Man of Steel
05-08-2007, 02:37 PM
Here is an interview with Steve Kerr.
He describes his role with the Suns--how close he is to Sun's owner Sarver.
He gives props to MJ and to Duncan, without whom he would not have any rings.
(Too bad he isn't that compliementary about Tim when he appears on Phoenix radio stations, where he berates Tim so he can chime in with the hating DJ's)
Steve Kerr Interview
The Suns, playing with Mike, and sinking shots in the clutch.
by Victor Kelly
March 13, 2007 - When Lute Olson looked at Steve Kerr, he not only saw the best pure shooter he ever coached, he also saw a champion. He knew that at the next level, if you put Kerr in the right situation, a scenario where he could play that sniper role, he would walk away from the game with at least one ring.
And Kerr did just that, winning three championships with the Chicago Bulls and another two with the San Antonio Spurs, playing a supporting role to two of the best players to ever lace up kicks, Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan.
Kerr continues to make big moves in retirement, not only as an analyst on TNT but as a minority owner of the Phoenix Suns.
IGN Sports caught up with Kerr to talk Suns and the challenges that come along with playing along side a superstar like MJ.
IGN Sports: You are a minority owner and consultant with the Phoenix Suns, talk about your role with the organization and how it came about for you?
Steve Kerr: It is interesting for me just to see the other side of the business. I spent 15 years as a player and never really knew how the basketball operations were run from a financial side of it. It has been a good experience for me. I don't have a big role in the organization. The best way to describe what I do is I am a consultant to (owner) Robert Sarver and we are very close. I got to know him very well and I have enjoyed working with him. My main responsibility with the Suns is as a consultant. We will see if that role grows down the road, but that is what I enjoy doing right now.
IGN Sports: I have had several conversations with former players that try to stay close to the game by taking on a coaching role or some kind of front office position. Over the last couple of years several players have showed an interest in becoming a minority owner of a professional team. Is this what you had in mind before you retired from the game?
Steve Kerr: No. I never ever gave ownership a thought. My thoughts before I retired were coaching and broadcasting. The broadcasting gig came up and I jumped at it. I love it and I have been thrilled working for Turner. The ownership thing came up out of nowhere. The way it happened was Robert is an Arizona graduate like I am and he was very friendly with Lute Olson. He wanted to buy an NBA team and called Lute Olson and asked him for some advice. Lute said: "Let me put you in touch with Steve because he has been in the NBA for a long time and he can help you open up the right doors." So that's basically what happened. I took Robert to meet David Stern and kind of got him in the right doors. To make a long story short, we ended up in Phoenix meeting with Jerry Colangelo and when Robert made the offer to Jerry he asked me to be a part of it. I really did not have any designs for ownership…it kind of just fell into my lap.
IGN Sports: What is it your role as consultant entail?
Steve Kerr: Well, it is sort of sporadic because there will be several weeks at a time where nothing really happens because there are no decisions to be made. So there is really no such thing as a typical day I would say because there are just different times where things just happen to take place. In the first couple of years on board I sat in on the draft and watched that process. I threw in my two cents for whatever that was worth. [laughs] I sat in on a lot of financial meetings in reference to sponsorship, not to mention tickets sales, and marketing meetings. There have been times where I have been pretty involved a lot with how the operation works. Then there are times where there could be a month where there is nothing going on depending on the time of the year.
IGN Sports: What has been the biggest surprise for you in this role?
Steve Kerr: I think as a player you always assume that the team is making millions and millions of dollars. Or that it is a big money maker and that it is not a whole lot of thought that has to go into it. If you sell a lot of tickets and put together a good team than you are going to make a lot of money. It is obvious that it is not that simple. But, as a player you see the price on that franchise and you just assume that they must be big money makers or people would not buy them. I was surprised just to find out at how much work goes into making sure that the business is profitable; and even if you do that work, and do everything right, you still may lose money. So that part was surprising to me. It is an interesting balance in trying to find players to make your team really good and at the same time running a financially sound operation. That is the challenge for every team.
IGN Sports: How much fun are you having as an analyst working for TNT?
Steve Kerr: I am really enjoying doing the broadcast work with Turner. I love working with Marv Albert and getting the chance to work the playoff games with Doug Collins was just golden. Getting the chance to work with Doug and Marv, who are considered not just by me, but by most people, the best play-by-play and the best color-guy ever! There I am in the conference finals sitting right there in the middle between both of them. It is incredible. I have been incredibly blessed just to be able to learn from two guys that are absolutely at the top of their profession.
