Reactions To Kerr Heading To Warriors
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.
Eastern Notes: Van Gundy, Knicks, Cavaliers
Stan Van Gundy hit a home run when he interviewed in Los Angeles with Pistons owner Tom Gores and representatives from his Platinum Equity firm, as Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press details. He broke down every player on the roster and presented a detailed plan for his first 100 days as he convinced the team he could handle the front office and coaching duties at the same time, Ellis writes.
More from the east:
- The Knicks have officially named their new D-League team the Westchester Knicks, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer breaks down the coaching candidates for the Cavaliers head coaching position.
- Balancing coaching with running the Pistons might prove too difficult for Van Gundy, writes Drew Sharp of USA Today. Sharp looks at the reasons why he thinks things could get ugly for Van Gundy as an executive in Detroit.
- Now that Steve Kerr is headed to the Warriors, Al Iannazzone of Newsday looks at some coaching candidates that Phil Jackson might turn to next.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Steve Kerr Rumors: Wednesday
The focus is on Steve Kerr for both New York and Golden State now that Stan Van Gundy has joined the Pistons. Here’s the latest on the former Suns GM:
- The Knicks have agreed to guarantee the salary in the fourth year of a deal for Kerr, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The team previously had insisted on a three-year deal with a fourth-year team option, Wojnarowski writes. That’s slightly different from previous reports that suggested the Knicks were offering four guaranteed years and that the stumbling block was a fifth season.
- The Warriors and “several other teams” pursuing Kerr were already willing to guarantee at least four seasons, Wojnarowski adds in the same piece. The Jazz are the only other team known to be in on Kerr, so perhaps there are other suitors. In any case, Wojnarowski says that Kerr has narrowed his choices to the Knicks and the Warriors, and executives involved in process tell the Yahoo! scribe that money isn’t central to Kerr’s thinking as he weighs his options.
- Tuesday’s meeting with Kerr further convinced the Warriors of his capabilities, but his bond with Knicks president Phil Jackson continues to loom over Golden State’s pursuit, as Wojnarowski writes.
Jazz, Cavs, Warriors, Wolves Eye Lionel Hollins
The Jazz, Cavs, Warriors and Wolves have shown interest in Lionel Hollins for their coaching vacancies, while the Lakers and Knicks have not, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities heard that the Wolves had not made contact with the former Grizzlies coach as of Monday night (on Twitter), but perhaps that’s changed. The Warriors were the only team among the four apparently eyeing him whose interest was known, and they’re reportedly set to interview him on Thursday.
Hollins has been connected to many openings since the Grizzlies cut ties with him last summer, and he and the Pistons appeared to have mutual interest after the team fired Maurice Cheeks. Hollins would like a crack at the Lakers job, but the team has yet to reach out to any candidates, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link). The Knicks have focused entirely on Steve Kerr.
The Jazz are unlikely to hire a former NBA head coach, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News hears (Twitter link), but Utah is planning to interview more than 20 candidates, so it would be somewhat surprising if they didn’t talk to at least one ex-NBA coach. Hollins’ reputation grew in his last three seasons with Memphis as the team went to the playoffs each year, culminating in a Western Conference Finals appearance after last year’s 56-win regular season. He was 214-201 over parts of seven seasons in two separate stints with the Grizzlies.
Hollins’ best teams excelled defensively, but the Warriors reportedly prefer an offensively minded coach. He’d look to bring Paul Westphal aboard as an assistant to design the Golden State offense, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, but it’s unclear if Westphal would be a part of the plan if Hollins ends up elsewhere.
Coaching Rumors: Warriors, Knicks, Jazz
Now that Stan Van Gundy has reached an agreement with the Pistons, the Warriors are again in pursuit of Steve Kerr for their head coaching job, writes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. Although plenty of signs point to Kerr being the favorite to land with the Knicks, Frank Isola of the New York Daily News alludes to reports that New York remains steadfast in offering a four-year deal, rather than the five-year agreement that Kerr’s representatives are looking for. Keeping in mind that Golden State had been reportedly willing to offer Van Gundy a five-year deal, the Warriors’ latest pursuit may be enough to cause the Knicks to eventually meet Kerr’s asking price.
Here’s more out of the NBA’s coaching carousel tonight:
- Sources have told Isola that Kerr is concerned that the team has cycled through seven head coaches and GMs since Dolan took control of the franchise; those reservations likely have upset the Madison Square Garden chairman,
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey tells Jody Genessy of the Deseret News that the front office is getting closer to beginning their interview process for a new head coach but declined to elaborate on any specific names linked to the job: “I’m optimistic and I think there’s a good talent pool of coaches available…Because we don’t know right now, there’s no one else that really knows. All the speculation is very premature…We’re getting closer to moving to the part where we’ll reach out.”
