Ever since Phil Jackson took over as President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks, it has been assumed that Steve Kerr would go to New York and become the Knicks head coach.
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Both the Lakers and Golden State Warriors had given up in their pursuit of Kerr, believing that it was too late to get Kerr to budge. But after missing out on Stan Van Gundy, the Warriors went after Kerr again and Kerr relented, electing to go to Golden State instead of the Knicks according to TNT’s David Aldridge:
Stunner: Steve Kerr spurns the Knicks, accepts Warriors' head coach job. Story coming on http://t.co/tv9kc59jsI.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) May 15, 2014
Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the deal is for five years and $25 million.
As Aldridge tweeted, this move was a stunner. Kerr had seemed like a lock to go to New York, but despite having an offer from the Knicks, he continually held off on signing the deal.
After the news of Van Gundy’s deal came out yesterday, Kerr apparently wanted more than three years on his contract. The Knicks went up to four years, but the Warriors trumped them with five and now Kerr is headed to Oakland.
The Warriors boast one of the NBA’s best young players in Stephen Curry, along with excellent pieces in David Lee and Klay Thompson. The move also allows Kerr, who lives in San Diego, to stay relatively close to home.
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With Kerr and Van Gundy gone, and the team showing no interest as of this point in Lionel Hollins, the big name options are beginning to disappear for the Lakers. The team wants to wait at least until the NBA Draft Lottery next Tuesday, but at this rate, all of the top coaches available may be gone by then.
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