IGN Sports: You have been doing such a great job since you joined the NBA on TNT, it just seems natural for you. How did you get the gig?
Steve Kerr: Well, the last four or five years of my career I really started focusing on what I was going to do in reference to post playing and broadcasting just seemed like a natural fit. I have always been very comfortable behind a microphone. I love talking about basketball, I love being around people, I love being around the game, the travel and the excitement around the arena, it was right there. It seemed like a natural fit because I did a lot of speaking engagements and I worked on a Sunday night wrap-up show in Chicago when I was playing with the Bulls. I did a lot of things to try and prepare myself and my timing was just great. When I retired, I was offered the job at Turner because Jeff Van Gundy and Danny Ainge had just left to go take coaching jobs and front office jobs at the same time. So, all of sudden, Turner was scrambling looking for a couple of new people. The timing just worked out perfectly because they were looking for somebody and I was ready to give it a shot. So it all worked out.
IGN Sports: You had the luxury of playing with two of the NBA's best and obviously have the rings to show it. Can you talk about what it was like playing with superstars like MJ and Duncan, players who can take over the game at any point?
Steve Kerr: To me it is a lot easier than not playing with one because guys like that draw so much attention because they are so good that naturally you are going to get open shots and plenty of opportunities to score…that is the easy part. The hard part is that you feel a responsibility toward these guys because you are very aware that these guys are responsible for winning championships. They are the kind of players who win titles and you just don't want to screw that up for them. There is a lot of pressure playing with those guys too. Michael (Jordan) was one of those that would put pressure on you and he wanted to see if you were the type that could handle it. Tim (Duncan) was the easiest guy to play with on earth. He is super mellow and would put all the blame on him but it is almost just as difficult because you just don't want to let anybody down, Michael or Tim. It is an interesting dynamic but it is an incredible experience to play with guys like that because you are always going to go far in the playoffs and you are always going to be in a position to have a great moment and that is what I feel like I owe to Michael and Tim. Without those guys there is no way I am ever in a position to win a NBA Championship, or make a game winning shot. Those are the guys who deserve it.
IGN Sports: When you were in Chicago, how did you handle the pressure playing with Mike and what did he say he wanted from you?
Steve Kerr: At first we really weren't on the same page in Chicago because he was used to John Paxon, and even though I am a similar player to John, he wasn't comfortable with me in the beginning. I had to earn his trust. That is the thing with Michael, everybody had to earn his trust. You have to go through the wars before you can earn that trust. If he throws you the ball during a regular season and you hit the big shot that's great, but that is still not what it is about, it's what you do during the playoffs. I never felt like I earned Michael's trust until 1997 when he threw me the ball against Utah and I made the shot. From that point on I knew he would count on me.
IGN Sports: Compare your experience down in San Antonio with Tim after going through the trust factor with Michael.
Steve Kerr: A little different because it is more of an inside-out game. Technically you are different. With Michael he would be all over the floor with a lot of penetration and kick. With Tim it was pretty much post up or spot up on the outside. So it is kind of a difficult adjustment to make basketball-wise because I did not feel like I was moving the way I was playing with Michael in the triangle offense…I was doing a lot of standing around. So that took a little time in the first year. Playing with Tim was easy because he is so mellow of a guy, very accommodating and he is an incredibly nice guy. He did not put any pressure on anybody.
IGN Sports: Can you talk about what your philosophy was to staying calm under pressure?
Steve Kerr: For me, I had to learn how to do that. The more you want to make it, the more pressure you put on yourself. You almost have to let yourself go and try to forget about the responsibility that is on your shoulders…you are just taking a shot. It took me a long time to realize you literally just have to throw conscious in the wind, just let fly and move past your fear of failure. It wasn't until I did that on the floor that I started making big shots.
IGN Sports: There have been a lot of comments made recently over the last two years about the age limits for players in the NBA. Do you like the age limit or do you think we need to go back and re-think this one more time?
Steve Kerr: I am all for the age limit being 19, and to be honest, I would have preferred 20. I understand how they negotiated for 19. I just think guys at 18, coming out of high school are not prepared for the NBA. Some are prepared physically like LeBron James, obviously, but I just feel the emotional part of it is too difficult for an 18 year old kid. No life experience and not a whole lot of education. I just think guys are better prepared, whether it is going to college for a year or two, or going to minor leagues like the NBDL. Just some life experience would be a whole lot of help.