- Expect the Timberwolves’ coaching search to wait until next week’s lottery, where landing in the top three could be enough to change Kevin Love‘s feelings about the team’s future as well as the team’s coaching prospects, opines Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune..
- When asked if the Warriors considered Jerry Sloan for their head coaching job, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group reminded that team co-owner Joe Lacob is targeting someone relatively young (Twitter link). Sloan turned 72 this past March.
- No one has requested permission to speak with Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry about head coaching openings, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. According to Spears, Doc Rivers isn’t opposed to his assistants participating in interviews during the playoffs.
- There are some notable complications that will arise should the Lakers attempt to dangle trade assets in their pursuit of Tom Thibodeau, details Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders.
Eastern Notes: Cavs, Pistons, Knicks, Nets
Cavs GM David Griffin was especially vehement when he told reporters today that Kyrie Irving wasn’t behind the team’s decision to fire Mike Brown, pounding the table in front of him as he spoke, observes Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer. People close to Irving weren’t pleased with Brown, but Irving himself expressed a mix of positive and negative feelings on the former coach, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal details. Here’s more on the Cavs and the rest of the Eastern Conference:
- Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo and Bucks assistant GM David Morway were rumored to be in the mix for the Cavs front office job before the team removed GM David Griffin‘s interim tag, according to Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal.
- Pistons owner Tom Gores was torn on what to do about Greg Monroe and Josh Smith in addition to how to fill his coaching and front office vacancies before Stan Van Gundy entered the picture, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt tweets. In any case, Gores has been looking to hire a “name,” according to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News (Twitter link).
- The Knicks are seeking to trade cash for a pick late in this year’s draft, as Marc Berman of the New York Post reports amid a story on the team’s pursuit of Steve Kerr. New York is without a pick in either the first or the second round.
- The Nets hold the draft rights to Bojan Bogdanovic, but they don’t expect to sign him anytime soon, and Bogdanovic is nearing a new deal with Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker that will cover two or three seasons, reports Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. The pact will likely include a lower NBA buyout price than the $2MM called for in his existing contract with the team, Varlas adds.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel thinks the Magic should consider trading up to pick Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker or Joel Embiid if Orlando misses out on one of the top three picks in the lottery. The Magic are in line for the No. 3 pick but could fall as low as No. 6.
Warriors, Van Gundy Talks Stall; Kerr Back In Mix
4:37pm: A source tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that it would be shocking if Kerr wound up turning down the Knicks, and the reason they haven’t reached an agreement yet is because Kerr and team president Phil Jackson are otherwise occupied. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com passes along the details (all Twitter links).
1:44pm: The Warriors are heading to Oklahoma City today to meet with Kerr, in town to broadcast tonight’s game for TNT, and make another push to hire him as coach, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter link)
1:34pm: Kerr is still more likely to take the Knicks job than to end up in Golden State, even as the Warriors maintain hope that they can sway him, Stein tweets.
12:57pm: Golden State is prepared to pay market rate or higher for Kerr or any of the team’s coaching targets, according to Kawakami (Twitter links).
12:46pm: The Warriors plan another aggressive push at Kerr if Van Gundy takes the Pistons job, Wojnarowski tweets. Kerr and the Knicks are hung up in negotiations over the length of his would-be deal to coach New York, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Kerr is seeking a five-year deal, while the Knicks only want to give him four.
12:04pm: Kawakami suggests the Warriors and Van Gundy are no longer talking, and that it doesn’t sound as if they’ll restart the conversation (Twitter link). The report is in the wake of a report of the Pistons’ interest in Van Gundy for a dual coach/executive role. The Warriors were unwilling to fulfill Van Gundy’s request of total control over basketball decisions, as Kawakami noted.
11:28am: The Warriors aren’t on the verge of hiring Van Gundy or anyone else, reports Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. The team is indeed high on Van Gundy, but it appears the Warriors aren’t finished with their search, Kawakami adds, pointing to Golden State’s last coaching search, in which there were premature reports about leading candidates (All four Twitter links). The news would appear to indicate that the team’s interview with Hollins is still on for Thursday, though that’s just my speculation.
9:02am: The Warriors have come to regard Stan Van Gundy as the clear-cut top choice for their head coaching position, and talks are intensifying as they progress toward a deal, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. Marc Stein of ESPN.com and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported early Monday that Golden State was zeroing in on Van Gundy, and it appears the sides are moving swiftly as the chances of Steve Kerr ending up in Golden State continue to fade.
Van Gundy drew support from several in the organization soon after the Warriors fired Mark Jackson, and Warriors players, many of whom were strong supporters of Jackson, appeared to be among the first ones in Van Gundy’s corner. The front office and co-owner Joe Lacob eventually shifted their support from Kerr to Van Gundy, too. The Warriors reached out to Van Gundy last week as the team eyed an experienced coach to help foster its continued growth toward title contention.
