Steve Kerr Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Lakers, Love, Curry, Grizzlies

May 29th, 2014 at 7:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Jeanie Buss will have have a hand in helping Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss find the team’s next head coach, report Mike Bresnahan and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, who add that the three Lakers executives will present a recommendation to the other four Buss siblings — Joey, Jesse, Johnny Buss, and Janie Buss Drexel — once the list of coaching candidates is narrowed down.

A person familiar with the team’s coaching search tells Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News that eliciting the input of other members of the Buss family doesn’t imply that the next Lakers head coach will be decided by committee. “Does that mean (everyone involved) will decide who the coach is going to be? No…It’s not like there’s going to be seven people making that decision.”

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight, including more from the purple-and-gold:

According to Medina, the Lakers anticipate that the feedback of the four other Buss siblings will address logistical issues, such as the length and amount of the coaching contract, rather than the selection of the coach.
The Timberwolves want Kevin Love to stay in Minnesota, but team GM Milt Newton is confident about moving forward if they can’t find a way to retain the star big man. “If (keeping Love isn’t) the case, you best believe we’ll be a better team based on what happens.” Newton also says that plenty of teams are “planting seeds early” on the trade market right now to let other clubs know what their intent is (Twitter links via Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune).
Stephen Curry spoke about his raw feelings concerning the Warriors ouster of Mark Jackson, but he hasn’t lost faith in the organization and is anxious to continue his dialogue with new coach Steve Kerr, as the star guard told reporters today. Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle provides a transcript, which also includes Curry’s comments supporting a new deal for Klay Thompson.
Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that he’ll have input on the process of hiring a new general manager in Memphis, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. “The plan is not going to be revealed. But the process has begun.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Poll: Steve Kerr’s 2014/15 Expectations?

May 22nd, 2014 at 8:58pm CST by Ryan Raroque

It will presumably be baptism by fire for rookie head coach Steve Kerr next season, as he looks to lead a team coming off of 51 wins and an ultra-competitive seven-game series against the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. Although Kerr’s strong relationship with Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob and team GM Bob Myers has been highly publicized, it’s interesting to note that not many of the players have publicly commented much on Kerr’s hiring, reportedly out of support for Mark Jackson. Thus, in addition to the challenge of winning the players over, Kerr understands that the team’s expectations will be high.

“I know I have big shoes to fill…Mark was very successful there and has done a great job with the players. They all appreciated him…But I look at that as a positive because I’m inheriting a good team. I’d rather inherit a good team with expectations than a bad team with a low bar. It’s not even close. So I’m aware there are going to be expectations. That comes with the territory. I would challenge anybody to find a job in the NBA that isn’t rife with challenges. They’re all just a little different,” Kerr recently told Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area.

When Jackson was hired by Golden State in 2011, he boldly predicted that the team would make the playoffs in his first year. Soon after the 2011/12 season began, he predicted that then-rookie Klay Thompson would win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. Kerr refrained from making his own bold predictions, choosing instead to focus on continuing the franchise’s improvement over the last two seasons.

“My view is not ‘we have to win 52 games next year’ or we have to get to the second round…My view is ‘What are we going to do the next decade?’ ‘What are we going to do the next five years?’ My goal is to continue this upward trend the organization is on.”

Though Kerr wouldn’t admit a specific goal for next season, it’s still an interesting topic worth discussing. With that in mind, what will signify that upward trend in his first season as a rookie head coach in Golden State?

Western Notes: Wolves, Fournier, Warriors

May 21st, 2014 at 9:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor says the team doesn’t intend to trade Kevin Love, reports Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “Actually, I haven’t had any offers. I’m waiting!” GM Milt Newton joked. According to the article, Newton also said that now that the draft lottery was completed it would accelerate the team’s search for a new head coach.

And-Ones: Love, Celts, Cavs, Blatche, Clips, Grizz

May 20th, 2014 at 9:02pm CST by Alex Lee

Some thought tonight’s NBA Draft Lottery results could have major Kevin Love implications, though salary cap guru Larry Coon of ESPN doesn’t believe the Timberwolves star can be moved before the draft. According to Coon, such a deal would require cap room that teams will not have before July (Twitter links here).

The Celtics, who pick sixth, are a “sleeper” team in the Love sweepstakes, but owner Wyc Grousbeck says he isn’t hurrying the rebuilding effort, as he tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe. “That KG deal might be once in a lifetime, but I think over the next four or five years, we will get back to being contenders, if not three years,” he said. “I think we can get back there. I think this summer, one way or another, we’ll take positive steps, whether we just draft two players and continue to build, or whether we make a blockbuster deal.”

