Steve Kerr will listen to the Warriors if they approach him about their new head-coaching vacancy this week, but multiple NBA sources told The Post his heart still is in New York with Phil Jackson — not in San Francisco.
According to an NBA source, Kerr expects to hear from the Warriors now that they have fired Mark Jackson after two successful seasons, reportedly due to Jackson’s headstrong demeanor. An NBA source said Tuesday the pull of running the Triangle with Phil Jackson as his mentor likely is going to be stronger than the pull of the West Coast, where Kerr’s family lives, in San Diego.
Kerr is expected to make his final decision by week’s end. He will partner with Marv Albert on Wednesday for Game 2 of the Clippers-Thunder second-round series in Oklahoma City for possibly the final time. They have been TNT’s top broadcast team for four years.
Kerr has close ties to Golden State owner Joe Lacob and team executive Rick Welts, a former Suns president when Kerr was the Phoenix general manager.
Kerr was set to hire Lacob’s son, Kirk, four years ago as a front-office intern, but Kerr left for TNT. Kirk Lacob now is the Warriors assistant GM. One report out the Bay area stated Kerr will be approached, but “there was debate about his candidacy’’ among front-office types. It wasn’t clear if it meant Kerr already was too far along in talks with the Knicks.
The Warriors’ interest could serve as a negotiating chip for Kerr’s agent, Mike Tannenbaum, the former Jets GM known in NFL circles as a hard-nosed contract negotiator. Tannenbaum likely will seek a five-year deal — which is the same length as Phil Jackson’s.
The Warriors have other names on their candidate list, including Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, but would need permission to talk to him. Iowa coach Fred Hoiberg has been mentioned and Yahoo! Sports reported Stan Van Gundy as a top candidate.
Mark Jackson, a former St. John’s star and Knicks guard, had just one year left on his contract and would’ve made for a solid Knicks candidate if Steve Mills was running the show and not Phil Jackson, who wants to install the Triangle offense. The Warriors were eliminated in seven games by the Clippers in the first round. Jackson reportedly clashed with the front office.
Meanwhile, Bill Cartwright, a prime candidate to be on Kerr’s staff, said a report he had dinner last week with Phil Jackson in Manhattan was untrue. Cartwright said they were in contact only by phone.
Cartwright was hired by Kerr in Phoenix as an assistant.
“I have been in communication with Phil. We did not [meet in New York],’’ Cartwright said on Sirius XM radio. “I’ve been in contact with Phil and hopefully it works out the right way.’’
“Steve’s going to be an excellent coach,” Cartwright, a former Knicks center who played in Chicago for Jackson, said of Kerr. “He is going to know exactly what he wants to do. He does watch a lot of basketball so I think he’ll do a great job as head coach.’’