Steve Kerr’s decision to spurn the New York Knicks and leave former coach Phil Jackson standing at the altar in favor of the Golden State Warriors surprised the basketball world.
Kerr’s reasons for taking the Warriors job instead of the Knicks gig are certainly good ones. For starters, he’s a west coast guy through and through and the prospect of spending the year in the Bay Area is more attractive to him than the Big Apple. Secondly, the money (5 years/$25 million) is great. And finally, who wouldn’t want to coach Steph Curry and Klay Thompson instead of the misshapen, jumbled mess that is the Knicks roster?
But did Kerr have one more secret factor leading him westward? The most fascinating reason for Kerr choosing Golden State over New York just might be the advice of his broadcast partner Marv Albert.
Marv was the voice of the Knicks for over three decades, but the relationship ended in 2004. The New York Times reported that MSG brass and owner James Dolan were upset that Albert wasn’t waving the pom poms vociferously enough for the franchise.
Working for James Dolan doesn’t exactly scream “dream job” and/or “pleasant working environment.” And Marv made that fact crystal clear to Kerr. In fact, as Albert told the New York Daily News, there were several aspects of the MSG lifestyle that he warned Kerr about. Like the total lack of happiness…
“Well, I told him it never ends well there. Just look at recent history. It’s because of one man (Dolan),” Albert told me Thursday over the telephone. “There is no happiness there. I say this with all kinds of friends I have there and (the ones) at the MSG Network. Everybody hates being there. For coaches it’s very difficult. Steve couldn’t accept anyone (from MSG’s PR staff) following him around with a tape recorder. Like Phil, Steve is a guy who wants to say what he wants to say,” Albert continued. “He’s very opinionated, which doesn’t always work when you are at the Garden.”
During their conversations, Albert said Kerr asked questions, but it was clear he knew “what my whole situation at the Garden was.”
Although Albert admitted to sharing his experience at MSG with his broadcast partner, he also maintains that it was not the deciding factor in Kerr saying no to the Knicks:
Numerous reports suggest Albert was the guy who talked Kerr out of taking the Knicks job. “That’s not true,” Albert said. “I didn’t know and I didn’t want to know what was going on. Everybody was calling me, texting me looking for information. Steve, on purpose, didn’t give us (the TNT crew) any details.”
Albert also said Kerr “talked to a lot of people about what went on in the Garden.” And while the Dolan Affect was part of his decision, it was just one of a few factors we already outlined. “He was enamored by New York and Phil. It was more Phil than anything else,” Albert said. “I know Steve felt bad when he said goodbye to Phil after making his decision. Steve really did check it out very carefully. To me it (his decision) was a no-brainer.”
It’s amazing how the universe has a way of righting itself in the long run. If Marv Albert really did cost the Knicks their chance at getting their top coaching candidate, that would be quite the way for his own personal saga with the franchise to end. It really is amazing how quickly the narrative has turned from Phil Jackson saving the Knicks to Phil Jackson being ensnared in the same trap that has drawn everyone over the last generation into thinking the Knicks could be saved. Maybe Marv Albert should consider himself lucky to get out when he did.
