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Report: Kerr expected to be introduced next week
ESPN.com news services
Updated: June 1, 2007, 10:40 AM ET
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Kerr
PHOENIX -- Steve Kerr will be hired as president and general manager of the Phoenix Suns, a person with knowledge of the hiring said Thursday.
Kerr can't officially take the job until he completes his obligations as an analyst for TNT during the NBA playoffs. He is expected to be introduced at a news conference next week, said a person close to the situation who asked not to be identified because the official announcement had not been made.
Kerr is a close friend of Suns owner Robert Sarver and owns a small piece of the team. He would replace Mike D'Antoni, who holds the les of general manager and head coach. The move will allow D'Antoni to concentrate on coaching.
D'Antoni will keep the le of executive vice president of basketball operations but will report to Kerr, The Arizona Republic reported on its Web site Thursday.
Kerr was part of the TNT crew at Thursday's Eastern Conference finals Game 5 in Detroit. He left the court at halftime with a cell phone in his ear.
"I've had conversations with the Phoenix Suns regarding opportunities within their organization," Kerr said through TNT. "I do not plan to make a decision on my future until after the conclusion of the Eastern Conference finals."
Sarver did not return a message left on his cell phone.
D'Antoni has held both les since Bryan Colangelo resigned as president and general manager in February 2006 to take a similar post with the Toronto Raptors.
Kerr, part of five NBA championship teams with Chicago and San Antonio in his 15-year NBA career, helped pave the way for Sarver and his backers to purchase the team from Jerry Colangelo for a reported $401 million three years ago. The final payment of the purchase is due in June.
Kerr starred at the University of Arizona and is a close friend of Wildcats coach Lute Olson.
He returns to the NBA team that drafted him in the second round, the 50th choice overall, in 1988. Kerr played in 26 games for Phoenix as a rookie and then was traded to Cleveland for a second-round draft pick.
Kerr, who retired as a player in 2003, holds the NBA record for career 3-point percentage at .454. He also holds the record for 3-point shooting percentage in a season at .524 in the 1994-95 with Chicago. He made the winning shot for the Bulls against Utah in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
Kerr, 41, was born in Beirut, Lebanon. His father, president of American University in Beirut, was assassinated in 1984.
Kerr's hiring was first reported on the Web sites of The Arizona Republic and East Valley Tribune.
David Griffin, the Suns' vice president of basketball operations, has spoken with the Memphis Grizzlies about taking the general manager job there. Marc Iavaroni left his job as D'Antoni's lead assistant this week to become head coach of the Grizzlies.
D'Antoni has said the Suns need to add depth after they lost to the Spurs 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals. Phoenix has won three consecutive Pacific Division les but has not made it past the conference finals in that span.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
those 3 draft picks they gave up last season....is probably hurting them....karma is a when ur tryin to avoid lux taxbut phoenix
good for him.
Too bad Phoenix has been giving away all those 1st rounders they acquired. What was the point in getting those picks if they had no intention of paying those rookie salaries? Phoenix has not been criticized enough IMO for their complete mismanagement of the draft.
Suns are screwed....
Thank God! Someone other then D'Antoni will be handling personnal decisions.
Heh...I told you all that a week ago. And I also told you that Kerr was going WAY above and beyond his commentator duties when he was campaigning for Duncan and Bowen to be suspended. The Suns used his media credentials to try and pressure the league several times in that series.
He is and has been an active team owner. And yes, some of his comments have gone beyond what an owner is supposed to say. He was a good player, and he is a nice guy. I don't give a damn. He was a Suns shill, and tried to help manipulate that series. He was part of a Spurs championship....but him.
Avoiding tax will destroy them ... they need a good bench to figth against Spurs.
No, he just needs to actually play the depth he has. Why do youngsters like Marcus Banks and James Jones rot on the bench when they've produced elsewhere? Why on earth is he playing (in the regular season) Bell and Marion over 37 MPG, and the notoriously fragile Nash over 35? Barbosa is ing horrible. He has one skill: fast. He makes poor decisions, can barely keep his assist total higher than his turnovers, and can't hit contested shots in the clutch. Even against SA, Jones shot for superior numbers that LB and could barely get off the bench.D'Antoni has said the Suns need to add depth after they lost to the Spurs 4-2 in the Western Conference semifinals. Phoenix has won three consecutive Pacific Division les but has not made it past the conference finals in that span.
This makes sense. He was "acting" Suns GM throughout the spurs-suns series.
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