After a promising start to the 2017-18 campaign, in which the New York Knicks looked like they might be on the verge of relevance, things came to a crashing halt when franchise big man Kristaps Porzingis suffered a season-ending ACL injury in early February.

The Knicks likely weren't going to be in the playoff hunt either way, but they've gone 5-20 since Porzingis went down. Head coach Jeff Hornacek hopes that the way this season ended won't reflect poorly on his ability to run the team. He said on Wednesday that he wants to return as head coach next season, the final year of his three-year deal.

"That's why you sign contracts. I have one more year," Hornacek said in Cleveland on Wednesday morning, via ESPN. "We'd love to continue with these guys and get some of the guys healthy and get back at it and continue that process. We didn't think it was going to be a one-year turnaround. That's our thoughts. That's what we'll continue to look at."

Hornacek, who will meet with team president Steve Mills, general manager Scott Perry and vice president of player development Craig Robinson during exit interviews on Thursday, has led the Knicks to a 59-104 record heading into Wednesday night's season finale against the Cavaliers. He's hoping to get a chance to further implement his system with his young roster.

"We started it and we'd like to continue it," Hornacek said. "It's very satisfying for coaches to take a team and build it and grow it. You can look around the league at some of the teams that are now some of the better teams in the league. They went through those same type of things. ... Now all of a sudden [they] have their teams four or five years later and maybe even home-court advantage for the playoffs.

"So sometimes people are wanting things to happen right away. But sometimes there's patience. That's what we're looking for."

Clearly Hornacek is referencing the 76ers, who stuck with head coach Brett Brown through some absolutely dismal seasons in terms of wins and losses, only to begin reaping the benefits this season.

It seems only fair that Hornacek get another shot next year, hopefully with a healthy Porzingis for the majority of the season, but, as we know, the NBA is rarely fair when it comes to head coaches. When a team doesn't meet expectations, the coach is usually the one to take the fall, so we'll have to wait and see whether the Knicks front office is ready for a change.