He describes his role with the Suns--how close he is to Sun's owner Sarver.
He gives props to MJ and to Duncan, without whom he would not have any rings.
(Too bad he isn't that compliementary about Tim when he appears on Phoenix radio stations, where he berates Tim so he can chime in with the hating DJ's)
Steve Kerr Interview
The Suns, playing with Mike, and sinking shots in the clutch.
by Victor Kelly
March 13, 2007 - When Lute Olson looked at Steve Kerr, he not only saw the best pure shooter he ever coached, he also saw a champion. He knew that at the next level, if you put Kerr in the right situation, a scenario where he could play that sniper role, he would walk away from the game with at least one ring.
And Kerr did just that, winning three championships with the Chicago Bulls and another two with the San Antonio Spurs, playing a supporting role to two of the best players to ever lace up kicks, Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan.
Kerr continues to make big moves in retirement, not only as an analyst on TNT but as a minority owner of the Phoenix Suns.
IGN Sports caught up with Kerr to talk Suns and the challenges that come along with playing along side a superstar like MJ.
IGN Sports: You are a minority owner and consultant with the Phoenix Suns, talk about your role with the organization and how it came about for you?
Steve Kerr: It is interesting for me just to see the other side of the business. I spent 15 years as a player and never really knew how the basketball operations were run from a financial side of it. It has been a good experience for me. I don't have a big role in the organization. The best way to describe what I do is I am a consultant to (owner) Robert Sarver and we are very close. I got to know him very well and I have enjoyed working with him. My main responsibility with the Suns is as a consultant. We will see if that role grows down the road, but that is what I enjoy doing right now.
IGN Sports: I have had several conversations with former players that try to stay close to the game by taking on a coaching role or some kind of front office position. Over the last couple of years several players have showed an interest in becoming a minority owner of a professional team. Is this what you had in mind before you retired from the game?
Steve Kerr: No. I never ever gave ownership a thought. My thoughts before I retired were coaching and broadcasting. The broadcasting gig came up and I jumped at it. I love it and I have been thrilled working for Turner. The ownership thing came up out of nowhere. The way it happened was Robert is an Arizona graduate like I am and he was very friendly with Lute Olson. He wanted to buy an NBA team and called Lute Olson and asked him for some advice. Lute said: "Let me put you in touch with Steve because he has been in the NBA for a long time and he can help you open up the right doors." So that's basically what happened. I took Robert to meet David Stern and kind of got him in the right doors. To make a long story short, we ended up in Phoenix meeting with Jerry Colangelo and when Robert made the offer to Jerry he asked me to be a part of it. I really did not have any designs for ownership…it kind of just fell into my lap.
IGN Sports: What is it your role as consultant entail?
Steve Kerr: Well, it is sort of sporadic because there will be several weeks at a time where nothing really happens because there are no decisions to be made. So there is really no such thing as a typical day I would say because there are just different times where things just happen to take place. In the first couple of years on board I sat in on the draft and watched that process. I threw in my two cents for whatever that was worth. [laughs] I sat in on a lot of financial meetings in reference to sponsorship, not to mention tickets sales, and marketing meetings. There have been times where I have been pretty involved a lot with how the operation works. Then there are times where there could be a month where there is nothing going on depending on the time of the year.
IGN Sports: What has been the biggest surprise for you in this role?
Steve Kerr: I think as a player you always assume that the team is making millions and millions of dollars. Or that it is a big money maker and that it is not a whole lot of thought that has to go into it. If you sell a lot of tickets and put together a good team than you are going to make a lot of money. It is obvious that it is not that simple. But, as a player you see the price on that franchise and you just assume that they must be big money makers or people would not buy them. I was surprised just to find out at how much work goes into making sure that the business is profitable; and even if you do that work, and do everything right, you still may lose money. So that part was surprising to me. It is an interesting balance in trying to find players to make your team really good and at the same time running a financially sound operation. That is the challenge for every team.
IGN Sports: How much fun are you having as an analyst working for TNT?
Steve Kerr: I am really enjoying doing the broadcast work with Turner. I love working with Marv Albert and getting the chance to work the playoff games with Doug Collins was just golden. Getting the chance to work with Doug and Marv, who are considered not just by me, but by most people, the best play-by-play and the best color-guy ever! There I am in the conference finals sitting right there in the middle between both of them. It is incredible. I have been incredibly blessed just to be able to learn from two guys that are absolutely at the top of their profession.