Here is what else is going on around the Association tonight, as the Heat and Pacers battle it out in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals:

ESPN’s Chad Ford considers Andrew Wiggins the favorite to land in Cleveland after the Cavaliers won Tuesday night’s lottery (via Twitter). Ford tweeted before the results were in that the Cavs preferred Jabari Parker, however he indicated afterwards (also on Twitter) that he was a corrected by a trusted source in Cleveland.
The admirable play of Andray Blatche down the stretch and into the postseason for the Nets could set him up for a decent pay day, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Blatche has said he will opt out of his one-year player option for next season, though Brooklyn controls his Early Bird Rights according to Bontemps.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News provides the transcript of today’s post-television interview session with new Warriors coach Steve Kerr, which is a bit juicier than what we relayed earlier on. Per Kawakami, Kerr covets a big man that can shoot. Meanwhile, Golden State GM Bob Myers also indicated the team will pursue shooting this summer, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
Speaking before the lottery proceedings, commissioner Adam Silver detailed the process that comes with a forced sale of the Clippers. However, Silver did indicate that he will continue to urge owner Donald Sterling to sell the team on his own, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Though he hasn’t been assured that his role is permanent by Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, GM Chris Wallace said at a Thursday afternoon press conference that he believes Memphis can win the NBA title next season, writes Zack McMillin of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “We’re a very formidable team. We just have to find a way to make that next step. Is it easy? No, but it’s attainable and we’re not going to rest until we hang that championship banner and have this parage this town deserves,” Wallace said.

Steve Kerr On Warriors, Knicks, Mark Jackson

May 20th, 2014 at 3:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Steve Kerr turned the Warriors down the first time they asked him to interview, GM Bob Myers told reporters, including Antonio Gonzalez of The Associated Press, but when Stan Van Gundy took the Pistons job, agent Mike Tannenbaum called the Warriors to set up a meeting. That was the sit-down in Oklahoma City that led the Tannenbaum client and the Warriors to agree on a deal, and the team’s new coach covered plenty of topics in his introductory press conference today, as we detail:

The coach made his preference for a team with high aspirations clear, signaling part of the reason why he chose Golden State over the Knicks, observes Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com. “I would much rather have talent and expectations than a low bar with a [rebuilding] process ahead,” Kerr said.
A hectic postseason broadcasting schedule slowed what appeared to be a fast track to New York, Kerr admitted, as RealGM notes via Twitter.
Kerr said he questioned the Warriors brass on why they fired Mark Jackson, and said that it was refreshing to hear Myers and co-owner Joe Lacob admit their mistakes regarding the former Warriors coach, tweets Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group.
Kerr declined to answer whether he thinks the Warriors are a championship team, saying only that they’re a “very good team,” Thompson also notes (Twitter link).
Former NBA head coaches will be among those Kerr said he’ll target for his coaching staff as he seeks an experienced hand to help him along in his first year on the bench, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle pass along (on Twitter).

Warriors Hire Steve Kerr

May 19th, 2014 at 11:41am CST by Eddie Scarito

MONDAY, 11:41am: The Warriors officially announced that they have hired Kerr as their head coach. Kerr becomes the 25th head coach in franchise history and the 20th since the team moved to the West Coast in 1962.

“We’re very pleased to introduce Steve Kerr as our new head coach,” said Warriors General Manager Bob Myers. “We are confident that he will be an extremely good fit for our team and our organization as we venture into the future. The fact that he played for several of the greatest coaches in the history of the game – including Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich – will serve him well, as will the many nuances that he learned from performing on the brightest stage during his incredibly successful, championship-filled career.”

WEDNESDAY 7:18pm: Steve Kerr has accepted the Warriors head coaching position, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link). Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) is reporting that the deal is for five years and $25MM. Kerr’s agent, Mike Tannenbaum, has confirmed the deal, reports Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Kerr has no prior head coaching experience. He will be replacing Mark Jackson who was fired by the team after compiling a 121-109 record over three seasons with the Warriors.

The Warriors management group lost out on Stan Van Gundy when he accepted a $35MM deal yesterday to run the Pistons, and they subsequently flew to Oklahoma City on Tuesday to meet with Kerr, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Warriors left that meeting more convinced of Kerr’s readiness to coach the franchise, the article notes, and Kerr also had a chance to further familiarize himself with the entire Warriors front office.

Kerr was believed to have been the favorite for the Knicks head coaching position. It had been reported that the Warriors had moved on from him because he was believed to be too far along in his negotiations with team president Phil Jackson. It was also reported earlier today that the Knicks had added on a guaranteed fourth year to their offer for Kerr. Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweeted that Lute Olson, Kerr’s college coach, said, “I know he wanted to go with the Knicks. They must not have gotten the five-year deal worked out.”

