Steve Kerr was named one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history last year, but things could have gone very differently for him.
Back in 2014, Kerr had two choices for his first head coaching job, the Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks. He made the right choice by going with the Warriors and Kerr says if he’d chosen the Knicks, he’d have been fired in two years.
“I would have been fired within two years,” Kerr said on Lead By Example. “Because that was the pattern. And everything was about the talent, the reason I ended up here is because several people, who are very close to me, called me up and just said, ‘You have to go where the talent is.'”
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Kerr was giving serious consideration to the Knicks, as his former head coach Phil Jackson, who was the president of the team, wanted him to take the job. Kerr was grateful to Jackson for everything he had done for him and was leaning toward the Knicks for that reason. When a friend of Kerr’s asked him what Jackson would do in his position, Kerr realized that going with the more talented team was what Phil would have done and that it is indeed the better option.
Kerr has gone on to win four championships with the Warriors and has an impressive 471-238 record in the regular season. This season has been a bit rough, but the Warriors are still in with a chance of defending their title. The Knicks, meanwhile, are 271-438 since 2014 and have had a revolving door at the head coaching position.
After Kerr turned down the job, Jackson turned to another one of his former players in Derek Fisher, who was fired within two seasons. Kerr might well have ended up suffering the same fate if he’d taken over as the Knicks just weren’t a good team back then.
The Knicks Have Finally Turned Things Around Now
It has taken forever, but the Knicks seem to have finally turned the corner under Tom Thibodeau. They made the playoffs in 2021, and following a disappointing 2021-22 season, have bounced back in style this time around. The Knicks currently have a 46-33 record and have clinched the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jalen Brunson has been a big reason for all their success this season and he made it clear they still have a lot of work to do. While a title is still beyond their reach, the franchise is no longer a laughing stock now and they will be hoping to make some noise in the postseason.
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