The Golden State Warriors are in the search for a new head coach after firing Mark Jackson. The top two targets on their list this past week has been Steve Kerr and Stan Van Gundy. However, it's been increasingly evident that the Warriors will be unable to land Kerr, but they do like Van Gundy.Sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com that Kerr is too deep in talks with the New York Knicks for him to give the Warriors any serious consideration. Despite Kerr's close relationship with Golden State's Joe Lacob and others members around the organization, new Knicks president Phil Jackson has convinced Kerr enough to be with the team.
Kerr reportedly was heard saying that he would prefer to coach on the west coast, but it looks like now he's just waiting for a deal to be offered from Jackson and the Knicks. With Kerr likely out of the window for the Warriors, their attention now focuses to Van Gundy.
Sources say that Van Gundy, who used to coach for the Orlando Magic, is the closest to the top target on the Warriors list in their early search for a new head coach. Despite SVG not having a close relationship that Kerr does, he has an impressive resumé that gives him the consideration from the NBA franchise.
Van Gundy last coached for the Magic, leading them to the playoffs in his final season. He was fired after that, mainly due to the Dwight Howard saga with the franchise.
Van Gundy is a type of coach that is about the players, which would be nice for the Warriors roster who experienced a bond with Mark Jackson when he was the coach. Golden State will definitely have to make a hire that is on the ranks of Van Gundy since star players like Stephen Curry expressed much disappointment over Jackson being on the hot seat.
If the Warriors, however, do decide to go after Van Gundy, they really have to convince him. Van Gundy recently was heard on the radio last Thursday that he is unsure of returning to coaching. It's been two years since he has been fired from the Magic, and he seems to be doing well since then with broadcasting and spending time with family.
"Part of me does, and part of me doesn't," Van Gundy said. "Look, we're so happy in Central Florida. It would really have to be a great situation for me to get back in. I miss a lot of it. I really do. I miss the competition. I miss the challenge. I miss the camaraderie of it. But I also like the time that I've had, so we'll just have to see what happens. You weigh every situation.
"Names come up on every job, and my name's been mentioned in a few. But I think the Warrior one comes up because I'm from out there. I went to high school in the Bay Area. I grew up out there. I said several times during my coaching career when we would go play out there that it was always important to me playing out there because I grew up [there].
"That arena is old, so it was the same arena, and when I was a sophomore in high school, the Warriors won the NBA championship in 1975 led by Rick Barry. Al Attles was their coach. I was a huge fan, and everybody knows that, and so I think that's why my name comes up when it's associated with that job in particular."