Van Gundy, who in March deemed himself highly unlikely to return to the bench next season, downplayed his interest last week. The former Heat and Magic coach nonetheless acknowledged his connection to the Warriors, whom he’d grown up rooting for as a child in Northern California.
Golden State reportedly has an interview scheduled with Lionel Hollins on Thursday, but it’s unclear whether that remains on the agenda. Others linked to the job include Jerry Sloan, David Fizdale, George Karl, Mike D’Antoni, Nate McMillan, Kevin Ollie, Alvin Gentry, Fred Hoiberg, Tom Thibodeau. Van Gundy, Kerr, Hoiberg and Ollie appeared to be in the upper echelon among those candidates.
Latest On Warriors, Knicks, Van Gundy, Kerr
The Warriors are coalescing behind Stan Van Gundy as their primary coaching target as their chances of landing Steve Kerr become increasingly remote. A formal interview between Golden State and Van Gundy is “imminent,” as Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets, while it seems as though Kerr is choosing between coaching the Knicks and remaining in broadcasting, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. There remains a slight chance Kerr could end up with Golden State, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes, but the Warriors are moving forward with other candidates.
The Warriors haven’t had serious discussions with Kerr in days, and co-owner Joe Lacob is coming over to the side of his front office staff, who believe Van Gundy is the best option to coach the team, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. A report on Thursday indicated that some of the Warriors players were Van Gundy’s most significant proponents, with the front office sold on Kerr. That suggests the team’s brass is especially sensitive to the players’ wishes following the ouster of Mark Jackson, who was popular among those in uniform, but that’s just my speculation.
Kerr and his representatives are hoping for a resolution with the Knicks soon, Berman writes, a reversal of the dynamic from last week, when it appeared as though Knicks president Phil Jackson was becoming impatient as he waited for an answer from his would-be coach. The Knicks are wary of overpaying Kerr, and they’re reluctant to give him a long-term deal, preferring a contract that accords him more like the coaching neophyte that he is an less like a sought-after commodity, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter).
Kerr and the Knicks discussed a five-year, $25MM deal earlier this month, Begley hears, suggesting that those terms probably escalated when Golden State became involved. Kerr has reportedly been seeking a five-year deal with money similar to the four-year, $24MM contract that the Knicks gave former coach Mike D’Antoni in 2008. Salaries between $5MM and $6MM on a contract that lasts four or five years would make him one of the league’s most well-compensated coaches, seemingly counter to the Knicks’ desire.
Knicks, Steve Kerr Nearing Deal
8:45pm: Negotiations between the two sides will “pick up” tomorrow, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter).
5:46pm: Steve Kerr is close to finalizing a deal to become the head coach of the Knicks, a source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. The two sides are still negotiating contract details, but the source tells Isola that the two parties expect to have a deal in place by early this week so that Kerr can accompany Phil Jackson to the draft combine in Chicago.
The Knicks have been considered the front-runners to land Kerr for weeks now. Golden State was dubbed as the only realistic competition for the future first-time coach’s services, but the Jazz and Lakers were said to have interest in him as well. Kerr will get the chance to learn the ropes of coaching under Jackson, who he played for in Chicago.
Isola doesn’t provide any insight as to what the terms of the deal might consist of, but Kerr was reportedly seeking a pact in the neighborhood of five years and $30MM. The deal will need to be completed by Thursday in order for Kerr to accompany Jackson to the draft combine as planned.
Eastern Notes: Sixers, Brand, Celtics
If the Sixers pull the trigger on a trade of Michael Carter-Williams, their point guard of the future might be Dante Exum, writes Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Many believe that Exum has a higher upside than Carter-Williams, Ford notes, pointing to Carter-Williams as one of the Sixers’ most appealing trade chips.
More from the east:
- In a separate article, Ford looks at the scenarios and reasons for the Sixers to trade Carter-Williams.
- Hawks big man Elton Brand might be leaning towards retiring, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Brand said, “I’m going to rest for a while. Rest. Talk to the family and see what is going on with my kid. My son is an avid basketball fan. He loves it. He wouldn’t mind seeing me playing. My wife, we’ll see. Definitely looking forward to seeing how I feel in a few months and making another run at it.”
- Celtics GM Danny Ainge doesn’t think the pre-draft workouts are as valuable for NBA teams as they used to be, writes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. The growing reluctance of agents to allow their players to risk a bad workout has lessened the importance of the event, notes Murphy.
- Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders looks at the free agent situation of Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry.
- Add Marv Albert to the ranks of those who believe Steve Kerr will be a good head coach, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Albert’s one concern with Kerr taking the Knicks position is owner James Dolan, notes Begley. “Dolan has to let them, leave them alone. That’s No. 1. And it hasn’t happened in the past,” Albert said.