Steve Kerr Won’t Confirm Interest in Coaching the New York Knicks

Knicks head coach Mike Woodson has a year remaining on his deal, but most figure he’s on his way out of Gotham with Phil Jackson reportedly coming in. Rumor has it that Steve Kerr could be a top candidate for the coaching gig. Per Newsday:

“I understood the speculation, because I said publicly that I’d like to coach,” Kerr said Tuesday. “Then obviously there’s my relationship with Phil. So people put that together and all of a sudden I come to New York and my phone was blowing up.

“So I understand it, but it’s not something I want to discuss. It’s sort of unfair. Put it this way: I’m very uncomfortable talking about a job that doesn’t exist and one that is occupied by someone that I have a lot of respect for. So I’m not even going to go down that road.”

“Well, I’ve stayed in touch with Phil over the years and I know just from being with him at times that this is what he wants to do is build a franchise,” Kerr said.

If he joins the Knicks, Jackson could bring in his own general manager to handle the day-to-day work because it is unclear if he would relocate from California to New York. Steve Mills is the Knicks’ president and general manager, but his role may change if Jackson is on board.

The Knicks hope Jackson can make the transition from the bench to the front office the way Pat Riley has in Miami.