Report: Phil Jackson Aiming To Have Steve Kerr Hired By Early May
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Knicks might have a new head coach sooner rather than later.
According to ESPN, team president Phil Jackson is aiming to hire TNT broadcaster Steve Kerr by early next month, following the conclusion of the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Jackson has made progress in his attempt to lure his former player to the organization, according to the website.
But CBS Sports' Ken Berger reports that there are still some issues to work through.
Kerr said this past Sunday that he spoke with Jackson twice over the weekend, and that they will continue discussing the possibility of him becoming coach.
Kerr said he had dinner with Jackson on Friday night and they talked again on Saturday.
"There's a lot to cover on both sides, and this was the first time we've talked about the job," Kerr said. "It just opened up last week and so we've got a lot of things to discuss."
Jackson fired Mike Woodson and the rest of the Knicks' coaching staff after a 37-45 season, and again said he wasn't interested in returning to coaching.
Though Kerr has never been a coach, he has been mentioned as a candidate for the job since Jackson was hired in March. Jackson said last week he hoped to speak with Kerr soon to gauge his desire to do the job, and it definitely interests Kerr.
"How could it not?" Kerr said. "I mean, it's the Knicks and it's Phil Jackson, my coach. So I'd be crazy not to look into it."
Kerr said he has wanted to coach since stepping down as Phoenix Suns general manager in 2010. He won three titles playing for Jackson in Chicago, and agreed with his former coach that they have similar views of the game.
"I know Phil last week said we share the same space, which I think is well said," Kerr said. "We share a lot of the same philosophies. I learned a lot of my basketball from him and Tex Winter, and so I think it's safe to say that we have a lot of the same ideas."
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