Kerr was 'really close' to taking Knicks' HC gig before joining Warriors

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr says he was "really close" to choosing the New York Knicks in 2014 because of his relationship with Phil Jackson, the Knicks' president of basketball operations at the time.

Kerr played five seasons under Jackson as a member of the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. But after seeking advice from several NBA coaches, he was steered toward the head coaching vacancy in the Bay Area.

"They all said the same thing which was, 'As important as your relationship with Phil is, the most important thing as an NBA coach is talent,'" Kerr told TNT's Ernie Johnson. "And that Warriors team had so much talent. And the team was already really good.

"Mark Jackson had done a fantastic job building a foundation. They'd been in the playoffs two straight years. They won 50 games. They had one of the best defenses in the league. Jobs like that don't open very often."

New York was coming off a 37-win campaign and its first non-playoff season in four years. Though Carmelo Anthony was still playing at an All-Star level, running mate Amar'e Stoudemire was already on the decline.

Kerr felt "guilty" turning down the Knicks because Jackson had played an influential role in his basketball career, but a confidant told him to envision Jackson's own course of action in such a scenario.

"A good friend said, 'What would Phil Jackson have done?'" Kerr said. "It's like, 'Oh. Phil would've gone to the talent because he knows that's what this job is about.' You can slice it up any which way, but it's a players' league and the Warriors had all this young talent. And when I looked at it that way, it's like, 'Yeah, that's the job.'"

Kerr led the Warriors to an NBA title during his first season in charge and two more championships afterward.

The Knicks, meanwhile, settled for Derek Fisher as their new bench boss. New York fired the first-time head coach in 2016 after he led the team to a 40-96 mark in parts of two seasons.