It was reported earlier that Steve Kerr accepted the Warriors five-year, $25MM offer to become their new head coach. This news comes as a blow to the Knicks who had been the favorites to sign Kerr.
The latest on Kerr:
- In an article by ESPN.com, multiple sources said Kerr told Knicks president Phil Jackson he chose the Warriors for family reasons. Sources also said that Kerr preferred the Warriors’ job to the Knicks job all along, but it was a difficult decision because of his relationship with Jackson.
- The article also notes that the draw of working close to his San Diego home factored heavily into his decision.
- In regards to Kerr’s hiring, Warriors owner Joe Lacob said, “We love Kerr. Incredibly prepared. We got him because of our players. The Golden State Warriors’ future is bright,” per a tweet by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- The Knicks are regrouping after the Kerr announcement, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne’s sources told her that Kurt Rambis and Derek Fisher will be among the candidates considered for the team’s head coaching position.
- Kerr will stay in his broadcasting position through the Western Conference Finals before reporting full-time to Warriors, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
- The five-year, $25MM contract Kerr signed makes him one of the best paid coaches in the league, writes Nick Schwartz of USA Today.
- Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops thinks the Knicks should be glad that Kerr passed on their position. This leaves the door open to hire the best candidate, Mark Jackson, opines Sheridan.
- One of the points that the Warriors were going to make to Kerr was that Knicks owner James Dolan had gone through eight coaches since 2001, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
- Kerr showed how smart he was by picking Golden State’s superior roster over the Knicks’, writes Mike Lupica of The New York Daily News.