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Steve Kerr was expected to make a decision about the next step in his career today and all indications are that his choice won't be the Golden State Warriors.
Warriors haven't had serious talks w/ Kerr in days, w/ owner Joe Lacob rapidly joining management in believing Stan Van Gundy's best choice.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 12, 2014
Multiple reports yesterday indicated that Steve Kerr is close to agreeing to terms with the New York Knicks, which leaves the Warriors to focus on Stan Van Gundy and Lionel Hollins next according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
A league source said the Knicks and Kerr are confident a deal will get done. Two other sources indicated that something could happen this week. Contract details and Kerr's broadcasting schedule need to be worked out...Golden State was believed to be in competition for his services. Kerr, who never has coached before, is friends with owner Joe Lacob and president Rick Welts. The latter hired Kerr to be the Suns' general manager in 2007. The Warriors reportedly have set up interviews with Stan Van Gundy and Lionel Hollins.
But it does appear that Kerr might owe Lacob and the Warriors a debt of gratitude: as reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York, the Knicks' original offer of a five-year $25 million contract has reportedly increased since the Warriors showed interest.
Although working with Phil Jackson is certainly a factor in Kerr's decision, the money - that the Warriors may not have been willing to match so early in their own process - probably doesn't hurt.
With the first hot name off the Warriors' table, we can now expect a lengthy process of deliberation before they actually settle on their next coach if the search the concluded with Jackson being hired is any indication, as described by Tim Kawakami yesterday.
...they're going to do this with some deliberation, talk to a lot of people, canvas the situation with no hot timetable... until they find their guy. That's exactly what happened in the last Lacob search, which led them to Mark Jackson in 2011.
The Warriors still think that was a good process and a good hire, by the way. Even after the twin nuclear meltdowns of this month.
The remaining question, that might dovetail with their pursuit of Steve Kerr, is what specifically they're looking for in a coach as they look to help their talented roster take the next step in a competitive Western Conference.
Hearing Stan Van Gundy's first formal Warriors interview is "imminent." ESPN reported Saturday that SVG is "closest thing" to GSW top target
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) May 12, 2014
Based on a poll from last week, Stan Van Gundy is the most popular choice among the GSoM community and, in Kawakami's words, "the clear leader of the 'known commodity' group".
For more on the Warriors' coaching search, check out our storystream.