly Phoenix Suns. The Knicks have had the whirlwind of Kristaps Porzingis being a force in the NBA right away as a rookie and some good veterans players coming in to help right the ship, but their performance wasn't enough to keep Fisher's job. His team is just 10-22 against non-losing teams this season and the Knicks hoped to be better than that.

Fisher issued a statement about his firing:

Here are Five things to know:

1. This move tells you what the Knicks' expectations are for this season: It's quite possible that Phil Jackson and James Dolan didn't expect the East to be as good and as deep as it is this season, but they certainly expected the Knicks to compete for a playoff spot. That was happening at points throughout this season and you wondered if they'd ever have the consistency needed to turn those four- or five-game winning streaks into stretches of winning eight out of 10 games to make some real headway in the playoff race. Instead, the Knicks have fallen on their face as of late by losing nine out of 10 games and looking like they'll need a lot of help in order to make it back to the postseason.

It's possible Derek Fisher never got a fair shake with the Knicks, considering the mess they asked him to coach last season. The Knicks were horrendous, but they were supposed to be. It helped lead them to drafting Kristaps Porzingis, which made everything feel worth it. This season, the Knicks have hovered around 20th in both offensive and defensive rating. They had one of the better clutch offenses (top 12) in the league, but their clutch defense was still 19th. That won't get you into the East playoffs this season and that was the line the Knicks needed to get to in order to start building up more credit as a destination franchise.

2. This is still a very flawed roster, even though they're improved: There are some very good core pieces to this roster. Porzingis is a future star in this league. Carmelo Anthony has had better seasons than the last two, but he's still one of those offensive forces defensive game plans have to worry about and load up against. Robin Lopez is a stabilizing piece for the interior and can have a big impact on team defense when given solid defensive options around him. Langston Galloway, Lance Thomas, Kyle O'Quinn and rookie Jerian Grant look to be very good role players.

The rest of this team hasn't been very good. Jose Calderon is a saloon door on defense. Derrick Williams can score in bunches, which is helpful considering his woeful defense and affinity for a 3-point shot he can't make (22.5 percent). Arron Afflalo has become someone the fans can't stand in half a season playing for the team. Sasha Vujacic is on the roster. This squad is much improved from last season, but they needed a lot of help to be a .500 team this season, and it looks like that help isn't coming anymore.

3. Perhaps the off-court stuff with Fisher contributed to this decision: Remember that whole incident involving Fisher and Matt Barnes? It was a pretty bad look for the former Knicks coach, along with Barnes involvement not looking good either. While these extracurricular activities away from the basketball court can be overblown at times, it doesn't stop it from factoring in as a distraction from the play on the court and the organization. The Knicks have had enough bad looks over the years with Dolan and then Isiah Thomas' sexual harassment lawsuit, so it shouldn't surprise anybody if the Knicks under Phil Jackson demand a pristine image from their coach from here on out.

4. The next coaching hire will have to be a perfect fit: The Knicks will certainly have a list of coaching candidates that should begin with Tom Thibodeau and his availability. From 1996 to 2003, Thibodeau was an assistant for the New York Knicks under Jeff Van Gundy and Don Chaney. It could even be considered to be his dream job destination with his love for the city and such a big chunk of his career happening with the Knicks. He's also the best coaching option available right now and because of the fanfare and attention that will surround the next Knicks' coaching decision, Jackson has to hire someone who will be around a very long time. That makes Thibodeau and his defensive style capable of fixing the Knicks and returning them to being a franchise that matters year after year.

Other options could include former Jackson disciples like Luke Walton and Brian Shaw. Walton's name has never buzzed more thanks to the job he did in the interim for Steve Kerr earlier this season. The Golden State Warriors' assistant helped them get off to the best start in NBA history, and Jackson's comfort level with Walton would be through the roof. Shaw hasn't had as much buzz around him since his time coaching the Denver Nuggets. He was a highly sought-after coaching option before that when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers, but his Denver teams struggled and he seemed to lose the locker room too quickly.

5. Kurt Rambis is not going to save the day this season: Rambis taking over the Knicks for the rest of the season is unlikely to inspire a lot of play. While he's been regarded as a fine assistant coach under Jackson, he was a very bad coach during his stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rambis consistently left Kevin Love in the dark on minutes and would play much worse options over his budding star during that time. He was brought in to implement the Triangle Offense, despite having a young point guard in Jonny Flynn, who didn't fit into it at all. That offense was abandoned pretty quickly, and it left the Wolves without much of a system to rely on, and the play on the court reflected that.

In two seasons, Rambis won just 32 games total as a coach of the Wolves. David Kahn didn't exactly give him a lot of talent to work with, but his struggle to identify the talent existing on the roster didn't help matters either. At least for the Knicks, they have offensive and defensive systems he can call upon over the next couple months, and the players won't be asked to adapt to big changes as they chase an 8-seed that seems to be hard to reach.

Derek Fisher is out as the Knicks coach. (USATSI)
Derek Fisher leaves the Knicks' head-coaching post with a 40-96 record. (USATSI)