It was noted previously that Kerr still owns a tiny fraction of the Suns, for whom he served as GM from 2007-10. Kerr would have to sell the shares, believed to be valued at less than 1% of the franchise, within a league-mandated time frame after accepting a coaching job with another franchise.

Knicks Notes: Phil, Kerr, Mark Jackson

May 17th, 2014 at 9:08am CST by Cray Allred

So far, the Knicks offseason has been busy but unfruitful. Phil Jackson failed to sign Steve Kerr as the team’s new head coach, and had already pitched a vision for the franchise to potential free agent Carmelo Anthony including Kerr as the team’s coach. Whether New York recovers with a string of successful moves or continues to strike out, there is sure to be plenty of rumor and speculation in the Big Apple this summer. Here’s the latest:

Jackson initially offered Kerr a three-year, $13.2MM contract to coach the Knicks, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post. That salary, substantially below what Kerr was seeking, remained on the table for over a week until the Warriors entered into talks with Kerr. Berman blames Jackson’s “low ball” strategy for New York’s missing out on Kerr’s services.
A league executive described Jackson as “beat down” to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News, following Jackson’s failure to land Kerr. Isola reports that there may already be tension between Jackson and owner James Dolan, who promised the Zen Master complete autonomy over basketball decisions when he signed him as team president. Knicks ownership didn’t appear supportive of the Kerr pursuit, writes Isola.
Isola adds that while Phil Jackson may give Mark Jackson a chance at the behest of Knicks brass, former players and coaches with ties to the coaching legend remain convinced that he won’t hire a coach he is unfamiliar with.

Pacific Rumors: Rivers, Sterling, Kerr, Hoiberg

May 16th, 2014 at 3:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Doc Rivers hadn’t ruled out leaving the Clippers in the weeks after questioning whether he’d be back with the team next season amid the Sterling maelstrom, but he finally shut the door on that possibility Thursday. Rivers said he has no plans to go anywhere, pointing to his contract, which runs two more seasons, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets.

Donald Sterling’s threat that he won’t pay his $2.5MM fine is immaterial, since the NBA would simply take it out of the television rights money the league distributes to teams, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com points out (on Twitter).
Some Warriors players are withholding welcomes for new coach Steve Kerr out of support for the ousted Mark Jackson, and one Warriors player suggests race played a factor in the coaching change, as he tells Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher.
The Warriors had talks with Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg before hiring Kerr, but there was no formal interview or offer from the team, reports Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Kerr and Stan Van Gundy were the top two candidates, with Hoiberg and Lionel Hollins waiting on the next tier, Kawakami believes (All Twitter links).
Kerr’s base salary is $22MM, with incentives that could take the pay on his five-year deal up to the $25MM figure that’s been previously reported, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The Kings will attempt to trade for a second-round pick, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
A Kings representative who spoke with Jones mentioned Zach LaVine as a draft prospect he liked, though the team official cautioned that the lottery could change the landscape (Twitter link).

Knicks Coaching Rumors: Van Gundy, Walton

May 15th, 2014 at 3:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

The best offer the Knicks made Steve Kerr was for four years and $20MM with incentives, reports Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter links), well short of the five-year, $25MM deal he wound up with from the Warriors. It was even farther away than the five years and $30MM the Mike Tannenbaum client reportedly would have liked. The Knicks insist team president Phil Jackson, and not owner James Dolan, held the line on their offer, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post, who adds that while Dolan wasn’t pleased with Kerr’s lack of coaching experience, he would have approved the hire. A friend of Kerr’s told Berman that the new Warriors coach likes the Spurs flow offense, leading Berman to suggest that Jackson’s insistence on the triangle might have been a stumbling block for Kerr.

In any case, it’s on to Plan B for New York, and here’s the latest on who might coach the team now that Jackson’s No. 1 choice is no longer an option:

Jeff Van Gundy indicated that he would consider coaching the Knicks, as part of his remarks in an appearance today on ESPN Radio with Colin Cowherd, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Still, he doesn’t appear to fit the profile of the sort of young coach with ties to Phil Jackson that the team is seeking.

