If Steve Kerr's reversal of fortune proved anything on Wednesday night, it's that the most important man in the NBA is named Phil Jackson.
The New York Knicks best coaching candidate is already their team president
Kerr signed a five-year, $25 million contract to replace Mark Jackson as coach of the Golden State Warriors, rather than accepting the head coaching job with Jackson's New York Knicks - a shocking turn of event on many levels.
The Warriors, after all, just went through a messy divorce with Jackson, their former TV analyst-turned first-time head coach.
Kerr's only previous experience on the management side of the NBA was a forgettable three-year stint as president of basketball operations and general manager of the Phoenix.
Phil Jackson to take Knicks team president job and hire analyst Steve Kerr as coach?
But the biggest surprise of all is the fact that in two months' time, Kerr has gone from a mild-mannered television analyst whose name was of no interest to any franchise thinking about a head coach to perhaps the biggest offseason catch in the NBA coaching carousel.
The lone reason for that - as near as anyone can figure - was Jackson.
When the Knicks began their courtship of Jackson to become their president of basketball operations, rumors began to circulate that he was interested in bring in Kerr to replace then-Knicks coach Mike Woodson.
Because of Jackson's endorsement, Kerr became the top name of available coaching candidates. And he wasn't even a coach.
With Kerr's hire, Jackson will have had an impact on three franchises, with the possibility of making it four if he takes a coach away from another team.
Jackson's departure from the Los Angeles Lakers after the 2010-11 season has resulted in the Lakers' fall from an NBA championship-caliber organization to the second worst franchise in the Western Conference in three short seasons.
It appears that Lakers owner Jim Buss was so jealous or afraid of Phil Jackson's success that he decided he'd rather mortgage the team's future than to let Jackson back in charge.
Knicks owner James Dolan gave Jackson, a rookie executive, a five-year contract with $60 million to run his club. Jackson owns 11 NBA championship rings as a coach.
But he won't be coaching the Knicks, a fact he reiterated Wednesday night after Kerr's announcement, according to the New York Daily News.
It's too bad because he will be hard-pressed to find a coach better than himself.
Then again, Jackson the coach may see that Jackson the executive doesn't exactly have the players that Jackson the coach needs to continue his run of NBA championships. There's no Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen tandem in New York, no Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant combo and no Kobe-Pau Gasol duo expected to come to the Knicks anytime soon.
But that's what Dolan is paying Jackson the executive to do - find a championship tandem that is willing to be the cornerstone of a championship team in the Big Apple.
Why wouldn't Dolan believe Jackson can't do it? Just one recommendation by the Zen Master earned Kerr $25 million in just more than two months.
Jackson became a victim of his own stardom when the Warriors - sensing that Jackson saw something in Kerr that he thought would make Kerr an excellent coach - bought into the hype of Jackson's endorsement and lured Kerr away.
Perhaps the biggest irony is that without Jackson's endorsement, Kerr wouldn't be $25 million richer and he likely would not be a candidate for any job during the offseason. Kerr repaid Jackson's endorsement by leaving him at the altar.
In an article talking about why the Knicks will be better off without Kerr, the New York Daily News reported that a scout said Kerr may be too nice to succeed in New York.
Steve is certainly a likable guy," the veteran scout told the Daily News. "But to coach in this league, you need to be a hard-ass. I just don't know if Steve Kerr can be a hard ass. Does he really have a hard edge to him? And coaching in New York, you'd better have a hard edge."
Considering how Kerr used Jackson to win a coaching jackpot, the knock that he is too likable might be unfounded. He showed he can mix it up when he's called upon.
Kerr leveraged the Knicks all he could to land the Golden State job at a $5 million per-year rate. It wouldn't have happened had the NBA's most important man simply stayed quiet about the possibility of making him a head coach. He may have just what it takes to succeed.
Knicks fans are just hoping now that Jackson is wrong about Kerr's ability as a head coach.
Do you think Steve Kerr will succeed as coach of the Golden State Warriors? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.