IGN Sports: You have been doing such a great job since you joined the NBA on TNT, it just seems natural for you. How did you get the gig?
Steve Kerr: Well, the last four or five years of my career I really started focusing on what I was going to do in reference to post playing and broadcasting just seemed like a natural fit. I have always been very comfortable behind a microphone. I love talking about basketball, I love being around people, I love being around the game, the travel and the excitement around the arena, it was right there. It seemed like a natural fit because I did a lot of speaking engagements and I worked on a Sunday night wrap-up show in Chicago when I was playing with the Bulls. I did a lot of things to try and prepare myself and my timing was just great. When I retired, I was offered the job at Turner because Jeff Van Gundy and Danny Ainge had just left to go take coaching jobs and front office jobs at the same time. So, all of sudden, Turner was scrambling looking for a couple of new people. The timing just worked out perfectly because they were looking for somebody and I was ready to give it a shot. So it all worked out.
IGN Sports: You had the luxury of playing with two of the NBA's best and obviously have the rings to show it. Can you talk about what it was like playing with superstars like MJ and Duncan, players who can take over the game at any point?
Steve Kerr: To me it is a lot easier than not playing with one because guys like that draw so much attention because they are so good that naturally you are going to get open shots and plenty of opportunities to score…that is the easy part. The hard part is that you feel a responsibility toward these guys because you are very aware that these guys are responsible for winning championships. They are the kind of players who win titles and you just don't want to screw that up for them. There is a lot of pressure playing with those guys too. Michael (Jordan) was one of those that would put pressure on you and he wanted to see if you were the type that could handle it. Tim (Duncan) was the easiest guy to play with on earth. He is super mellow and would put all the blame on him but it is almost just as difficult because you just don't want to let anybody down, Michael or Tim. It is an interesting dynamic but it is an incredible experience to play with guys like that because you are always going to go far in the playoffs and you are always going to be in a position to have a great moment and that is what I feel like I owe to Michael and Tim. Without those guys there is no way I am ever in a position to win a NBA Championship, or make a game winning shot. Those are the guys who deserve it.
IGN Sports: When you were in Chicago, how did you handle the pressure playing with Mike and what did he say he wanted from you?
Steve Kerr: At first we really weren't on the same page in Chicago because he was used to John Paxon, and even though I am a similar player to John, he wasn't comfortable with me in the beginning. I had to earn his trust. That is the thing with Michael, everybody had to earn his trust. You have to go through the wars before you can earn that trust. If he throws you the ball during a regular season and you hit the big shot that's great, but that is still not what it is about, it's what you do during the playoffs. I never felt like I earned Michael's trust until 1997 when he threw me the ball against Utah and I made the shot. From that point on I knew he would count on me.
IGN Sports: Compare your experience down in San Antonio with Tim after going through the trust factor with Michael.
Steve Kerr: A little different because it is more of an inside-out game. Technically you are different. With Michael he would be all over the floor with a lot of penetration and kick. With Tim it was pretty much post up or spot up on the outside. So it is kind of a difficult adjustment to make basketball-wise because I did not feel like I was moving the way I was playing with Michael in the triangle offense…I was doing a lot of standing around. So that took a little time in the first year. Playing with Tim was easy because he is so mellow of a guy, very accommodating and he is an incredibly nice guy. He did not put any pressure on anybody.
IGN Sports: Can you talk about what your philosophy was to staying calm under pressure?
Steve Kerr: For me, I had to learn how to do that. The more you want to make it, the more pressure you put on yourself. You almost have to let yourself go and try to forget about the responsibility that is on your shoulders…you are just taking a shot. It took me a long time to realize you literally just have to throw conscious in the wind, just let fly and move past your fear of failure. It wasn't until I did that on the floor that I started making big shots.
IGN Sports: There have been a lot of comments made recently over the last two years about the age limits for players in the NBA. Do you like the age limit or do you think we need to go back and re-think this one more time?
Steve Kerr: I am all for the age limit being 19, and to be honest, I would have preferred 20. I understand how they negotiated for 19. I just think guys at 18, coming out of high school are not prepared for the NBA. Some are prepared physically like LeBron James, obviously, but I just feel the emotional part of it is too difficult for an 18 year old kid. No life experience and not a whole lot of education. I just think guys are better prepared, whether it is going to college for a year or two, or going to minor leagues like the NBDL. Just some life experience would be a whole lot of help.