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New York Knicks fans and members of the media alike have all been asking one question over the past 24 hours: what would cause Steve Kerr to spurn Phil Jackson, one of his most beloved mentors, in his decision to choose the Warriors job over manning the sidelines at Madison Square Garden?
Per Matt Moore of CBS Sports.com, the New York Times is reporting that there were several reasons behind Kerr's decision -- with two of the major ones being Carmelo Anthony and James Dolan:
Beyond proximity to his wife and home in San Diego, his mother in Los Angeles and his daughter, a college student at the University of California, Berkeley, the Warriors offered a playoff-ready roster with a younger and more attractive superstar in Stephen Curry than what the Knicks would present, assuming they can re-sign Carmelo Anthony.
In assessing the Knicks' situation, Kerr had told confidants that he believed Anthony could be a dynamic weapon in the triangle offense that Jackson is hoping to have his new coach install. But he was less sanguine about whether Anthony, who will turn 30 this month, would be eager to re-tailor the way he plays at this point in his career.
Kerr was wary of Anthony's willingness to deal with a learning curve, along with the prospect of a roster rebuild, or what he described to NBA.com as “a big undertaking” that would “take time.”
Beyond Anthony, he worried about Dolan's patience, his willingness to allow Jackson the freedom to potentially let Anthony — Dolan's signature acquisition and the Knicks' only brand-name star — leave as a free agent this summer should they fail to agree on how much of a hometown discount, if any, Anthony should accept to give Jackson salary cap flexibility.
In doing his homework and speaking to many people about Dolan's methodology, Kerr became concerned about an inevitable clash between ownership and the fiercely independent and occasionally iconoclastic Jackson.
Carmelo Anthony's past problems accepting an offense predicated on ball-movement (see: Mike D'Antoni) present a huge roadblock when it comes to installing a scheme such as Phil Jackson's triangle offense -- something which Kerr undoubtedly took into account.
Then there's the reputation of Knicks owner James Dolan.
Until Dolan can show through actions and not words that he is willing to give up control of the team's basketball operations, studious coaching prospects such as Steve Kerr may continue to turn their backs on one of the most storied head coaching jobs in all of professional sports.
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