Earlier updates:

The Knicks will also consider Luke Walton, report Shelburne and ESPN.com colleague Marc Stein. The team is mostly likely to hire a younger coach with whom Phil Jackson has worked in the past.
The Knicks will also see if there’s a compensation package that would interest the Nuggets in allowing Shaw out of his contract, Shelburne and Stein write in the same piece. Shaw would have been even with Kerr, if not higher, in the eyes of the Knicks had he not already been employed in Denver, the ESPN scribes hear.
There’s no indication that Phil Jackson will pursue an established coach like Mark Jackson or Tom Thibodeau, despite the fondness that some in the Knicks organization have for the Bulls coach, according to Stein and Shelburne.
Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg is on the Knicks radar, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard (Twitter link).
The Knicks will consider Clippers assistant coach Tyronn Lue for their opening, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, seconding a report from colleague Marc Stein on ESPN’s SportsCenter. Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis and Thunder guard Derek Fisher will also draw a look from the Knicks, as we passed along earlier.
Brian Shaw, a former Lakers assistant under Jackson, tells Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post that he will remain as head coach of the Nuggets and won’t pursue any opportunity with the Knicks (All Twitter links).
A source told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com last month that Carmelo Anthony, set to hit free agency in July, is high on playing for Mark Jackson. It’s also not out of the question that Phil Jackson would coach the team, Begley writes, though the Zen Master has said repeatedly that he won’t do that.

Steve Kerr, Joe Lacob On Deal, Curry, Warriors

May 15th, 2014 at 11:03am CST by Chuck Myron

Steve Kerr thought at one point that the Warriors preferred to hire Stan Van Gundy instead of him, as ESPN.com reports, but when the Pistons swooped in and hired Van Gundy, Kerr became Golden State’s clear-cut No. 1 option. Kerr appeared to be leaning heavily toward the Knicks all along, and it was “agonizing” for him to say no to Knicks president Phil Jackson, as Kerr told Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group, but he wound up accepting a five-year, $25MM offer from Golden State. The deal is devoid of team or coach options, as USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets, and a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that Stephen Curry, a vocal supporter of Jackson, is excited about Kerr (Twitter link). Kawakami scored a one-on-one with the new Warriors coach, while Amick spoke with Golden State co-owner Joe Lacob. The full interviews are tantamount to required reading for Warriors fans, and perhaps Knicks fans, too, and we’ll pass along a few highlights from them that detail how the deal went down:

Kerr on the relationships that led him to Golden State:

“What helped is that I have previous relationships with Joe and Kirk and definitely Bob. Bob and I have known each other for years–he was Robin Lopez’s agent; I drafted Robin in Phoenix, so we spent some time together then. So I knew Bob. And I’ve known Joe actually a long time through a mutual friend, a venture capitalist in the Bay Area. So we’ve been on golf trips together. The familiarity for sure was helpful and it helped everybody relax and just sort of … be themselves. I’ve been preparing for this for the last year. I knew I wanted to coach and I had some prepared materials that I showed them. But more than anything we just talked about the opportunity and the team and the possibilities. We were just all very comfortable with one another.”

Lacob on his relationship with Kerr:

“I knew him through friends — and through golf, quite frankly. I’ve been on golf trips with Steve before, so I know him socially for many years. He’s best friends with one of my best friends and some other people, so I’ve known him, but not necessarily that close or that professionally as has been portrayed. He is certainly somebody who we have always liked, sort of a great, intelligent guy. So he was on our list, and when we decided to make a change he was on our short list of people who we wanted to talk to.”

Kerr on the draw of Stephen Curry, whom Kerr, then Suns GM, tried to acquire in 2009:

“It was huge. I talked to him tonight and I told him this is retribution for that deal falling through back in ’09. [Laughs.] A big part of the pull was not just Steph but the whole roster. It’s a really skilled, talented team. They’ve done a lot of good things the last couple years, they play both ends which was very important. This is not a renovation by any means. This is more just this team has done great things the last couple years and let’s try to build on that. I love the mentality. I think Mark really instilled a defensive identity and the emphasis on rebounding. He did a lot of really good things. That makes my job a lot easier. I’m able to build on that rather than starting to try to build a foundation. The foundation is already there. It’s really an attractive job.”

Lacob on player support for Kerr:

“[Curry] is extremely supportive. That’s all I can tell you. We got Steve Kerr because of our players. We have great players, great character individuals. They all want to win, and I can just tell you that they’re very supportive.”

Kerr on whether he’ll have front office input:

“Yeah, but not as a decision-maker and I wouldn’t want that. I’m going to have a busy enough job as it is. I think to me the healthiest situation for any coach is to have a say, but not have the ultimate decision. I think that’s what the GM is for and I got a really good sense from all the guys that it’s about a consensus. And I’ll be part of that.”

Lacob on hiring another first-time coach:

“Yes, it’s true, [Kerr] has not coached before. But this is what management is all about. You have to be able to pick people, and he is incredibly prepared…Every detail you can imagine. He knew our roster in and out. He had assistant coaches he wanted to go after. It was like a tour de force. Look, at the end of the day I know he knows a lot about basketball. We’re taking a little bit of a risk on his coaching ability, but we did that with Mark and it worked. So it’s just about finding the right fit for the organization and a guy who has extremely high potential, is a hard worker and is very prepared. That’s what we have got.”