Kerr concedes it felt like a better fit to start coaching career in Oakland.
Steve Kerr has turned down the opportunity to coach the New York Knicks and has decided to accept the job offer from the Golden State Warriors.
The former TNT analyst has signed a five-year deal worth $25m to replace Mark Jackson at the ORACLE Arena, and revealed the reasons why in an interview with ESPN.
“They have a good young team. The location is ideal,” Kerr said.
“My daughter goes to Cal and plays volleyball. My oldest son is in college in San Diego and our youngest is a junior in high school. It’s just a short flight for them.”
Kerr has previously been in talks with Knicks team president Phil Jackson, and it was widely believed that he would take the position to work with his former coach again.
However, sources close to negotiations have revealed that the Knicks preferred to sign Kerr on a four-year deal as opposed to the five-year contract he was offered by Golden State, and had offered him around $20m.
Nevertheless, judging from his reaction it was a decision more to do with his situation and living arrangements, and having discussed it with Jackson he revealed that the Knicks president gave him his blessing and wished him the best of luck.
The decision to take the Warriors job will allow Kerr to work in his home state and help continue the development of the likes of point guard Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, with the Warriors making the post-season the last two years and showing signs of growing into a real threat in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile, he also hinted that the Knicks would need time to rebuild and given that this is his first coaching role, perhaps it wasn’t the right situation for him to walk into at this early stage of his new career.
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