Kerr talks choosing Warriors over Knicks

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 with No comments
Courtesy of David Aldridge

"It just felt like the right move on many levels," Kerr said by phone Wednesday. "They have a good young team. The location is ideal. My daughter goes to Cal and plays volleyball. My oldest son is in college in San Diego and our youngest is a junior in high school. It's just a short flight for them."

"It was so tantalizing on many levels," Kerr said. "Number one, Phil Jackson. Number two, the Knicks are a flagship franchise, one of the great franchises in the league. The last two weeks have been agonizing, in talking with Phil and (general manager) Steve Mills. They've got really good people there and I do think they're going to get it turned around there. The Knicks could not have been better in giving me the space to make a decision, especially when I had a game to do every other night."

"Ultimately, it was agonizing to say no to Phil because of what I think of him and what he's done for my career," said Kerr, who won three titles playing for Jackson in Chicago with the Bulls. "When Phil Jackson asks you to coach the Knicks, how do you say no? I think they're going to turn it around, but going to be a big undertaking and it's going to take time. The idea of doing that 3,000 miles from home, it just didn't feel right."

"I told Phil, 'I think I have to pursue this other opportunity,' Kerr said. "He gave me his blessing. He said go look at it, and do what was in my heart."

"There's no question that was one of the attraction points on New York, that's an easier path," Kerr said. "The biggest thing for me is, I want to be happy every day. I want to be in partnership with the people on the team. And the one thing that a lot of the coaches that I talked to said was, you have to have talent. And Golden State has talent."