Steve Kerr put Phil Jackson on muted blast Monday regarding assistant coach Luke Walton, who may or may not have interviewed for the New York Knicks coaching job over the weekend.
The Golden State Warriors head coach made it clear that Jackson did not have permission to interview Walton, if indeed that’s what happened, per Marc Berman of the New York Post.
For what it’s worth, Jackson has denied that any job was offered or rejected, despite reports that the interview happened and that Walton said he is not currently interested in the position.
In the same vein, Kerr didn’t exactly accuse Jackson of tampering but cautioned the Zen master that interviewing his assistant would be tampering, per Berman:
“Luke and Phil have had contact, just like Phil and I have had contact, but not anything to do with the job,’’ Kerr said. “That would be tampering. If somebody wants to speak with Luke, they know the protocol. They would call [general manager] Bob [Myers] and we will handle it. We’ll give Luke permission, but it would be after a series ended and we have a little spare time. But it’s important to note that Phil has not reached out to Luke about the job. Friendships sometimes dictate conversation, and there was some of that.’’
In other news, Kerr might want to consider a career in politics if he ever gets bored with the NBA gig.
If Jackson did, indeed, skirt the rules of propriety, it wouldn’t be the first time. He was busted for tampering a couple of seasons ago when the Oklahoma City Thunder called him out on it for comments made about Derek Fisher, as Berman pointed out.
All of this appears to be a moot point, because Walton likely isn’t interested in joining the Knicks next year, even if he is interested in leaving Golden State to stake his own claim to fame.
With plenty of other opportunities opening up around the NBA, he’ll be in high demand. And there are other jobs out there with more appeal than what’s going on in New York.