Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes that he would have been fired within two years if he took the New York Knicks’ coaching job over the Warriors’ back in 2014.
Kerr ultimately chose the Warriors, and he’s thrived with the team, winning four NBA titles in his first eight seasons, making the NBA Finals six times. Kerr is currently in his ninth season as the team’s head coach.
“I honestly – I would have been fired within two years,” Kerr said. “’Cause that’s what was the pattern. And everything was about the talent – the reason I ended up here is because several people, who are very close to me, called me up and just said, ‘You have to go where the talent is.’”
Kerr decided to coach Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green over taking the Knicks job, and he’s succeeded every step of the way.
As the Warriors’ head coach Kerr has amassed a record of 470–238 in the regular season, and he’s looking to get Golden State back to the playoffs again this season. The Warriors won the NBA Finals in the 2021-22 campaign after two straight years of missing the postseason.
Kerr was also right about the Knicks’ job, as the team has gone through several coaches since the 2014-15 season.
Derek Fisher, Kurt Rambis, Jeff Hornacek, David Fizdale and Mike Miller all failed to last more than two seasons with the team. Rambis took over for Fisher after he was fired, and Miller did the same for Fizdale in the middle of the 2019-20 season.
However, the Knicks seem to have found a coach that can lead their franchise in Tom Thibodeau. He led the Knicks to the No. 4 seed in the 2020-21 season, and New York has clinched a playoff spot this season, the second time in three years.
There’s no doubt that the Knicks have struggled as a franchise since the turn of the century, but Thibodeau’s defensive style has transformed the team into a playoff-caliber team in the Eastern Conference.
While the Knicks will never know if Kerr could have taken them to different heights, they also have never had a player of Curry’s quality since Kerr took the Warriors job.
Kerr clearly made the right decision for his career, and the Warriors are hoping they can add to his trophy case this season.
